These Rappers Cheated On Their Significant Others In Broad Daylight
We have an idealized image of what a relationship should be, but most of us will agree that trust and loyalty are major components of any healthy alliance. Unfortunately, extramarital affairs are a common occurrence in the entertainment industry, particularly in the music biz. More often than not, though, affairs tend to be private matters quietly dealt with by the trio (or more) involved. But some rappers didn't get the memo that cheating should be left off the record.
No one wants to discover that their significant other has been unfaithful. Worst of all, no one wants said cheating to be aired for the entire public to gawk at. From placing the blame entirely on their lover to claiming that infidelity is a natural male instinct, these rappers have come up with various absurd excuses to justify their actions. As Rihanna once succinctly tweeted, "Never underestimate a man's ability to make you feel guilty for his mistakes."
But why did these rappers cheat when it's so easy to get caught? Celebrity dating coach Laurel House told Bravo TV that "Chemistry and sexual desire can play tricks on your brain and make you feel like risks are worth it, as you become almost entranced." So entranced, in fact, that certain rappers are prepared to cheat out in the open despite the inevitable public interrogation that almost always ensues.
Through texts, lies, and videotapes, these rappers cheated on their significant others in broad daylight, while seeming to say, in the immortal words of Shaggy, "It wasn't me."
Jay-Z was less than a king to Queen Bey
Crazy in love or just plain crazy, who would dare cheat on Queen Bey? There have long been rumors that Jay-Z has 99 problems, and cheating is one. The rapper was hiding in plain sight with his two-timing ways against his wife Beyoncé.
In an interview with The New York Times Magazine, Jay-Z opened up about his infidelity and attempted to rationalize his actions. "You have to survive," the rap superstar told the publication. "So you go into survival mode, and when you go into survival mode, what happens? You shut down all emotions. So, even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can't connect ... And then all the things happen from there: infidelity." Despite having it all — a reported $1.4 billion net worth (via Forbes), success, and of course, an enviable marriage to Queen B — Jay-Z cheated.
Well, two can play that brazen game. Jay-Z may have aired his dirty laundry to The New York Times, but no one gets the upper hand over Beyoncé. With the release of her sixth album, "Lemonade," the songstress heavily referenced her husband's infidelity. This left the internet donning their collective Columbo macs while trying to figure out who exactly "Becky with the good hair" is. Per The Sun, there are rumors that Jay-Z cheated with Rachel Roy, while snaps of the rapper cozying up to Rita Ora have led to speculation that she is indeed the infamous Becky, though neither rumor is substantiated.
Wiz Khalifa was accused of seeing double
Wiz Khalifa may have taken the notion of "Young, Wild, & Free" a little too far with his alleged extramarital affairs. Despite being previously married to stunning model Amber Rose, Khalifa reportedly cheated on her, and his lack of discretion is all too apparent.
In a now-deleted Instagram post (screenshot seen via Page Six), Wiz posed with twin sisters Jas and Ness Rose in a pouty selfie. Peter Rosenberg, a DJ and close friend of Amber Rose, said that his pal caught the rapper in a sister act. "Amber walked in on him with two women at the same time," Rosenberg alleged. "Twins, twin sisters, twin biological sisters." Gee Wiz!
After a double-take, Rose filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2016 after three years of marriage. As reported by TMZ, Rose branded Khalifa a "serial cheater." Accordingly, sources close to the model told TMZ that Khalifa grew increasingly audacious with his affairs by making innumerable excuses as to why Rose couldn't join him on tour. Per the insider, he claimed that as the breadwinner, she should stay home while he went off, alone, to make money for the family. With these reportedly progressively desperate attempts to keep his wife away from his affairs, the only flag that the frequently star spangled banner-draped Khalifa (via FanPop) is flying is a red flag.
Nas admitted he two-timed Kelis
Life's a b***h and then you ... cheat? Well, that's what '90s rap star Nas did to his wife of five years, fellow musician Kelis. Nas may be known for his sensitive and highly intellectual era-defining album "Illmatic" (via Pitchfork), but revelations regarding his private life appear to be completely inharmonious with his hip-hop persona.
Not only did he cheat on Kelis, but he revealed all to VH1 (archived by Rolling Out). Discussing his marriage, he reflected, "The biggest lesson I learned is respect ... trust ... no infidelity. I, at some point, got p***ed off during the relationship and strayed, and I wouldn't do that again. I would be all good." His bold confession certainly makes us wonder why he would want his affairs unleashed into the ruthless public domain.
Kelis has shared her own side of the story, detailing years of infidelity on her ex-husband's part. "He had been cheating for two years, and I knew that," Kelis told Hollywood Unlocked. "It was because, on top of all the other stuff, and then you're gonna cheat? It was too much" (via YouTube).
