Put a kettle on the stove and get comfy because it’s celebrity tea time. On today’s menu: Cardi B and Offset. Now we all know Cardi B is not one to hide her feelings. She shoots straight and doesn’t apologize. So when she and Offset went on a date to the Superbowl (!!) in February of 2017, we all knew this relationship was going to be a public affair. But the two dodged questions about dating until July of 2017, when Offset gave Cardi a personalized chain, in true Cardi fashion. On Cardi’s birthday in October, Offset shard a video and a photo, captioned “H A P P Y B D A Y U ARE AMAZING TO ME YOU GOT IT OUT DA MUDD NO HELP NOBODY WAS BELIEVING AT FIRST BUT THAT MADE YOU GO HARDER U NOT WEAK U TAKE CARE YA WHOLE FAMILY AND ME —- I L O V E Y O U.” Shakespeare could not have written anything more beautiful, in my opinion.
Later that month, rumors of Offset cheating spread when Cardi posted a selfie saying “single” and another photo saying “Peace.” But the next day, the world gave a sigh of relief when Cardi tweeted that she and Offset were still together, and explained on her Instagram story that she was just upset and “the Bronx girl in me always have to go to the extreme.” We understand Cardi. It happens to the best of us.
Love was in the air on October of the same month (a wild ride for everyone!) when Offset proposed to Cardi on stage at a sold-out performance in Philadelphia. Offset sealed the deal with a huge $500,000 teardrop stone. Cardi seemingly sealed her perfect year with a video that featured Offset for the song “Bartier Cardi,” even referencing him in the song. (If you don’t know the lyrics, you can just google it. There is only so much I can write about.)
But alas, right before Christmas 2017, a video surfaced that allegedly showed Offset cheating on Cardi with another woman. Both Offset and Cardi denied the rumors, but Cardi was without her engagement ring during a New Year’s Eve public event.
We entered 2018 hoping that Cardi and Offset could survive the New Year, and everything seemed to be off to a good start. Cardi went to twitter to defend her decision for staying with Offset after alleged cheating rumors, followed by a since-deleted Instagram video of Offset showing off his new “Cardi B” tattoo. Throughout February and March, Cardi fended off pregnancy rumors while still defending her relationship. She also released her single “Be Careful With Me” that directly addressed her relationship while giving Offset a warning in the chorus saying “Be careful with me/do you know what you doin’?/Whose feelings that you hurtin’ and brusin’?/You gon’ gain the whole world/But is it worth the girl that you’re losin’?”
In April, Cardi revealed her baby bump on SNL, confirming months of pregnancy rumours. This past June, Cardi B and Offset graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, with a feature of their relationship. At the end of June, Cardi B returned to Twitter to reveal that she and Offset had been married since September of 2017 to fend off criticism of having a child out of wedlock. (As if she needs to defend herself for that?) July welcomed the birth of their child, Kulture, followed by a seemingly calm next couple of months.
But, everyone’s worst fears were realized when Cardi announces her split with Offset at the beginning of this past December. This set off a series of strange events, including Offset tweeting “F**K YALL I MISS CARDI,” (one of my favorite tweets of 2018) and a public apology by Offset with an Instagram video posted and him crashing Cardi’s set in Los Angeles. Neither went over very well, specifically him crashing her show. But Cardi later asked fans to stop negatively commenting about Offset, saying that she didn’t like online bashing.
As of right now, they are not back together. There are rumours that all of this is just publicity for Offset’s album. Who knows? All I know is that Cardi is THRIVING and using her platform to speak about politics and addressing the government shutdown. She even got a denouncing tweet from Tomi Lahren, a true rite of passage for any politically active celebrity.
If history has taught us anything is that when it comes to Cardi B and Offset, it is truly hard to know what is coming next. All we can do is hope for their happiness, in whatever way that may look like.
Citation: www.billboard.com, “Cardi B and Offset’s Relationship: A Timeline