Nicki Minaj has revealed that she’s married convicted sex offender Kenneth ‘Zoo’ Petty.
The Grammy-nominated artist, 36, took to Instagram on Monday with a clip that told her fans she and the 41-year-old Petty had tied the knot.
The Anaconda singer wrote, ‘Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty 10•21•19,’ as she showed off ‘Bride’ and ‘Groom,’ caps and mugs which had ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs’ emblazoned on them.
Bride and groom: Nicki Minaj, 36, has married convicted sex offender Kenneth ‘Zoo’ Petty, 41 and took to Instagram to tell her fans on Monday (pictured in LA last week)
Big announcement: The Grammy-nominated artist took to Instagram on Monday with a clip that revealed the controversial news
Fellow celebs such as La La Anthony, Christina Aguilera, Winnie Harlow, Tanisha Thomas and Evelyn Lozada all wrote well-wishes in the comments section.
The Queens, New York native, whose full name is Onika Tanya Maraj, opened up on her Beats 1 radio show Queen Radio August 12 of the paperwork process leading up to the altar, as she and Petty had obtained a wedding license.
She said: ‘We still had to pick it up and I was traveling, by the time I came back, we had to renew it again.
‘From that time, you have 90 days to get married. That was about a week ago, so now I have about 80 days.’
Minaj said she was ‘very happy about that because my baby makes me so happy’ in reference to Perry, who she’s been seeing since late last year.
Friendly wishes: The comment thread under Minaj’s announcement was populated with well wishes from her fellow celebs
Nicki previously said in an interview with 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… I’m madly in love with this man, he’s also my best friend.
‘The things that used to matter to me before, don’t matter as much now. So yes, we’re going to have a big wedding eventually.’
It seems Nicki was sure they would tie the knot back in March, just four months into their romance, when she referred to him as her husband.
She then changed her Twitter name to Mrs Petty in August and often refers to him as her ‘Ken to her Barbie’.
In December, she wrote on Instagram: ‘He want me to be his wife- his MISSIS like SIPPI NOW.’
Matching: The bride and groom showed off hats emblazoned with ‘bride’ and ‘groom’
Kenneth also appeared alongside Kenneth in a steamy scene in the video for her summer single Megatron.
It includes the lyrics, ‘I f*** him like I miss him/He just came out of prison,’ which might have been an allusion to Perry’s criminal record, as he’s spent extensive time in custody.
When he was 16, Petty was convicted in 1995 of attempted rape in connection with a September 16, 1994 incident in which a woman said he ‘placed a hard circular object’ as she walked down a Queens street, leading to believe he was armed, according to The Blast.
Petty’s accuser said she led her to a home and into a bedroom and had sex with her by force, and threatened her with a knife when she tied to leave. He spent four years in prison in connection with the incident, and was also placed on the sex offender registry.
There for her: Christina Aguilera was among the well-wishers who left a note in the comments section for Nicki
Close pals: Canadian model Winnie Harlow also shared a congrats comment on Nicki’s Instagram reveal
Nicki and Kenneth first dated when the rapper was only 16 and living in Queens. New York’s age of consent is 17, and her boyfriend would have been around 21 at the time
Understandly, there was a backlash from worried and angry fans but Nicki defended Kenneth.
She wrote in the comments section that the attempted rape charge stemmed from a consensual relationship in his teens.
The comments on the post have since been disabled.
Old times: Nicki and her current beau first dated when she was only 16 and living in Queens. New York’s age of consent is 17, and her boyfriend would have been around 21 at the time
She also posted: ‘No one on social media has ever sinned. They are all perfect. ‘They p*** champagne & walk on streets of gold.’
Kenneth also has a first-degree manslaughter conviction in 2006 in the fatal 2002 shooting of a man named Lamont Robinson, which he served seven years of a 10-year sentence for, according to TMZ, as he was released from custody in 2013.
News of the marriage comes after Nicki took to Twitter to say that she’s retiring from music.
She recently wrote: ‘I’ve decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now,’
She added in a now-deleted tweet: ‘To my fans, keep reppin me, do it til da death of me, in the box- cuz ain’t nobody checkin me. Love you for LIFE.’
The musical artist has since said that the tweet was ‘insensitive to my fans…’
Fast romance: The couple, seen last month on Instagram, began dating late last year
