Ever since Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill took their relationship public, many have been skeptical about its authenticity. Their PDA is often criticized as being nothing more than stunts to generate hype and buzz in and effort to sell their respective albums and promote her Pinkprint tour.
Many have noted how Minaj wasn’t nearly as open about or affectionate with her ex-boyfriend of over a decade, Safaree Samuels. Matter fact – she publicly treated him as nothing more than her hype man and personal assistant. But as he shared with a New York radio station back in January, being treated like a secret made him feel a certain way and walking in her shadow eventually effected their relationship.
“I’m an affectionate dude! I like to have my arm around my chick. I want to be outside and be like, ‘I’m with my chick!’ I don’t want to have to be walking a couple steps behind you or a couple steps away from you and acting like you’re not my girl. After a while, that can put a strain on somebody. That definitely did something to me,” Safaree said.
In a recent interview with GQ, Minaj said she planned on going public with her relationship with Samuels after the release of the third album, but by then they had called it quits and she was dating Meek.
“I think one of the biggest misconceptions at the beginning was that people thought that me and him just popped up out of the blue and were just in a relationship,” Nicki said. “We were friends for a very long time and he was someone that I was able to really confide in. Nothing that we do is for TV.”
She explained that her decision to publicize her relationship came before meeting Meek, and once the two hooked up, there was no reason to remain secretive about it.
“My decision to be public about my relationship came before I even met Meek. I was in another relationship and I said after I drop my third album that I don’t care anymore what people think. I’m going to be vocal about who I’m with. It just so happens that I’m with a new guy.”
Back in July, Meek explained to Power 105.1 DJ Angie Martinez why they kept their relationship a secret for a while. “She would just be sitting back worried how people were gonna take it because she was making new decisions in her life,” he said. “But I never really cared what people be saying.”
Minaj also explained to GQ how when she entered the music biz, she was advised not to reveal her relationship with Safaree or discuss it publicly, as it would have been a turn-off for her male fans.
“When I came in the business, you couldn’t tell people you were in a relationship, because record company and management said that doesn’t make you appealing to men. So don’t tell people you’re in a relationship. So after you do that for ten years it becomes something you feel like you have to do. It’s difficult to break out of that box. So I just vowed to myself, ‘look, I’m about to put out a new album, I don’t care anymore.’ It just so happens I’m in a new relationship but I was planning on doing that before I was with Meek, because now it’s to the point where it’s different.”
She continued:
“The music industry is so different. People don’t care if you’re in a relationship, but in the beginning it wasn’t like that. Take Janet Jackson. People didn’t know she was married for nine years or something like that. It was a taboo thing in the beginning. I didn’t want to hide that side of my life anymore.”
