Cardi B and Offset have been thrilling us with their on-again/off-again romance for over three years now, a lifetime in celebrity dating. It seemed like every day, Black Twitter had something new to go in on, from cheating rumors to secret babies to a real baby. Through it all, there was always something about the way Cardi would tweet about “Set,” about the graphic references to him in her songs, and about Offset’s telling the New York Times “She’s No. 1, so every time I’m hitting the charts, I’ve got to be Top 10.” Their love story may be coming to an end again, but it warrants a reread.
January 20, 2017: Almost two years ago, Cardi B and Offset first collaborated on her song “Lick,” a single off of Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2. At that point, Cardi B was still more well-known as a reality-TV star, and Migos’ second album, Culture (which featured the instantly iconic “Bad and Boujee”), was just about to drop.
February 5, 2017: All the dating rumors that had been swirling around were finally vindicated when Cardi and Offset went to the Super Bowl together. Cardi B posted a fun string of Instagram Stories and, at one point, Offset went live. Of course, they rooted for the Atlanta Falcons (insert Offset’s bird noise). Cardi B admits that she’s “only going for the Atlanta Falcon n- - - -s because them motherfucking Patriot n- - - -s, they support Donald Trump.”
February 14, 2017: In a since-deleted post, Cardi shared her Valentine’s Day date with Offset.
March 17, 2017: But before things get too serious, Cardi B denies dating “an Atlanta guy.” She doesn’t even call him by his name.
April 16, 2017: Cardi continues this trend throughout this “Will they/Won’t they?” phase of their relationship. In an incredible and odd interview with Tim Westwood, she calls Offset “the boy” multiple times, refusing to say the man’s name. Power moves only.
May 1, 2017: Cardi and Offset show off the drip at a Met Gala afterparty, all but confirming that Cardi puts the pussy on Offset.
July 25, 2017: Offset’s jeweler posts this incredible piece for Cardi B, just a casual little late summer gift to his girl.
September 20, 2017: Cardi B and Offset get married. But we don’t know that yet.
October 11, 2017: Happy Birthday, Bardi! Offset shares a sweet post on Instagram, with an all-caps caption.
October 22, 2017: It isn’t long before there’s trouble in paradise. Cardi writes “Single” on an Instagram story, as if to tell the world she and Offset are done. But almost as quickly as they were broken up, she tweets that they were never not together. She was just being petty about a blanket.
October 27, 2017: In front of thousands of people, Offset got down on one knee to propose to Cardi B at Powerhouse 2017. She’s genuinely surprised, probably because they were already married. Later, she tells Jimmy Fallon that she thought Offset was gonna surprise her with something, since he missed her birthday.
November 18, 2017: After a complicated court case, Offset reveals he has three kids with three other women, one of whom is taking him to court for unpaid child support. Really puts the 8-karat ring into perspective.
December 8, 2017: The music video for “Motorsport” by Migos, featuring Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, drops. In case you weren’t yet aware, Cardi gets “Offset off.” She turns “Offset on.”
December 14, 2017: Not to be outdone, when Offset’s 26th birthday rolled around (who here is surprised that the rapper is a Sagittarius?), Cardi B got him a Rolls-Royce. A $400,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith. Given to him at his Met Gala–themed birthday party, “The Set Gala,” which featured a massive Bentley ice sculpture. There’s nothing left to say.
December 22, 2017: Cardi B’s next single off of Invasion of Privacy is released. Just like in “Motorsport,” she delivers a line about her sex life: “Cardi put the pussy on Offset (Say what?) / Cartier, Cardi B brain on Offset.” The instant hit made it to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, but fans were a little annoyed that Cardi kept referencing her man in songs. She did not care.
December 25, 2017: Over the holiday weekend, Offset’s iCloud was hacked, releasing photos and videos of a naked Cardi onto the internet. The hacker also shared a photo of another woman, allegedly taken by Offset. Cardi didn’t immediately respond to the cheating allegations, but she did make it clear she’s fine with people seeing her naked.
December 28, 2017: An Instagram model named Celina Powell claims she’s pregnant with Offset’s child. Pretty much everyone shrugs, because at this point, anything is possible. But Cardi and Offset flat-out deny it. Celina later comes out with the truth (after a friend exposes her) and Cardi B just laughs.
