Nicki Minaj Says 'I'm Single,' Explains Why She's Keeping Relationship More Private
The rapper said she doesn't want to say she's "in a relationship anymore."
— -- Nicki Minaj's boyfriend, rapper Meek Mill, used to dominate her social media pages as the rapper documented their whirlwind romance.
Now, mentions of their relationship are few and far between.
Minaj, whose real name is Onika Maraj, recently explained why when asked by Ellen DeGeneres if she was ready to be engaged.
"You know, I don't know. We're still figuring each other out. And in fact, I don't even want to say that I'm in a relationship anymore, because I think when people hear that, they go to like the mean place," the rapper said on Thursday's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
Minaj, 33, went on to say that public scrutiny was the reason she kept her relationship with ex-boyfriend Safaree Samuels a secret. The two split in November 2014.
"I used to say, 'I'm not in a relationship,' even though I was in a 12-year relationship [with Samuels]," she continued. "And then now I feel like just going back to that and saying, 'You know what? I'm single."
In an effort to be more private about her love life, Minaj said she didn't even post a picture of her beau on Valentine's Day. Still, Minaj told DeGeneres that her restraint didn't quiet her critics.
"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," she said. "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 added: "And 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."
Minaj and Mill, 28, whose real name is Robert Rahmeek Williams, had been friends for years before starting their relationship in December 2014.