Many pregnancy announcements involve sweet bump pictures, but rapper Nicki Minaj took her pregnancy announcement to the next level this week, donning a floral bikini, platform heels and yellow hair to tell the world that she’s #preggers.
Minaj, 36, had hinted that she might be pregnant back in May, when she posted about “cravings” that she was having, according to The Sun. That prompted a fan to ask her to post a bump pictures during a question and answer session. Minaj didn’t deny that she was expecting, but said, “Yea in a couple months. The world ain’t ready yet.”
This week she decided that the world was, in fact, ready to see what a glamorous mother-to-be she is. Minaj posted the first photo on Instagram with the simple caption “#preggers.” A second photo showed Minaj with neon blue hair, a ruffled, fringe bikini and sheer stockings. Minaj let that picture speak for itself, posting it without a caption.
On the third photo Minaj wrote: “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes. 💛”
Minaj married her husband, Kenneth “Zoo” Petty, last October. Although Minaj and Petty are officially newly weds, they go way back. PEOPLE reports that they first dated when Minaj was 16. Even before they were married, Minaj referred to Petty as her husband, which often confused people.
Petty has a troubled past. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with a 2002 shooting. He was also convicted of attempted rape in 1995 and served time in prison. Because of that, he’s a registered sex offender.
Minaj has said that Petty has grown up and addressed his past. She even seemed to rap about their time apart on the track “Zanies and Fools” by Chance The Rapper: “I met my husband when I was 17 out in Queens / If you love it, let it go, now I know what that means / While he was up North for a body / I bodied everybody and got known for my body.”
Minaj announced their marriage on Instagram, posting a video of a mug that said “Mrs.” with two hats embroidered with “Bride” and “Groom.” She captioned the video with her new legal name: “Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty 10•21•19”
Last August, Minaj said that she and Petty had applied for a marriage license, but work kept getting in the way of getting hitched.
“We still had to pick it up and I was traveling, by the time I came back, we had to renew it again,” she said, according to PEOPLE. “From that time, you have 90 days to get married. That was about a week ago, so now I have about 80 days.”
Even though they were able to use the second license, they delayed a big wedding because of Minaj’s career.
“I have to work on my album and I have a lot to focus on that I don’t want to do the big wedding now,” she said at the time. “We’ll do the big wedding later.”
In September, Minaj tweeted that she was retiring to start a family. She later deleted the tweet because it caused such a stir with fans, and Minaj said it was misinterpreted.
Whether or not Minaj is retired for good or just taking a break to focus on family, it seem’s she’ll be well looked after by Petty, who apparently has a gift for giving foot rubs — just what every expectant mom wants.
“Every night when I get out of the shower, my husband takes this really good lotion that we just bought, and he massages my feet, and rubs them,” Minaj told a radio show in March 2018. “He rubs each toe individually, and the heel, and the ball of my foot, and he does it all.”
