Hip Hop Couples Who Sadly Split
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They say that actions speak louder than words ever could, so it makes sense that so many musicians, producers, and hit makers find themselves romantically involved with one another. After all, who wouldn't want to be with a significant other who writes amazing ballads, meaningful raps, and heartfelt bridges about the other? Well, as it turns out, sometimes these musical unions aren't built to last, and when it comes to hip hop couples, there have been some devastating breakups that have influenced the music industry.
Of course, when we think of hip hop couples, we think of Beyoncé and Jay-Z and the ever on-again, off-again Cardi B and Offset — and we've been thinking about Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, too. Some of these couples have had their share of difficulties, but it seems as though it's the music that always brings them back to each other in the end. But what about the couples who haven't worked out? There are a number of them, all with intricate stories. Here are the hip hop couples who sadly split.
Kelis and Nas had some significant struggles both during and after their relationship
Let's go back to 2005 when Nas was one of the most prominent rappers in the industry. As noted by NPR, he married singer Kelis that same year, and, given how their music complemented the other, they were automatically assigned as "hip hop royalty in the public eye." But what many saw as a match made in musical heaven was far from perfect. Kelis claimed that her marriage to Nas was fraught with tension, and she and her husband argued often. In a seemingly toxic coping tactic, Nas would reportedly get "black-out drunk before becoming violent toward" Kelis. "Literally, we would have the worst night ever and we would wake up the next day, and it's like it never happened," she told Hollywood Unlocked.
The two eventually split up after five years of what Kelis described as "tumultuous and toxic," claiming she endured both physical and emotional abuse as a result. Explaining how she had "edited" herself to fit into the role in her marriage, Kelis said that she woke up one morning and said, "Not today."
Nas has denied Kelis' allegations (via Pitchfork), saying, in part, "Everything with her is a plot and a scheme. Has no merit. No foundation."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose split, but continue to be on good terms
While some couples who split can't even be in the same room together, hip hop legend Wiz Khalifa and his ex-wife, Amber Rose, are still on incredible terms. As noted by People, Khalifa and Rose didn't have the smoothest of breakups when they split in 2014, but time has healed. In a sit-down with People, Rose expressed how much love she has for her ex. "Wiz will always be my best friend, forever — we're best friends," Rose said. "It's kind of weird, because it's like we're almost better divorced, you know?"
For his part, Khalifa expressed a very similar sentiment when speaking to Playboy (via People). He said that while he was sad that his time with Rose came to an end, he was never "depressed," and was mostly concerned for his son's well-being. "My son was involved, and that hurt me because my main goal is to raise my son how I want," he shared. "I didn't know how to deal with it and didn't understand that feeling. A year later, I'm way smarter and better equipped to deal with it."
Although their split was sad, maybe it was what was meant to be for Khalifa and Rose.
French Montana and Khloé Kardashian will always have love for each other
If there is one family that garners the attention of everyone, it's the Kardashians. And if you know a little something about hip hop couples, then you know that Khloé Kardashian and hip hop hit-maker French Montana were something of an item in the past. As noted by People, the two were together for about a year, but eventually called it quits in 2014. While Kardashian's love life has gone on to be increasingly complicated (we're looking at you, Tristan Thompson), there is no love lost between her and Montana.
In a sit-down with Haute Living in 2019, Montana revealed that he and Kardashian "are always going to be friends," and that they had a "dope relationship" when they were together. "There was no bad blood, nobody did something to somebody that we couldn't come back from," he said, revealing that what he felt for the reality star "was real." And it appears as though these two can still get together as friends, because Montana was even in attendance at a Kardashian birthday bash in 2019. A sad split for sure, but we're glad these two were okay in the long run.
Ciara and Future's breakup was brutal
There are some breakups that are for the best and leave the two parties involved far better off. But that isn't the case for everyone, and hip hop couple Future and Ciara had a brutal breakup that definitely appeared to take its toll. The pair were engaged (and broke up) all the way back in the mid-2010s (via Us Weekly), but in an appearance on Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Jones' "Red Table Talk" in 2019, Ciara revealed just how heartbreaking the separation was.
"I'd have moments when I would be in the shower, I'd be crying," she said. "Crying in the bedroom, crying in the shower ... crying because I am not in the happiest place, and it hurts what I'm going through." In addition to her own heartbreak, Ciara expressed her concern about the couple's son, Future Zahir, and expressed that she worried about not being able to provide a steady parenting unit for him. "I grew [up] with my mom and dad being together, the idea of it being, 'Mommy and Daddy that made baby,' and then also you're living your life in front of the world," she shared.
Kanye West and Amber Rose had an alarming breakup
When you think of Kanye West, you probably think about his separation from reality star Kim Kardashian. The "Gold Digger" singer and hip hop icon (whether you love him or hate him) has been on the scene for a while — here's the truth about his dating history — and his relationship with Kardashian has been highly publicized. But it was his breakup with Amber Rose that originally had our heads spinning.
