Nicki Minaj isn’t a fan of “relationship” labels. During her Tuesday visit to Ellen (April 7), the multi-hyphenate discussed her relationship status, saying, “I don’t even want to say that I’m in a relationship anymore, because I think when people hear that, they go to [a] mean place.”
She also clarified that she wasn’t given an engagement ring by her rapper-boyfriend Meek Mill but rather two shiny rings from “this boy that likes me.” While she doesn’t refer to her beau by name during the interview, Minaj explained why she’s more inclined to say ‘I’m single’ these days, and why she’s unsure about getting engaged.
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“We’re still figuring each other out,” she told host DeGeneres, who prodded her a bit to speak on her relationship from “a kind place.” “I would rather not,” Minaj offered, even referencing her past relationship with Safaree Samuels. “You know, I used to be secretive … I used to say, ‘I’m not in a relationship,’ even though I was in a 12-year relationship. Now I feel like just going back to that and saying, ‘You know what? I’m single.”
She also shared a Valentine’s Day anecdote, recalling how she chose not to post pictures of Meek’s gifts on Instagram and how stories circulated that they weren’t together. “People said, ‘They’re not together.’ We were getting anonymous messages saying, ‘Yeah, she wasn’t with him and she was crying all day.’ Just putting up all these things. Meanwhile, we were really in bed all day on Valentine’s Day. Like, seriously! We were in bed all day and then I got up and opened these three amazing gifts, and then I went back to bed,” she recalled.
“Then I read this story that we weren’t together on Valentine’s Day and it just made me realize that no matter how great your life is, you can’t even impress people. You just have to do you and make yourself happy and forget about trying to get everyone’s approval. It’s better just to keep those things sacred. So, now, I don’t really care to say ‘I’m in a relationship’ or ‘I’m engaged’ or whatever. There’s a boy that likes me. That’s all.”
Nicki Minaj Calls Out ‘Fake Stories’ on Twitter
Minaj also offered this poetic explanation of her current status with Meek. “He and I are just two souls passing through the universe and I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I just have learned over the years to just let things be and come and go as they are going to come and go.”
Beyond her relationship, the Barbershop: Next Cut star said she looked up to her co-star Ice Cube and also did a Facebook Live! segment with Ellen.
Nicki Minaj gets real with me! #24Live
Posted by Ellen DeGeneres on Wednesday, April 6, 2016
UPDATE: Nicki Minaj also clarified her comments on Instagram. “#They don’t want me to write this caption. Cc @djkhaled ~ It would be very remiss of you to not watch what I said about Valentines Day prior to writing or believing a headline about my comment. I’m not single. Thank you for coming out. Have a blessed day and get some D. –“