Nicki Minaj announces she’s pregnant with first child, reveals photos of baby bump

Nicki Minaj appears to have confirmed she and Kenneth Petty have got married, after posting a short video of Mr and Mrs mugs and bride and groom baseball caps, referencing a date, and informing fans of her new name. Video Elephant

Congratulations are in order for Nicki Minaj – she’s pregnant!

The rapper, 37, announced the news that she’s expecting her first child in a series of posts to Instagram Monday.

In the first post, Minaj wears a bikini and shows off a side view of her baby bump with the hashtag “#Preggers” and a heart emoji.

USA TODAY has reached out to Minaj’s rep for comment.

In two more posts following her initial announcement, Minaj shared more photos of her holding her growing belly. In the third post, she writes, “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes.”

Followers took to the comment section to congratulate Minaj.

Halle Berry wrote, “YES Congratulations beauty!!!!♥️♥️♥️♥️”

Sam Smith wrote, “Congratulations beautiful x”

Juicy J wrote, “Congrats!!!” with praying hands emojis.

Model Winnie Harlow wrote, “Knew it knew it knew it 😍😍😍😍 SO HAPPY FOR YOU! Love you!!”

Actress Skai Jackson wrote, “Congrats Nicki!!”

In September, Minaj announced on Twitter that she “decided to retire & have my family.” After uproar from fans, she clarified her comments in December during an interview with Billboard.

“I love music and interacting with fans, so I can’t really see taking myself completely away. But I want to be open to other possibilities in my life,” she said. “I do believe it is important to become a woman outside of the magnifying glass. I have to make sure that I’m well-rounded as a human being.”

Minaj is married to Kenneth Petty, 41. The couple tied the knot in October after nearly a year of dating.

At the time, Minaj shared her martial bliss with a video of matching “Mr. and Mrs.” mugs and coordinating “Bride” and “Groom” baseball caps. 

“10•21•19,” the rapper captioned the footage, appearing to refer to the lovebirds’ official wedding date.

Minaj and Petty started dating last year before becoming Instagram-official in December 2018. Their relationship made waves after Petty’s criminal history came to light. 

Petty is a registered, Level 2 sex offender on New York State’s Sex Offender Registry. He was assessed as posing a medium risk of committing another offense.

According to the registry, in April 1995, Petty was convicted of attempted first-degree rape in connection with a 1994 assault that occurred when both he and the victim were 16. He was sentenced to between 18 and 54 months in state prison and was released in January 1999 after serving just under four years.

The DOC website says that Petty went back to prison in 2006 after a first-degree manslaughter conviction and served nearly seven years before being released on parole in May 2013.

In March, Petty turned himself into federal custody after failing to register as a sex offender in California, the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed to USA TODAY at the time.

“Kenneth Petty self-surrendered to the U.S. Marshals in Los Angeles today,” spokesperson Lynzey Donahue said in a statement Wednesday.

Contributing: Cydney Henderson

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