Comedian and actress Amanda Seales has claimed that Nas asked her to be his mistress, an offer that she swiftly declined, and alleges that Kelis subsequently banned her from their house after Nas likely spread lies about her (via YouTube). Alas, the lauded Nas is not necessarily who he appears to be, though his exes would tell us it ain't hard to tell.
Sean Diddy Combs went public with his affair
Pro tip: maybe don't air your dirty laundry on Instagram, especially if said laundry pertains to cheating on your late partner. Although Sean Combs didn't marry Kim Porter, they were together for over 13 years and had three kids. When the rapper posted a tribute to Porter on Instagram, a fan commented, "But you ended up messing with JLo at that time." In a surprise move, Diddy replied, "yes I did."
From 1994 to 2007, Combs and Porter had a tumultuous relationship that was worsened by Diddy's very public fling with Jennifer Lopez. In an interview with Essence, Porter opened up about the strain of Diddy's various affairs, particularly with Lopez. When the erstwhile Puff Daddy was dating J.Lo, it was assumed by fans that the rapper had broken up with his baby mama. Essence notes that Porter and Combs were still together when the latter began dating J.Lo. As Porter explains, "No one knows that part. He was calling 50, 60 times a day. Sometimes I wouldn't even talk to him because I was so angry. I couldn't be 'nice Kim.' I had to be, you know, that b***h."
Since Porter's death in 2018, Combs has been repentant. "I always felt like God had sent her," he told Essence of his partner's untimely demise. "Nobody could love me the way she loved me, especially as, you know, as crazy as I acted. I mean, she loved me through some real s***."
DMX said cheating 'wasn't anything new'
X gon' give it to ya ... the hard truth, that is. The late DMX was pretty open about cheating on his wife of 14 years and mother of four of his kids, Tashera Simmons. Worst of all, he practically reveled in his flagrant infidelity.
In an interview with Global Grind, he said — rather unapologetically — that "I cheated on her, but it wasn't anything new. I was the same way the whole time she knew me." The rapper went on to claim that Simmons knew of his cheating from the outset of their marriage and even attempted to justify his adultery: "Since day once she knew I was f***ing other b***hes. It wasn't like 'Oh My God, I thought you'd never do this.' What it is, it's her sister and the other lonely b***hes in her crew all in her ear. I been the same dude my whole life."
While DMX's honesty is refreshing, it's nothing if not brutally insensitive. Simmons opened up about living with DMX's unfaithfulness when chatting to Bossip. "When I tell you that I was so in awe about the things that I found out after, about people that I was so close with, people in the industry that I couldn't believe ... was sleeping with him," she explained. However, she said that despite the betrayals, she has since been able to find peace: "I've been through so much with DMX that I just want to be happy now" (via YouTube).
For Dr. Dre, it was nuthin' but a three thang
One of the biggest criticisms of N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton" is that it omitted Dr. Dre's allegedly problematic behavior toward women, including claims of physical abuse and presenting his relationship with wife Nicole Young as idealized (via Vox). According to longstanding rumors, the latter representation couldn't be further from the truth.
Sure, he may have discovered Slim Shady, but Dr. Dre is super shady when it comes to his affairs. As reported by the Daily Mail, Dre allegedly cheated on Nicole Young three times. One of the alleged mistresses, Crystal Rogers, previously had photos of Dre all over her Instagram feed but swiftly deleted them once rumors of their affair surfaced, as per The Blast. Most people would agree that posting copious pics of a married alleged lover on your Insta, exposing the reported affair for the entire world to see, isn't the smartest move.
In court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Young sent her estranged husband a letter in which she writes, "I'm sure I don't have to tell you the incredible amount of hurt and pain I am in knowing you are not faithful." As the publication notes, Dre does not deny cheating, but he does dismiss all claims of domestic abuse.
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.
Biggie was caught cheating, but Faith Evans gave him one more chance
The late Notorious B.I.G. was one of the most innovative rappers of the '90s and remains an iconic emblem of the era to this day. But even Biggie wasn't immune to adultery, and being rather conspicuous in the process. As it turns out, the B.I.G was notorious in more ways than one.
As per Yahoo!, Biggie is believed to have cheated on his wife, Faith Evans, multiple times and wasn't entirely secretive about his affairs. In her memoir, "Keeping the Faith," (via Hip-Hop DX), Evans writes about Biggie's brazen cheating ways. "I got to Big's bedroom door, turned the knob, and went inside. As soon as I saw a small lump next to Big's large frame, I flew into a rage, ran over to the side of the bed, and pulled back the covers," Evans recalls before revealing the shocking identity of one of her husband's mistresses.
