Rapper Nicki Minaj will be able to have her husband at her side whenever and wherever she gives birth, thanks to a California judge ruling that Kenneth Petty can adjust his court-ordered curfew and travel restrictions.
Minaj announced last month that she is pregnant, with a series of glamorous Instagram posts.
Petty is a sex offender, a charge that stems from 1995 conviction of attempted rape. In March, he was arrested because he didn’t register as a sex offender in California when he moved to the state. He was previously registered in New York.
In March, the prosecutor wanted to put Petty under house arrest, but the judge offered more leniency. Petty was required to wear an ankle monitor, not travel outside Southern California, and be home by a certain time each night.
That made it difficult to keep up with his jet-setting wife. Minaj and Petty were also worried that it could prevent Petty from attending the birth of their baby, if the baby came during curfew hours. It’s not clear when Petty’s next court date is.
With that in mind, Petty filed a motion to change his pre-trial conditions. He requested to be allowed to travel with Minaj as her manager; and to have his curfew restriction relaxed. On July 31, a judge granted that motion, TMZ reported.
After announcing her pregnancy with bump photos, Minaj has kept her baby belly largely out of the spotlight. However, she did give fans a little glimpse into the rough first trimester that she had. She posted a picture of herself pool-side when she was pregnant but not yet showing.
“While I was in Trinidad earlier this year, I had the worst morning sickness of all time. Didn’t know morning sickness could last all day either😩 But nevertheless, this is one of the pics I took b4 you could see my lil baby bump,” she wrote.
Minaj and Petty officially got married last fall, but Minaj was referring to him as “my husband” even before that. The couple have been dating on and off for decades, since Minaj, now 37, was 17.
Although this is Minaj’s first baby, Petty already has five children, Newsweek reported. Speaking with that publication, California Attorney Paul J. Wallin said that Petty’s past could mean that Child Protective Services gets involved with the couple after the baby is born. In theory, Petty could be banned from living with the baby, even if Minaj herself doesn’t file a report against him.
“Granted, they’re going to say ‘it was a long time ago, so he’s cured.’ But absent some evidence that he’s done therapy and expert in sex offenders says he’s ‘not a risk,’ there might be an order that he not be allowed to live in the same house with the baby, or that if they trusted her, they could say [Minaj] could be the monitor,” Wallin explained.
Minaj has said in the past that Petty has grown up and learned from his mistakes, and she doesn’t seem worried about the well-being of their baby.
For his part, Petty told Lil Wayne that Minaj has calmed him. Speaking on Young Money Radio in June, he said, “I didn’t think it would be as refreshing and calming as it is. Even if you’re not married, when you have someone that feels like your soulmate or someone who understands you, it just makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.”