December 30, 2017: At Holiday Hip-Hop Festival, Cardi B delivered Beyoncé’s ominous “You [do] that shit again, you gon’ lose your wife” line onstage. Was it a reference to the cheating rumors? A warning to Offset to get it together? Or a necessary tribute to Beyoncé, whom we should all invoke at least once a day?
2018
January 20, 2018: Needless to say, CardiSet does not enter 2018 on a good note. Fans and critics call out Migos for their homophobic lyrics and Cardi defends him. The internet considers canceling Cardi.
April 5, 2018: Cardi B’s much-anticipated debut album drops. Invasion of Privacy features Migos on the song Drip, but the more important Offset reference happens in Be Careful. In the slow, intimidating rap, Cardi goes off on her cheating boo, even thinking (out loud) of ways to murder him. She may reference Lemonade, but it’s clear that Cardi’s version of that story ends at Don’t Hurt Yourself.
April 7, 2018: Pregnancy rumors are a constant possibility with female celebrities. After vehemently denying them (“No, bitch, I’m just getting fat”), the Saturday Night Live camera pulls back on a glowing Cardi B during her guest performance to reveal her baby bump as she raps Be Careful.
June 25, 2018: Surprise! Belcalis Almanzar and Kiari Kendrell Cephus have been married for months! Cardi B shared a photo of the nuptials, which took place on the same day as the proposal, in Georgia, with Cardi’s cousin as a witness. Later, Cardi posted a Notes app explanation, adding, “This is why I name my album Invasion of Privacy.”
July 10, 2018: Welcome to the world, Kulture! Cardi B and Offset welcomed their first child in July, a baby girl named Kulture.
August 29, 2018: Fans freak out over Cardi B’s allegedly fighting a woman whom she thought Offset was cheating with. Neither Cardi nor Offset address this rumor, but the other women involved deny having slept with Offset.
September 10, 2018: Nicki Minaj taunts Cardi B on her radio show following their altercation at NYFW, claiming to have knowledge that Cardi ordered an attack on women she believed had slept with Offset during their relationship. “You getting girls beat up because of what your man’s doing? Who are you angry at, sweetheart? You got these women crying and scared to leave their house,” Nicki says. “This is not about Offset. There are women out here running hurt, running wild. There’s a reason why she’s doing these things.”
October 1, 2018: Cardi B is charged with assault and reckless endangerment in connection with an altercation at a New York strip club in August. She’s accused of attacking two female bartenders, who go by Jade and Baddie G, at the Angels Strip Club in Queens, having believed that Jade had slept with Offset, which Jade denied. Jade, who is currently dating Tekashi 6ix9ine, claims that Cardi had ordered a separate attack on her on another date in August and “threatened” her for months, including in person and on Instagram.
October 9, 2018: In her W magazine profile, Cardi B addresses the cheating scandal. “Every single day there’s rumors about me and my dude,” she admits. “And it almost drives me crazy, because I start to believe them.”
November 29, 2018: Offset tells the New York Times that he and Cardi B plan to do a joint album. “The difference that I’ve seen in him lately is that he’s in an adoring, loving relationship,” Offset’s lawyer, Drew Findling, tells the Times. “He’s a tremendous Cardi fan and in like fashion, she’s a tremendous Kiari Cephus fan.”
December 4, 2018: A woman claiming to be a friend of rapper Cuban Doll’s accuses Offset of attempting to cheat on Cardi with Cuban Doll and another woman. She shares screenshots of his alleged texts dated June 28 (shortly before Kulture was born) with Cuban Doll suggesting a threesome with her and another woman, as well as photos of them on FaceTime together. Offset denies any inappropriate behavior in a since-deleted message.
December 5, 2018: In a classic Cardi B Instagram video, recalling the days of “a hoe never gets cold,” before the international stardom, the marriage, and the baby, Cardi B tells the world that she and Offset are no longer together. “We got a lot of love for each other but things just haven’t been working out between us for a long time,” she tells the camera. Despite Offset’s defeated comment, “Y’all won,” this is one couple that might be able to maintain the friendship, not to mention the business partnership.
Awkward timing be damned, Cardi later shares the precious first full-face photo of their daughter, Kulture, who’s at the center of this whole mess.