"I grabbed some chick out of the bed and started beating her a** ... I stopped throwing punches for a minute to get a good look at the chick I was beating up," she writes. "It was Lil Kim." Moreover, in an interview with djvald (via YouTube), Evans discussed finding a polaroid of a girl in Biggie's car and then proceeding to track down the mystery woman.
In spite of the unfaithfulness and Evans' justifiable fury, she later told Wendy Williams that she had made peace with both Biggie and Lil Kim (via YouTube).
Fat Joe hid in plain sight with his alleged mistress
Prolific rapper Fat Joe may be known for his progressive views (per Rap Fix), but when it comes to staying faithful to his wife, he seemingly leaves much to be desired. The elephant in the room? Fat Joe's reported cheating.
Stardom seems to instill in some celebs bizarre delusions of grandeur in which they're able to convince themselves that their shady behavior won't be unearthed. For instance, Fat Joe made no attempts to hide his alleged affair from wife Lorena "Lola" Cartagena, to whom he has been married since 1995. An exclusive source told Bossip that the "Make It Rain" star was not only cheating on Cartagena, but was flying his anonymous lover across the country and even attended a Knicks game with her, all in full view of the public. Now that's cheating in broad daylight.
Furthermore, The YBF reports that Cartagena found photos of Fat Joe's alleged lover on his phone. The publication claims that the lover in question is "a 26 year old woman from Dubai." Fat Joe, it should be noted, was born 28 years before Google was invented.
Despite talk of Fat Joe and Cartagena breaking up, they are still going strong. On Instagram, Mrs. Fat Joe paid tribute to her husband on his 50th birthday. "I will celebrate you like the King that you are. Happy Birthday to the love of my life and the apple of my eye," Cartagena wrote. "What's Luv?" That's luv.
Snoop Dogg was reportedly sexting with this influencer
If you have to cheat, maybe don't cheat with a major influencer who can expose your philandering to their 3 million+ social media followers. According to Instagram star Celina Powell, she and Snoop Dogg embarked on an affair — and she has the sexting receipts to prove it. On her "Storytime" YouTube video, Powell shows screenshots of texts purportedly from Snoop, in which the rap megastar allegedly writes, "Yes baby I want u" and refers to Powell, who is 23 years his junior, as "boo." Looks like a case of puppy love to us. The rapper hasn't responded to the claims, but stay tuned as this isn't the last we'll hear from Celina Powell on this list ...
Snoop and his wife Shante Broadus have admittedly had a tumultuous marriage, tying the knot in 1997 before Snoop found himself in the doghouse in 2004, only to get back together again just four years later. Following their initial break-up in 2004, Snoop Dogg was interviewed by Rolling Stone (archived by Female First) and boldly admitted to cheating on Broadus. "I cheated on her," the rapper acknowledged. "That's the worst thing you could possibly do — lose somebody's trust who really loves you."
While we admire his honesty, there's no denying that such candor must be rather hurtful for Broadus. Will she let sleeping dogs lie? Perhaps. But for Snoop, maybe it ain't no fun if the homies can't have none.
Wyclef Jean wasn't a perfect gentleman to his wife
Wyclef Jean is many things: Grammy Award-winning rapper, potential Haitian presidential candidate (per The Guardian), and outspoken adulterer. Unlike a number of the other men on this list, Jean has been surprisingly honest about his disloyalty to wife Marie Claudinette, to whom he has been wed since 1994.
The rapper released his autobiography, "Purpose," in 2012 and made some truly staggering revelations. In excerpts published by the New York Post, Jean admits that he cheated on Claudinette with his Fugees bandmate Lauryn Hill, yet somehow manages to blame Hill entirely for the affair, particularly when it comes to her claims that Jean impregnated her. "In that moment something died between us. I was married and Lauryn and I were having an affair, but she led me to believe that the baby was mine, and I couldn't forgive that," the rapper wrote. Discovering that her husband was sleeping with someone so close to him was undoubtedly a major betrayal for Claudinette.
In addition to his memoir, Jean confesses to cheating not solely on his wife but to multiple other women on the self-explanatory song "Cheated (To All the Girls)" from his debut solo album "The Carnival." On the track, Jean raps, "To all the girls I cheated on before, it's a new year/ I got a new change of gear, I swear" (via Genius). We can only hope that life will imitate art and Jean will reclaim his title of "Perfect Gentleman."
Akon's lover leaked a post-coital selfie
Legend has it that Akon has four wives, though legally he is only married to Tomeka Thiam (via Your Tango). As someone who is a vocal critic of the concept of monogamy, Akon hasn't exactly been faithful to his wife, nor has he been shrewd in attempting to cover up his affairs.