Rose told the "No Jumper" podcast that West both attacked her in public and shamed her after they went their separate ways in 2010. "That's what narcissists do, right? You share two years with someone ... then the person decides that this is not what they want their life to be. I opted out," she said. "I don't want my life to be like that. I'm not that type of person." Rose went on to claim that West went on a campaign of sorts and attacked her image repeatedly. For example, West told the Breakfast Club that he needed to take "30 showers" to wash Rose off of him. When asked why she thought he'd do such a thing, Rose shared, "I don't know if he says things to make his wife more comfortable."
Surprising couple Kate Beckinsale and Goody Grace called it quits in 2020
This was a hip hop couple that no one saw coming. Kate Beckinsale, the actress known for her roles in "Underworld" and "Jolt," and Canadian rapper Good Grace became something of an item in April 2020. As noted by People, the duo spent a majority of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown period together, and Beckinsale even reportedly called Grace the "perfect quarantine boyfriend." But as you may have guessed, these two were not cut out to last. First and foremost, there was more than a 20-year age gap between the two (Beckinsale was 47 and Grace was 23 when they were a couple), and their lives were in completely different places.
When they called it quits in October 2020, Beckinsale was reportedly unfazed by the entire situation. "It's not a big deal for Kate," an inside source said. "It was great for Kate to have him around during the lockdown," they continued, but went on to share that the rapper was "young and has other priorities than her."
The first indication that things were going sour took place on social media, when Beckinsale unfollowed her then-beau and deleted a comment that read, "I love you," that she'd left on a birthday post, according to the Daily Mail.
Treach and Pepa had a breakup full of allegations
This is a breakup where we don't even know where to begin. It involves the very chaotic divorce of rappers Treach of Naughty By Nature and Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa. Let's start with Pepa's side of the story. After the couple's divorce in 2001 (via Showbiz CheatSheet), Pepa told Essence in an interview that she had suffered from "verbal abuse" as a result of her marriage. In her 2008 book, "Let's Talk About Pep," Pepa includes details about her experience while married to Treach for almost 10 years — and, while she shares that she doesn't hold resentment toward her ex, she's done her best to focus on her own "personal journey."
Treach, on his part, claims that he and Pepa had an open marriage and that Pepa cheated on him with the couple's girlfriend. As he recalled to Power 105, Pepa allegedly was involved with their girlfriend on an occasion without Treach, which he thought crossed a line. "I just got cheated on. I didn't have to [cheat]. I'm a man with two women," Treach said, as noted by EurWeb. Whether his claims are true in any way remains a mystery.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Big Sean and Naya Rivera got engaged and later called it quits
For those of us who were (and are) fans of the mid-2010s hip hop scene, Big Sean and Naya Rivera were the king and queen. The pair started dating in April 2013 and announced their engagement in October of the same year. They seemed to be the "it" couple, destined for a storybook romance, but by April 2014 they called it quits. Of course, what made their breakup that much more heartbreaking was Rivera's death in 2020 — after disappearing while boating — after which Sean broke his silence about the person he once wanted to spend his life with.
Sean paid tribute to Rivera on Instagram in the wake of her death, writing, "Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. You are a hero!" He praised both her resilience and her bravery, highlighting just how many hurdles Rivera broke down in her career and how she made people "feel confident in themselves and ... stand tall and be proud when they couldn't achieve that on their own." Sean's tribute to his ex-fiancée concluded by thanking her for teaching him to be "a better person."
Drake and Rihanna had a complicated relationship
Is there a hip hop couple with a more complicated relationship than Drake and Rihanna? As noted by Billboard, the pair have been the ultimate on-again, off-again couple since as early as 2005, though it wasn't until 2009 when relationship rumors spread. As noted by Page Six, this is when the duo made an appearance in New York, where they really seemed to hit it off. "She was drinking whiskey and apple juice and making out with him all night," an eyewitness said at the time. "They were really cute together."
But, of course, it didn't last. Just a year later, Drake told The New York Times that Rihanna had used him as a "pawn" and that he felt "terrible" after being presumably used by her. By 2013, he told the likes of Ellen DeGeneres in an interview that he and Rihanna "had [their] moment," but that it was over. Then, two years later, Rihanna denied having ever dated Drake in the first place. Of course, everyone remembers Drake's passionate speech at the 2016 MTV VMAs that propped Rihanna up front and center, but things fizzled once again, with Rihanna reportedly wincing when his name came up in a 2018 interview with Vogue.
Were the Kardashians to blame for Blac Chyna and Tyga's messy breakup?