December 6, 2018: Summer Bunni, one of the women Offset allegedly cheated on Cardi B with, issues quite the tearful statement and apology to Cardi for sleeping with her man. “I didn’t know how serious this marriage was” she told TMZ, claiming that she hasn’t “messed” with Offset since Kulture was born. “I feel ashamed … I never wanted to break up a happy home.” She added on Instagram, “I will always be woman enough to admit when I was wrong, and in this situation I was. Seeing another woman’s pain does not bring me any joy, nor do I thing [sic] it’s funny.” Meanwhile, Cuban Doll throws in her two cents, tweeting she “never went to new or lean,” a reference to Offset’s alleged texts arranging their tryst, presumably meaning New Orleans. In another plot twist, TMZ also reports that Summer previously co-starred in Nicki Minaj’s Fefe video over the summer. Stir! That! Pot!
December 8, 2018: Since she can’t do a mass-delete of all the times she mentions Offset in her songs, Cardi got creative at Chicago’s B96 Jingle Bash. She rapped, “I get up set off / I turn Offset on / I told him the other day / Yeah, we gon’ get a divorce” in the Migos song Motorsport. The original lyric is “Man, we should sell that porn.” Cardi really said “thank u, next.”
December 9, 2018: The feeling is not mutual. Offset tweeted early Sunday morning, presumably after being tagged in that video of Cardi rapping a thousand times, “FUCK YALL I MISS CARDI.” Somewhere, Cardi B is twerking to her own lyric from I Like It: “I like texts from my exes when they want a second chance.”
Later that day, Cardi went live on Instagram and addressed rumors that her relationship was fake. “Ain’t no type of publicity that I would ever want that would have my daughter looking at me crazy when she gets older,” she said, as fans sent heart emojis and congratulated her on her Grammy nominations.
December 14, 2018: Oh no, well, Offset took to his Instagram Friday to tell Cardi (and his nearly 10 million followers) that all he wants for Christmas his birthday is you, baby. “I want to apologize to you, Cardi. I know I embarrassed you,” he says. “I love you and Kulture. I want to spend Christmas with you. I want to be able to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Later that night, Offset dropped in on 21 Savage’s performance at the Rolling Loud Festival in L.A. TMZ reported that Savage got the crowd to chant “Cardi, take Offset back! Cardi, take Offset back!” Cardi has yet to respond, and Offset celebrated his b-day at the club alone.
December 15, 2018: Offset crashes Cardi’s set at Rolling Loud, wheeling out massive bouquets of roses and begging for forgiveness.
December 21, 2018: Two weeks after announcing their split, Cardi B and Offset are photographed jet skiing together while on vacation in Puerto Rico. A sign they’re making things work?
December 24, 2018: “I just had to get fucked, that’s all,” Cardi clarified on Instagram Live.
2019
January 31, 2019: Leaving a court appearance for her strip-club altercation case, Cardi B says she and Offset are “working things out, baby.”
April 17, 2019: Offset drops “Clout” featuring Cardi B and they’re officially back to musical displays of affection.
June 25, 2019: Cardi B pleads not guilty to two felony charges and several lesser charges related to the strip-club altercation.
December 4, 2019: After Jade, one of the defendants in Cardi B’s case, exposes a DM allegedly from Offset saying “Miss u fr,” Cardi and the Migo claim he was hacked.
2020
September 15, 2020: We should have known when there were no Offset references in “WAP.” Cardi B files for divorce from Offset days before their third wedding anniversary. According to the filing, the marriage is “irretrievably broken” with “no prospects for a reconciliation.”
September 19, 2020: Cardi has a heart-to-heart on Instagram Live touching on reasons for the divorce. “Nothing crazy out of this world happened, sometimes people really do grow apart,” she said. “I’ve been with this man for four years. I have a kid with this man, I have a household with this man,” Cardi said. “Sometimes you’re just tired of the arguments and the buildups. You get tired sometimes. And before something bad happens, before you get left or cheated on, sometimes you just want to leave. What is so bad about that?”
October 11, 2020: And sometimes you just wanna have fun on your birthday. What is so bad about that? The nearly divorced Cardi B and Offset were seen kissing and dancing at her 28th birthday party (and after-party) in Las Vegas. A WAP does what a WAP wants, but it has until November 4, their first court hearing, to decide if it wants a divorce.
