Who Is Nicki Minaj's Husband? All About Kenneth Petty

Nicki Minaj met her now-husband Kenneth "Zoo" Petty when she was just a teenager.

The pair first crossed paths when they were students at the same high school. The two lost touch for years before reconnecting in 2018, leading to a whirlwind romance. Minaj and Petty wed in 2019 and welcomed a son in 2020.

"He understands her as a person," Minaj's friend and musician Derrick Milano told PEOPLE in October 2019. "I think that's what the connection really is with them — it's that he really knows her. It's a different type of connection. He's not famous, he doesn't want to be on Instagram. Like, that's not his M.O. (modus operandi). He's really focused on her."

Despite their low-key relationship, Petty's legal troubles have made headlines in recent years. He is a level two registered sex offender in New York and spent several years in jail for both attempted rape in the first degree and first-degree manslaughter.

So who is Nicki Minaj's husband? Here's everything to know about Kenneth Petty and his relationship with the rapper.

He and Minaj met in high school

Minaj and Petty attended LaGuardia High School in New York City together when they were teenagers living in Queens. They dated briefly at the time, but lost touch over the years before reconnecting in 2018.

Minaj has talked about her early days with Petty in several instances. She mentioned the romance in Chance the Rapper's 2019 hit "Zanies and Fools." "I met my husband when I was 17 out in Queens / If you love it, let it go, now I know what that means / While he was up North for a body / I bodied everybody and got known for my body," she raps on the track.

In January 2019, she shared details about their teen relationship on Twitter. "We were like this about each other since we were very young kids in the hood," she wrote. "He was on my body before the big ol' ghetto booty. Before the fame and fortune. Fought my boyfriend cuz I wouldn't be his girl. He was always a lil brazy. But anyway, timing is everything."

He and Minaj have been back together since 2018

The duo reunited in 2018 and went public with their romance that December when Minaj shared an Instagram slideshow of the pair. "He want me to be his wife - his MISSIS like SIPPI NOW," she captioned the photos, which showed them laughing, smiling and cuddling.

Not long after, Petty debuted a massive neck tattoo of Minaj's birth name, Onika. "Did ya tat hurt zaddy? His first tat - frontin like it didn't sting #Onika #HeavyOnIt" she captioned a post unveiling his new ink.