You're pretty much guaranteed drama when the Kardashians are involved, and the clan was certainly an influencing factor when it comes to the breakup of hip hop couple Blac Chyna and Tyga. While Tyga is the rapper behind tracks such as "Taste" and "Ibiza," Chyna rose to fame as a model. As noted by People, the couple met all the way back in 2011, had a son together, and broke up in August 2014.
What was the source of their turmoil? It might have been Kylie Jenner. In an appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show," Chyna revealed that while "sometimes things don't work out," she didn't appreciate how public her split from Tyga became. "The way that it went about, like publicly, wasn't right. And then even, like, not publicly it wasn't right," she said.
While she didn't name Jenner outright for causing the end of their engagement, Chyna did say in the interview that "something did kind of expedite" her split from Tyga. Jenner met Tyga in 2011, though they reportedly didn't begin dating until 2014 when she was 17. They eventually called it quits three years later in April 2017 (via Billboard). Chyna went on to date Jenner's half-brother, Rob Kardashian, and gave birth to daughter Dream before ending their relationship (via People) — though they're now committed to co-parenting their daughter.
Ray J and Princess Love had a complicated divorce
Marriage — and sometimes divorce — can be a fickle thing. For some couples, divorce is the best path forward for a relationship gone south. For others, it's a one-sided affair that results in heartache and confusion. Hip hop couple Ray J and Princess Love certainly fall into the latter category. As noted by Entertainment Tonight, the two have gone back and forth between divorcing and staying together multiple times. Love reportedly filed for divorce in May 2020 but requested to have the case dismissed in court shortly after, leading many to presume that the couple had reconciled. But, no such luck, because J filed his own papers in September 2020, proving that the couple really were on rocky footing. Entertainment Tonight confirmed the filing at the time.
Speaking to the outlet about the decision, J revealed that he hadn't "had a chance to sit back and think about it," possibly explaining the on-again, off-again dynamic. "I just think that I want to make sure everybody is happy ... You know, sometimes it's the best thing to do," he said, adding that he "went to God" before making the final decision to go through with the divorce.
Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill had a very messy breakup
Nicki Minaj has made it known throughout her time in the hip hop scene that she marches to the beat of her own drum, and she seemed to implore that tactic when she split from Meek Mill after dating him for two years. As noted by Billboard, the two began dating in 2014 but called it quits in a fiery and accusatory manner. Since then, they've both taken to social media to war it out, with Minaj alleging that her ex beats women, and Mill accusing Minaj of taking her brother's side while he was facing child rape accusations.
If social media was bad, taking their frustrations to their music was a new development. Mill even let it slip to fans that his album, "Wins & Losses," would "address everything" that went down with Minaj, as noted by Spin. Cut to January 2020, almost four years after they called it quits, and Minaj and Mill went viral on social media for getting into a screaming match at a store in West Hollywood (TMZ captured the footage). The following month, the exes took their war back to Twitter and had at each other yet again, so it's safe to say that these two aren't fans of one another.
Saweetie denied rumors that she and Quavo were back together after their split
People were pretty surprised when hip hop couple Saweetie and Quavo split up after three years of dating, but that didn't stop less-than-flattering news from coming out about their dynamic. As noted by NBC News, a video from 2020 came to light after their breakup that showed a physical altercation between them in an elevator. Quavo maintained that he never physically hurt Saweetie, and the exes put out a statement saying that they had moved on from the matter.
Saweetie hit the headlines yet again when rumors of a reconciliation between her and Quavo began to circulate about five months after they initially split up. While stories were gaining traction about the exes "quietly" spending time together, Saweetie took to Twitter to set the record straight, as noted by Billboard. "Pinocchio a** article" she tweeted, alongside an article spreading the false reconciliation story about her and her ex. Apparently, when Saweetie and Quavo initially broke up, we all should've believed her first tweet: "I'm single. I've endured too much betrayal and hurt behind the scenes for a false narrative to be circulating that degrades my character."
Why did Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri split up?
Janet Jackson dominated '80s and '90s hip hop and R&B. A member of the Jackson family who took the hip hop world by storm, Jackson was a trailblazer in her own right, continuing to make music to this day. But her relationship with producer Jermaine Dupri back in the early 2000s certainly served as a moniker of her life, as the couple spent eight years together before calling it quits. So what ultimately made this long-lasting couple call it a day on their relationship?
Dupri talked about their time together on rapper T.I.'s podcast, "expediTIously," explaining that geography played a factor in their breakup. "She wasn't willing to move to Atlanta. She was willing to come out here for a couple of weeks," he shared. "But living in Atlanta, for her, just didn't really seem like L.A."
However, there may have been more to the story, as sources told Us Weekly at the time that the two had mixed "business" and "pleasure" (Dupri had produced tracks on Jackson's albums) and that Jackson felt they should be kept separate.