October 13, 2020: Okay, it’s decided. (For now.) Cardi B explained why she’s back with Offset in an Instagram Live session and it’s not why you think. Unless you think she’s dickmatized, in which case … “When people be saying I be doing shit for attention, with this and that — No, I’m just a crazy bitch,” she says. “One day I’m happy, the next day I wanna beat a n- - -a up. Fucking ‘Imma teach your ass. I’m not playing with your ass. You gon’ see’ … Then, it’s hard not to talk to your best friend. It’s really hard not to talk to your best friend. And it’s really hard to have no dick.”
2021
September 4, 2021: Cardi B gives birth to the couple’s second child, later revealing his name to be Wave Set Cephus.
December 21, 2021: Cardi B celebrates Offset’s 30th birthday lavishly. At his party, she presents him with an oversize $2 million check. “Happy birthday to my huuuuusband, best friend and babydaaadddyyy 😩😂😂 ,” she captions an Instagram post on December 13. “I love you so much and I’m so proud of you. We have overcome so much together. I love the man that you’re becoming and I love the father that you are. Thank you for always being there for me, for being a great confidant and advisor and for never allowing me to sell myself short ❤️.”
2023
February 12, 2023: McDonald’s launches the Cardi B and Offset meal, which includes a blend of the couple’s preferred Mickey D’s orders. Cardi B’s own pick is a no-frills McDonald’s cheeseburger, spiced up with barbecue sauce, and a large Coke. Offset chooses a Quarter Pounder with cheese topped off with a large Hi-C Orange Lavaburst juice, guaranteeing a sugar rush and uncomfy trip to the facilities.
June 26, 2023: Cardi B responds to Offset’s allegations that she cheated in a Twitter Space, per People. The rapper sings a verse from the Keyshia Cole song “I Should Have Cheated” before directly addressing the charges he first raises in a deleted Instagram story that day. “That motherfucker spiraling and thinking shit,” she says, according to the site. “Please boy, stop acting stupid. Stop acting stupid.”
July 28, 2023: The couple release the aptly titled joint single “Jealousy.”
September 20, 2023: Their fifth anniversary arrives. “you believe in me more than I do sometimes…,” Offset writes on Instagram. “I couldn’t imagine a life without you….. we gone continue life together I LOVE YOU ❤️”
December 10, 2023: Offset denies claims he cheated with Chrisean Rock after a week of infidelity allegations and breakup rumors precipitated by the couple unfollowing each other on Instagram. “I ain’t never talk or touch that lady,” he replied to the allegations leveled by Rock’s former partner, the rapper Blueface. “Real talk man you need some help!”
December 11, 2023: Cardi B says she’s been “single for a minute now.” She tells her fans the news in an Instagram livestream.
December 15, 2023: Cardi B appears fed up with Offset in a new Instagram livestream. “This motherfucker really likes to play games with me at my most vulnerable time, when I’m not the most confident,” she tells viewers. “He likes to play games with me because he knows that I’m not an easy girl.”
“You’ve really been feeling yourself … because of your bitch-ass album and shit,” she passionately recounts. “And you really been doing me dirty after so many fucking years that I motherfucking helped your ass. Not even a fucking thank you that I got from your bitch ass.”
December 25, 2023: Cardi B and Offset appears to spend Christmas together, posting Instagram Stories that keep the focus on their kids.
December 27, 2023: @TheePopFeed tweets that Cardi B has taken Offset back, adding that they were spotted with their children at a Travis Scott concert in New Jersey on December 26. A fan responds with a clip of Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Kandi Burruss saying, “You just made that up,” and Cardi likes the reply.
December 29, 2023: People reports that Cardi B and Offset have been spotted together in New York City. A fan reportedly shares individual pictures with the duo on their now-private Instagram account.
In a Twitter Space, Cardi B threatens to delete her social media because of fans who have been spreading the rumor that she and Offset are back together. “Shit is fucking annoying. For fucking three days y’all been doing the same shit,” she snaps. “Did I say I was back together with somebody? Did I said that? Did y’all heard that? Did I say it? Did he say it? No!”
2024
January 1, 2024: Cardi B says she rung in the New Year with Offset. “Was I clubbing with my baby father yesterday? Yes,” she reportedly tells fans in a Twitter Space. “Did I get dicked down yesterday? Absolutely, baby. Y’all can use your rose on New Year’s Eve; I need some dick on New Year’s Eve.” The couple seems to be in a better place, if Cardi’s update is anything to go by. “I feel like we was vibing yesterday,” she adds. “We had a good time.”
This post has been updated.
