Earlier this month, Cardi B and Offset celebrated the sixth anniversary of their marriage. Writing on Instagram that she loves “the fact that I’m with a grown ass man that’s going to provide, protect, and help both of us GROW,” Cardi is part of one of the most notable romances in the entertainment industry and one that has been making headlines since it first began.
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This is the story of the musical marriage between Cardi B and Offset.
How It All Began
Cardi B, who began her career on the cast of the VH1 reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York, started taking her rap endeavors seriously with the releases of her back-to-back mixtapes Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1 (2016) and Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 (2017). For the second rendition, though, which was released in January 2017, she recruited Offset to feature on the second song “Lick.”
In the midst of roaring success for his group Migos, Offset’s appearance was a highlight on the project, as it saw him establish chemistry with his rising counterpart, Cardi B. Later that year, the two would spark a romance stemming from this collaboration, going public as a couple just months after “Lick.”
Building a Family
By October 2017, Cardi B and Offset officially became engaged, when the latter got down on one knee and proposed during the former’s performance at the Power 99 Powerhouse Fest in Philadelphia.
“I can’t even breathe,” she told the crowd. “I am too emotional today but we still gonna keep it gangsta.”
By April 2018, the two were already expecting their first child, as Cardi revealed she was six months pregnant during her guest spot on Saturday Night Live, the same weekend she released her Grammy-winning debut studio album Invasion of Privacy.
In fact, as their relationship grew stronger, Cardi and Offset’s joint catalog also beefed up. On top of making an appearance alongside Migos on Invasion of Privacy‘s “Drip,” Offset also welcomed Cardi (and Nicki Minaj) onto Migos’ prior October 2017 “MotorSport,” which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, what the public didn’t know, is that Cardi and Offset had already been married since before Offset’s public proposal. Breaking the news in June 2018, TMZ uncovered a marriage license issued to Cardi and Offset in September 2017. Cardi would soon corroborate this story.
“This why I name my album ‘Invasion of Privacy’ cause people will do the most to be nosey about your life. Welp fuck it,” she wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “There are so many moments that I share with the world and then there are moments that I want to keep for myself. Getting married was one of those moments! Our relationship was so new breaking up and making up and we had a lot of growing up to do but we was so in love we didn’t want to lose each other.”
Cardi B would eventually give birth to her and Offset’s first child in July 2018, naming the girl Kulture Kiari Cephus. However, Cardi B and Offset would separate later that year in December, in the midst of Offset rolling out his debut solo album Father of 4.
Healing and Pushing Forward
February 2019 would be a momentous month for Cardi and Offset. Publicly reuniting at the Grammy Awards, where Offset joined the mother of his child on stage as she accepted her trophy for Best Rap Album, it appeared that the two were back on good terms.
What further accentuated this theory was Offset finally releasing Father of 4 on February 22, 2019, which not only included a feature verse from Cardi on the song “Clout,” but also saw their daughter Kulture on the cover art alongside Offset’s three other kids from other women.
The next few years would continue the prosperity of the duo. Though Cardi would file for divorce in September 2020, she would soon rescind the request, citing how important Offset was in her life.
“[We’re] just typical two young motherfuckers that got married early,” she said in an Instagram Live video. “That’s just what we are…. We’re no different than y’all’s dysfunctional ass relationships.”
A year later (2021), Cardi would give birth to her and Offset’s first son, naming him Wave Set Cephus. Then in September 2022, the fifth anniversary of their secret marriage, Cardi announced their plans to have an official, public wedding.
“5 years married……it’s time for my wedding,” she tweeted.
At the moment, Cardi and Offset are both in the process of rolling out their respective sophomore solo albums. To produce some excitement for his LP, which Cardi insisted should be in the running for a Grammy, Offset released the promotional single “Jealousy” in July of this year, featuring a verse from his wife.
Set It Off by Offset is set to release on October 15.
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Capture Studio Group)