Remember when we said you hadn't seen the last of Snoop Dogg's alleged lover Celina Powell? We weren't lying. In fact, you're about to see a whole lot more of her. The influencer posted a series of risqué selfies on Instagram in which she lay in bed with a sleeping Akon.
It's likely that Akon doesn't actually care about this leak. In an interview with Larry King, he made it clear that he's against monogamy. Well, male monogamy anyway, much to the palpable incredulity of King. When the host asked how the rapper's wife feels about his affairs, Akon replied, "She loves me for who I am," but added that he would not tolerate his wife being anything but monogamous. The "Smack That" star elaborated, "A woman don't just wake up one day and say, 'Okay, I'm gonna sleep with that guy.' But a guy do wake up one day and say, 'I'm gonna sleep with that woman'" (via YouTube).
We're trying to wrap our heads around that logic, but in the words of feminist Gloria Steinem, "Logic is in the eye of the logician" (via Brainy Quote). In Akon's case, he's a pretty sexist logician.
Cardi B found out Offset cheated when she looked 'Thru [his] Phone'
Is leaking sexts an invasion of privacy? Certainly, but Cardi B had to find out her man was cheating the hard way. Sources alleged to People that Cardi B initially ignored her husband Offset's philandering for the sake of their baby. But the scale of said philandering was an avalanche waiting to happen. Capital Xtra published screenshots of racy messages reportedly sent by Offset to fellow rapper Cuban Doll. One correspondence shows Offset seemingly organizing a threesome. In a screenshot-hungry age, it beggars belief that celebs still use Insta DMs as a means of orchestrating illicit acts that can easily be leaked in a matter of seconds.
Cardi B addressed the cheating rumors in an interview with Cosmopolitan. "It's like everybody is coming down my neck like, 'Why are you not leaving him? You have low self-esteem.' I don't have low self-esteem ... I know I could get any man I want ... But I want to work out my s*** with my man," the "WAP" rapper explained, adding, "It's not right, what he f***ing did — but people don't know what I did, 'cause I ain't no angel."
Offset's less than subtle alleged attempts to score with other women led to him separating from Cardi B on two different occasions. However, they are back together and welcomed a second child in September 2021 (via E Online). Maybe those salacious rumors were false after all. As Offset would claim, "They do anything for clout."
For Safaree, life is a ... safari
Being a famous rapper and reality TV personality, Safaree's personal life was already on display for all to see. But in 2021, Nicki Minaj's ex took this exhibitionism to new levels when a video surfaced (as per MTO News) of the rapper cozying up to women in a club. In the steamy vid, Safaree engages in some hands-on, twerk-filled fun with a mystery woman despite being married to fellow reality TV star Erica Mena.
As reported by TMZ, Mena was so infuriated by her husband's purported infidelity that she took it out on his high-end sneakers with bleach and cut the laces — to the tune of $30,000 in damages. Ouch. Hell hath no fury like a hip-hop wife scorned.
Furthermore, Safaree appears to admit to cheating on an episode of "Love & Hip-Hop" and practically gloats about his adulterous ways. "She keeps saying the word 'cheating.' We weren't together," Safaree tells co-star Yandy Smith, much to her obvious bewilderment. Later, Safaree further defends his disloyalty to Mena. "The situation that Erica is talking about was a one-time situation," he claims. "I'm not gonna sit around and be some goody two-shoe. Like, if I am out there and I end up entertaining somebody else then this is what we put out there, and that's that" (via YouTube). No doubt Safaree would claim all's fair in love and hip-hop, but we're certain his now estranged wife would disagree.
T.I. gave us TMI
Finding out that a spouse is cheating is one thing. But discovering the infidelity on cam is a surefire way to leave a marriage "Dead And Gone." As per People, Grammy Award-winning rapper T.I. was caught red-handed by his wife Tameka "Tiny" Cottle when he was captured cheating on camera.
T.I. had some bizarre rationalization for his actions. "The video ain't really the issue," he suggested on VH1 reality show "The Family Hustle," on which both he and his wife star. "The video being posted up on social media is the issue. If someone had sent her that video privately, she and I would've had one conversation about it, and it would've been over." We're trying to figure out what's weirder: T.I. claiming that the video isn't a big deal or his suggestion that the couple's contretemps would be over if they had only spoken about the indiscretion before it was leaked.
Then again, T.I. is used to his alleged infidelity being caught on camera. In 2018, a video surfaced of the rapper slapping a woman's behind at a concert, and the clip swiftly went viral. However, the woman in question, later identified as actress Asia'h Epperson, has said that she did not consent to T.I. touching her, per Celebrity Insider.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).