Cardi B has hit her breaking point.
The 28-year-old rapper is at the top of her game. The hits, both in English and Spanish, continue to come in. She beams confidence, keeps up on current events, and encourages the youth to care about what's happening in their country.
Yet, Cardi (Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar) hasn't enjoyed the same kind of stability and success in her private life. She has filed for divorce from her husband, Migos rapper Offset (Kiari Kendrell Cephus), after three years of marriage.
Many who have recently taken issue with the provocative nature of Cardi's music think that the rapper's inability to be wholesome is behind her split. But that's not the case.
Cardi has decided on divorce after more reports of Offset's infidelities, People reports. His unfaithfulness was behind their last split in December 2018.
Cardi has opened up about the fact that like so many women, she tried to look past the issue. She wanted to make the relationship work for their 2-year-old daughter, Kulture Kiari.
Cardi B and Offset have had a tumultuous relationship for some time. Now, they're calling it quits. Cardi filed for divorce on Tuesday in an Atlanta court. The filings state that the marriage is "irretrievably broken" and "there are no prospects for a reconciliation," People reports.
Cardi and Offset quietly married in Atlanta in September 2017. They didn't reveal the news to the public until June 2018, and it was after quite a bit went down between the two.
In January 2018, Cardi shared that speculation that Offset was on video being intimate with another woman was true. She also admitted that she'd likely forgive him, explaining that this happens in a lot of relationships and ultimately it's up to the people in those relationships to decide how to move forward.
The following month, Cardi spoke more on her decision in an interview with Cosmopolitan.
"I know I look good, I know I'm rich, I know I'm talented. I know I could get any man I want — any basketball player, football player," she said.
"But I want to work out my [expletive] with my man, and I don't got to explain why."
"I'm not your property. This is my life … I'm going to take my time, and I'm going to decide on my decision," she continued.
"It's not right, what he [expletive] did — but people don't know what I did, 'cause I ain't no angel."
The two stayed together in the following months. In April 2018, Cardi revealed she was pregnant. It was the first child for her and the fourth for Offset.
Kulture Kiari was born on July 10, 2018. It was an exciting time for the couple. Just a month later, things took a turn when the drama started up again.
Cardi was accused of ordering an attack on two bartenders in a strip club in Queens, New York, because one of them allegedly had an affair with Offset. She was indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges, including two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of assault. She pleaded not guilty, and a verdict has not been reached in the case.
Problems between Cardi and Offset continued and in December 2018, she revealed they were no longer together.
"So everybody been bugging me and everything and you know I've been trying to work things out with my baby's father for a hot minute now," she said.
"We are really good friends and we are really good business partners — you know he's always somebody that I run to talk to, and we got a lot of love for each other — but things just haven't been working out between us for a long time."
"It's nobody fault I guess we just grew out of love, but we are not together anymore. It might take time to get a divorce and I'm going to always have a lot of love for him because he is my daughter's father."
Offset openly expressed regret during that time, doing everything he could to win Cardi back. He offered a lengthy apology on Instagram.
"I only got one birthday wish and that's to get my wife back Cardi," he said.
"We're going through a lot of things right now, a lot of things in the media. I want to apologize to you Cardi. I embarrassed you. I made you go crazy."
He also admitted to being wrong for stepping out on her. "I was partaking in activity that I shouldn't have been partaking in, and I apologize. You know what I'm saying? For breaking your heart, for breaking our promise, for breaking God's promise and being a selfish, messed up husband."
In January 2019, Cardi decided to take Offset back. "It's just like — to make things perfect … it takes time," she said.
"You know, [expletive] and hanging out doesn't mean that you guys are on like a perfect note, it takes time. It takes time. And it's a marriage, and there's a child involved and family involved."
In January 2020, Cardi looked back at that decision in an interview with Vogue.
"When me and my husband got into our issues — you know, he cheated and everything — and I decided to stay with him and work together with him, a lot of people were so mad at me; a lot of women felt disappointed in me," she revealed.
"But it's real-life [expletive]. If you love somebody and you stop being with them, and you're depressed and social media is telling you not to talk to that person because he cheated, you're not really happy on the inside until you have the conversation. Then, if you get back with them, it's like, how could you? You let all of us down."
She added: "People that be in marriages for years, when they say till death do us part, they not talking about little arguments like if you leave the fridge open. That's including everything."
"Everybody has issues," she said later in the interview.
"I believe in forgiveness. I prayed on it. Me and my husband, we prayed on it. We had priests come to us. And we just came to an understanding like, bro, it's really us against the world."
"He has my back for everything, I have his back for everything, so when you cheat, you're betraying the person that has your back the most. Why would you do that? We have come to a clear understanding. For me, monogamy is the only way."
Sources close to Cardi say she's sticking to her guns. As more rumors about infidelity circulated, she knew what she had to do.
"Offset has pretty much cheated the entire time [they've been together], but Cardi looked the other way because of the baby," the source said.
"She also didn't want to be embarrassed. But she's had enough."
In her 2020 interview with Elle, Cardi acknowledged again that the marriage took constant work.
"I do know that my relationship has a lot of drama and everything. But there's a lot of love, there's a lot of passion, there's a lot of trust, there's a big friendship. It's always us against the world," she said.
