Nicki Minaj Announces She’s Pregnant With Her First Child

Pound the alarm: Nicki Minaj is expecting her first child with husband Kenneth Petty. 

The rap icon announced she’s pregnant in a brightly colored Instagram post on Monday morning. In the first photo, a glowing Minaj cradles her belly while wearing an ornately decorated bikini. 

″#Preggers,” she wrote in the caption, alongside a yellow heart emoji. 

Minaj then shared two more photos of herself, much to the delight of her millions of fans, who filled her comments with congratulations. 

In the caption of a photo of the rapper draped over a couch, Minaj wrote, “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes.”

Minaj and Petty got married in October, after more than a year together. 

A month before the two tied the knot, Minaj surprised just about everyone by abruptly announcing her retirement from the rap game, writing at the time, “I’ve decided to retire & have my family. I know you guys are happy now.”

While the retirement didn’t necessarily stick ― she’s released a slew of songs and popped up in a handful of music videos since then ― Minaj has long expressed her desire to become a mother. 

“If I’m done with my fifth album and I don’t have a child by then, no matter how much money I have, I would be disappointed, as a woman, because I feel like I was put here to be a mother,” she told Complex back in 2014. “I have definitely put off the wife thing because I don’t want people in my business. I’d rather not do anything that’s going to be on paper but I definitely will be married before I have my baby. I want to make sure I do it in that order.”

Her legion of fans, dubbed Barbz, have kept their eyes out for news about a potential Minaj pregnancy since a few months ago, when she sparked speculation with her tweets. 

In May, Minaj responded to a fan who asked if she was experiencing morning sickness.

“Lmao,” she tweeted. “No throwing up. But nausea and peeing non stop. Omg what do u think this means guys???? Lmaooooooooooo”

Minaj later told her curious minds they’ll have to wait a “couple months” for a baby bump confirmation, teasing, “The world ain’t ready yet.”