Nicki Minaj's complete dating history: from Safaree Samuels to Kenneth Petty
17 August 2021, 10:41 | Updated: 17 August 2021, 10:45
Your complete guide to Nicki Minaj's high-profile boyfriends, from Safaree Samuels to Meek Mill and more.
Nicki Minaj has had some of the biggest moments in her relationships play out in the public eye.
From her break-up with long term boyfriend Safaree Samuels and alleged hook-ups with Drake and Eminem, to her relationship with Meek Mill and most recently her marriage to Kenneth 'Zoo' Petty.
It's time to take a look back at the most important men that have entered Nicki's life.
Kenneth Petty
Nicki Minaj is currently married to Kenneth 'Zoo' Petty, and the couple are expecting their first child. They began dating in December 2018 but have known each other for years - they were childhood sweethearts.
Some of Nicki's fans expressed their surprise at her relationship with Kenneth as he's a registered sex offender having been convicted of rape back in 1995, whilst he was also convicted of murder and was in prison for manslaughter for seven years in 2002.
Nicki previously opened up to fans on Twitter about dating Kenneth when they were teenagers teenage, admitting him and her best friend 'TT' hated each other when they were younger.
She told her followers: "Facts but we were like this about each other since we were very young kids in the hood. He was on my body b4 the big ol’ booty. B4 the fame & fortune. Fought my bf cuz I wouldn’t be his girl. He was always a lil brazy. But anyway, timing is everything".
Safaree Samuels
Nicki Minaj and Safaree Samuels dated for 12 years and Nicki was very private about their relationship for the most part. But as things began to draw to a close, they got a little more public.
After the pair called time on their relationship in 2014, things turned sour between the two as they both accused each other of cheating, lying and stealing in a public spat on Twitter. Safaree who is also a rapper himself also accused Nicki of using him for her come up and ditching him.
In an interview after the breakup in 2015, Safaree told The Breakfast Club hosts that he walked away when he started feeling disrespected.
He said: "I just got to the point where the respect wasn't there. Everyone around her works for her, you know? So it got the point where it was like, I'm your man. I'm who you go to sleep with every night. I'm who you wake up with every morning. And it got to the point where I was being treated like an employee, instead of like her man."
The pair were even rumoured to have been engaged at one point after they were both spotted wearing matching rings on their wedding fingers.
Meek Mill
Unlike her relationship with Safaree, Nicki was very eventually open about her new relationship with Meek. (Although she was coy at first about the status of their relationship, claiming that they’re just close friends.)
But Meek made it very clear that they were an item when he posted a pic of the "Chun-Li" rapper back in April 2015. Captioning the Instagram pic he wrote: "Find a woman that you think is strong enough 2 help you takeover the world! #richatheartandatpocket #imlucky."
After Meek outed that their relationship, they both started posting pictures together on their Instagram accounts.
At one point Nicki even posted a picture of a massive heart shaped rock on her ring finger that the "Litty" rapper had bought her, fuelling rumours that they were engaged.
However, nearly two years after Meek posted that photo, Nicki tweeted that she was single.
Nas
A few months after Nicki tweeted that she was single she reportedly started dating fellow New York rapper Nas. Although they never confirmed whether or not they were dating, they hinted heavily at it.
For example, when Nicki went on The Ellen Show she blushed really hard when she was asked about her relationship with Nas and simply said that they were enjoying "sleepovers." They also posted identical pics on their pages and Nicki was spotted at Nas’ 44th birthday.
According to reports, they split in January 2018 when their relationship "ran out of steam."
Drake (unofficial)
Drake and Nicki have never come out and said that they’ve ever dated but they have had moments that have raised eyebrows.
They once joked about being married, and Nicki gave Drake a lap dance in her "Anaconda" video.
Although Drake has been very vocal about his love for Nicki, the "Barbie Tingz" rapper has always referred to him as family.
Eminem (unofficial)
Eminem is the most recent person that Nicki has been linked to. It all started when a fan asked Nicki if she was dating the real Slim Shady (because she referenced him on a single called "Big Bank") and she simply replied "yes".
She also said that her first date with him would be in the studio. Since then Eminem and Nicki have been teasing their fans about whether they’re an item or not.
During one of the "Lose Yourself" rapper’s recent shows he shouted on stage: "Nicki let’s do this! I’ma tell you something about Nicki that she don’t even know. We go together."
When she saw the clip, Nicki joked that she was "extremely & utterly afraid" of him.