Nicki Minaj’s love story has come full circle. After rekindling a romance with her high school sweetheart, Kenneth ‘Zoo’ Petty,’ at the end of 2018, they tied the knot on Oct. 21, 2019. Here’s what you should know about the groom.
UPDATE (10/22/19, 1:10 a.m.): Kenneth “Zoo” Petty is now married to his high school sweetheart, Nicki Minaj! The rapper broke the big news with a video clip of their wedding swag — Mr. and Mrs. mugs, and a “Bride” baseball cap. The bride captioned the post, “👰🏽🤵🏽😢🙏🏽🎀 Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty 10•21•19.” Now, study up on Nicki’s high school sweetheart-turned-husband:
ORIGINAL (12/05/18): Nicki Minaj, 35, has had fans going wild over the last week after sharing a photo with a mystery man while rocking a massive diamond on her ring finger. Her Barbz still haven’t gotten word from the rapper on whether or not her she got engaged, but her rumored boyfriend has been identified as Kenneth “Zoo” Petty, according to Bossip. So if you’re wondering who this new man is and what happened to Lewis Hamilton, 33 — aren’t we all? — you’re in luck because we’ve got everything you need to know about her possible new boo. Take a look!
1. Kenneth has a criminal record. After Nicki posted more shots with her mystery man sporting Snapchat filters, Kenneth was identified. His criminal record and mug shot are accessible to the public, and he reportedly was convicted of the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl back in 1995. At the time, he would have been about twenty. And now, he is a registered sex offender. Twitter users really don’t think Nicki should be affiliating herself with a rapist, writing on Twitter, “Ooh chile this 👏🏿 right 👏🏿 here!!! Sources are saying that #nickiminaj new boo is #kennethzoopetty who is not only the father of 5… but he’s also a registered sex offender in the state of #newyork Looks like one of his baby mama’s.”
2. He’s a dad. Kenneth allegedly is the father to five children, although it is unknown at this time how old they are and who he had them with.
3. He lives in Queens. Recall Nicki is from this borough herself! While she was born in Trinidad, she was raised in New York. This is reportedly where Kenneth and Nicki were when they took pics together around Thanksgiving.
4. Kenneth is older than Nicki. He has been identified as a 40-year-old father of five.
5. He may already have a girlfriend. Rumor has it, Kenneth was seeing someone named Noelle before Nicki came back into town and they started hanging. Whether they’re still dating, or whether he’s even in a romantic relationship with Nicki at all, remains unclear.
Hollywoodlife.com has reached out to Nicki Minaj’s rep for comment.