Nicki Minaj Sparks Divorce Rumors With Cryptic Message

Nicki Minaj's latest social media posts have sent her fans into a worried frenzy about the rapper's personal life and career.

Earlier this week, Minaj shared a cryptic message on her official X (formerly Twitter) account. The "Beez in the Trap" rapper, 41, simply wrote: "Yes. Single …"

Without further elaboration, the Barbz were either begging for clarification or assuming she was alluding to her five-year marriage with her husband, Kenneth Petty, being over. One fan commented on the post: "so are we getting a new single or are you single.." Asked another: "Like you’re dropping one or you are?" Added an impatient third: "WHO SINGLE??,?:? YOU OR PINK FRIDAY GIRLS??!,!: OR A NEW SAWNG ???? come to the mic girl [sobbing emojis]."

The Trinidadian rapper didn't follow up with any clarification in the following days thus far. Instead, videos posted from her Pink Friday 2 tour made their way to social media, with Minaj alluding there is trouble in her relationship. In the below clip, she is heard telling the audience, "I'd rather be... not lied to than loved. I'd rather be not with some person in my face all day, but having a secret life and a sneaky life behind my back."

Then, Minaj posted a video on Instagram, reflecting on her pregnancy with her 3-year-old son, "Papa Bear." In a close-up video that was on her Stories, Minaj, wearing heavy black eye makeup says solemnly, "And then one day... They're yelling 'push,' and you're in pain." Closing her eyes slowly, she continues, "Then one day, here comes out a beautiful baby boy."

"To God be the glory," a visibly saddened Minaj whispered. "Congratulations to every mama out there, you're doing a great job." With a pause, she adds, "In case no one's told you that, you're doing a great job."

Minaj has actively supported and protected Petty throughout the course of their marriage, as he has a criminal record that includes being a registered sex offender. In 1995, Petty was convicted of the first-degree attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl using a knife.

Although Petty initially denied the accusations, he later pleaded guilty to attempted rape and spent four years in prison in New York. He was sentenced to three years probation in July 2022. Petty pleaded guilty after failing to register as a sex offender in California two years prior.

Then, Petty was put on house arrest last year after threatening Offset on social media. He was granted permission to travel during the international leg of Minaj's tour for "childcare" and "various purposes," according to legal documents from April.

Published: 11/10/23
UpdatedL 12/20/23

Nicki Minaj has been in the studio a lot this year. The rapper has collaborated with Ice Spice, Kim Petras, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. In 2023, Nicki has hopped on some of her fans' favorite artists' songs, as well as uplifting emerging women rappers in the industry. While she has been working hard to deliver some great collaborations this year, she has not forgotten about her own highly-anticipated fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2.

Pink Friday 2 was released on Dec. 8 after being delayed twice. The first time she announced a delay was back in June. Instead of the project being released on Oct. 20, Nicki changed it to November.

"I’ve been trying to find the right time to tell you this for a few days," Nicki wrote an Instagram post. "Due to some really exciting news that I’ll share with you guys @ a later time, I’ve shifted the album date just a tad bit. Trust me, it’ll be WELL WORTH THE WAIT…but since I AM shifting the date just a tad, I’d like to give you guys a tiny SIP of some more album tea so that I don’t have to get cussed out [sad emoji] so…here it goes: [pink bow emoji] MY NEW ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED ON 11.17.23."

After Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz announced that they would release their joint album Welcome 2 Collegrove on November 17, she decided to change the date again. Nicki and Wayne have a tight friendship, as he was the one who signed her to Young Money Entertainment in 2009.

"Weezy and 2 Chainz, they announced their date. And you know how me and Weezy play. He would never," Nicki said.

"I have never in my life been so in love with something that I’m working on," Nicki said in an Instagram Live video addressing the date change.

Pink Friday 2 went No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Take a look at Nicki Minaj's best collaborations of 2023 ranked below:

Nicki Minaj assisted Young Thug on "Money" alongside vocals from the late Juice WRLD. The track is found on Thugger's LP Business is Business. It was released in June. On Nicki's verse, she raps about her raunchy sexcapades and getting money (which is not a surprise given the title). This was the first time that all three rappers had been on the same record.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I got wild chicas who do whatever I say so (Say so)/
'Bout that dinero, so, if you want me you gotta peso"

A Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj collab was not on our 2023 bingo card. But they both pulled their weight on "Alone." The song samples Alice Deejay's 1999 hit "Better Off Alone." Nicki is not a stranger to hopping on a pop beat, and it was shown by how easily she slid on this record."Alone" is the third single to Petras' debut album, Feed the Beast. The song debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I-I-It's Barbie and it's Kim Petras (Oh)/Main character syndrome, they extras (Okay)"

YoungBoy Never Broke Again's "WTF" is the lead single to his album Don't Try This At Home. He enlisted Nicki to end his song and she suited up with her ballerina shoes alongside other dancers in the music video. In Nicki's verse, the rapper reminds her haters that she's not one to mess with. This was the first time the two had collaborated.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "Keep sleepin' on the team, we gon' pause your dreams"

Sexxy Red's breakout hit "Pound Town" got Nicki Minaj's assistance for the remix. The song was already a hit on social media, specifically TikTok, and even earned Sexxy the inaugural top charter for Billboard's TikTok 50. Nicki came in and mirrored Sexxy's raunchy lyrics for her verse as well.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I'ma flip like a hundred bricks, get back all my licks"

Lil Uzi Vert enlisted Nicki Minaj for "Endless Fashion." The track arrives on their album, The Pink Tape. The record samples Eiffel 65’s "I’m Blue"; both rappers go back and forth mimicking the flow of the original creator. Nicki shows how well she can ride on someone else's flow but still keep her verses her own.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "I got a Republican doctor (Ah)/Made my a-- great again, MAGA"

When Nicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert left the studio, they must have known that they had a hit on their hands. The track samples "Everybody" is the highest charting song on Pink Friday 2. The song debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Nicki Minaj hopped on Ice Spice's "Princess Diana" for their first-ever collaboration. Nicki matched Ice Spice's playful mood in the lyrics and visuals as the women boasted about their popularity in the streets. In the music video, the New York natives are twerking together in a pink dream house, which, in retrospect, foreshadowed their "Barbie World" collaboration.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "Nowadays, I be makin' 'em famous (Grrah)/She the princess, so fuck who you lames is (Grrah)"

Ice Spice and Nicki are in their own pink wonderland. The rappers linked up for the Barbie soundtrack with their song "Barbie World." The record served as the lead single off of the film's soundtrack. The rappers' energy together was so infectious it was an instant replay on our summer playlists. The song has been nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2024 GRAMMYS.

Nicki Minaj's best line: "Yellin' out, we ain't sellin' out/We got money, but we ain't lendin' out"