Nicki Minaj Puts Meek Mill in His Place

Nicki Minaj shocked fans and (most likely) her boyfriend on Ellen this week, when she toldthe talk show host, “I don’t even want to say I’m in a relationship anymore.”

Minaj explained, “I used to say I wasn’t in a relationship even though I was in a 12-year relationship and now, I feel like going back to that and saying I’m single… For instance, Valentine’s Day passed and I didn’t put up my Valentine’s Day gift on Instagram. People said, ‘They’re not together.’ We were getting anonymous messages saying, ‘She wasn’t with him. She was crying all day.’ They put up all these things. Meanwhile, we were really in bed all day on Valentine’s Day.”

What did this little social media maneuver illuminate for Minaj? “That made me realize that no matter how great your life is, you can’t impress people,” she continued. “You just have to do you and make yourself happy and forget about trying to get everyone’s approval. It’s better to just 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.” In one fell swoop, Minaj managed to on-air dump her boyfriend of more than a year, while simultaneously reducing Meek Mill, a man who’s been to prison two times, to a little boy with an adorable crush.

Let’s go back in time—as I’m sure Meek wishes he could—to 2014.

Meek and Minaj had been digging each other’s music, but it took Meek getting booked for a real relationship to start. The unapologetically vague Minaj explained to GQ that, “when he went to jail I was left in a house my myself.” The two started kicking it on the phone, forming a “strong mental connection” that blossomed into a full-fledged affair. Minaj has famously said that she’s only been in three relationships in her entire life—and was with her ex, Safaree Samuels, for over 12 years. So when Meek and Minaj took it public, fans were immediately thrown by the quick turnaround. But trust, Nicki set them straight: “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. 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.”