Nicki Minaj is officially hitched. Minaj announced that she officially married Kenneth Petty on Oct. 22, 2019, about a year after they started to date again, as the love poured in from friends and her crazed Barbz.
Minaj previously teased her retirement from the music industry to start a family in September 2019, and spoke on completing the paperwork portion of her marriage to Petty in a recent interview with The Shade Room. With that said, Minaj was still unsure if she would be having a luxurious wedding ceremony in the couple’s future.
There isn’t too much publicly known about Petty outside of his legal troubles and childhood relationship with Minaj back in Queens, but here are five things to know about Nicki’s hubby.
1. He Prefers to Go by “Zoo”
Petty’s government first name is Kenneth, but he prefers to go by Zoo. Nicki referred to her partner as “Zoo,” a nickname he picked up as a kid from his days in Queens, on numerous occasions during episodes of Queen Radio. She even introduced him as such to new guests joining the show.
2. Petty and Minaj Were Childhood Friends in Queens
TMZ broke the news in December 2018 that Petty and Minaj were childhood sweethearts, after rumors began to swirl of their dating in November. Nicki and Zoo were first a couple when Minaj was just 16 years old and still living in Queens long before her rap dreams ever took off. It was reportedly one of Nick’s first real relationships.
3. He Has a History Of Criminal Activity
Petty boasts quite the gallery of mugshots on the New York State database. As a teen, Petty was convicted of attempted rape back in 1995. He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in 2006 following gunfire that resulted in the death of Lamont Robinson in 2002, according to The Blast. People additionally reported that Petty had been on a supervised release program from 2013 to 2018 after serving seven years behind bars.
The New York State department labels Petty as a level-two sex offender, which deems him of having a moderate risk of a repeat offence. This all stems from the 1995 rape conviction of a 16-year-old, where he allegedly used a knife/cutting instrument of sorts to coerce her into sex. He was ultimately sentenced to 18 to 54 months in prison.
Minaj has clapped back at fans who criticized Petty’s past. “He was 15, she was 16… in a relationship. But go awf Internet. y’all can’t run my life. Y’all can’t even run y’all own life,” she said in December 2018.
4. He’s 42 Years Old
Petty is now 42; his rap sheet has him booked with a date of birth of April 7, 1978.
5. He Married Nicki Minaj on Oct. 21, 2019
Nicki Minaj went public with the marriage news on Tuesday (Oct. 22), saying the pair officially tied the knot on Monday (Oct. 21). The coinciding clip showed off gifts of matching “Mr. and Mrs.” mugs along with “Bride” and “Groom” caps.
“We’ll definitely do the paperwork portion of the marriage, but the actual wedding, I don’t know,” she told The Shade Room. “You know when you’re a little girl and you want this big beautiful wedding, and I used to think I was one of those girls, I always wanted the fairytale. But then the things that used to matter to you don’t matter as much.”
This article has been updated.