Tyler Perry and his longtime girlfriend, Gelila Bekele, have apparently split.
The filmmaker took to Instagram on Dec. 16 to post a selfie in which he looks fit and buff. Many people, though, looked past his gym-friendly look after he said he was "single."
"This is what a midlife crisis looks like," he captioned the photo. "I'm 51, single and wondering what the next chapter in my life will look like. Whatever it looks like I'm going to walk with God, be the best father and man I can be, hold my head up high, and try to look my best doing it!!"
He added, "In a world with so much sadness, please try and stay in the good! Merry Christmas and let's look forward to 2021 bringing us peace!"
Following his post, many of his female fans jumped on his "single" declaration.
"And all I read was SINGLE!," one follower said. Another said, "Did you say single?"
"TP said single," another Instagram follower commented. "The man is about to receive a Tsunami of DM's from women."
A few fans took his caption to mean that he and Gelila are not married, therefore he's legally single.
"They didn't break up – by single he just means he is not yet married. He didn't say he was not in a relationship," one person said.
The "Madea" creator had been off the market since he met Gelila at a Prince concert in 2007. They share a 6-year-old son, Aman.
Tyler's new post comes a few days after he made four separate contributions to a GoFundMe established as a legal defense fund for Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of late ER technician, Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot and killed by white police in her Louisville, Kentucky, home during a botched raid in March. In total, Tyler reportedly donated $100,000 to the fund.