Cardi B Says Overcoming Marital Challenges with Offset Is 'Not Even About Love': 'We're Best Friends'

"The part I love is that we really like each other, like a support system," the rap star shares of her marriage with husband Offset

• Cardi B got candid about her marriage to husband Offset in a new cover story for Rolling Stone

• She discussed the status of the couple’s relationship and the marital challenges they’ve endured over the years

• The rappers, who share two kids, were recently spotted hanging out again following a breakup

Cardi B is opening up about her complicated marriage to Offset.

In a new cover story for Rolling Stone, the 31-year-old rap superstar spoke candidly about the ups and downs of her relationship with the former Migos rapper, 32, which has been marked with infidelity, breakups and public spats. The two have been married for nearly seven years now. But despite claims of a split made in December and telling fans, “I’ve been single for a minute now,” Cardi shared a new update with the outlet, saying the two are “all right now.”

“The part I love is that we really like each other, like a support system,” the “Be Careful” rapper said of what she cherishes in her marriage. “We’re really both each other’s cheerleader. I don’t really like talking to people. I’m not as social. If I want something from somebody, he’ll be the one that will talk. Because I don’t like asking.”

Speaking on the challenges the couple has endured, Cardi admitted, “​​We have our own bad stuff.” “We’re from two different worlds,” she explained. “Sometimes I cannot be … not that I cannot be a wife. It’s just like, my career takes my life. You know what I’m saying? My career comes first, then my kids come second. And then sometimes I don’t realize that I’m putting so many things before my relationship.”

At one point, the rap star said she’s not necessarily interested in growing in her relationship at the moment, as work and the couple’s two kids, daughter Kulture and son Wave, come first. “I sometimes feel like I do probably put my relationship last,” Cardi noted.

“I remember last year when we was going through our hard time. And it’s like, ‘Put your album out. You’re overstressing. When was the last time we went on a vacation?’” she recalled of Offset. “And it’s like, ‘I don’t got time to go on a vacation, because this comes first.’ This comes first, and then my kids come second. The little things I have to take care of then comes.”

Related: Cardi B Has Wardrobe Malfunction En Route to Knicks Game and Almost Misses Courtside Date with Offset

Recently, the couple seem to be back on good terms. They were seen together at a Met Gala afterparty in N.Y.C. on May 6 and attended a Knicks playoffs game a few days prior. Rolling Stone also confirms that Offset gifted Cardi three diamond chains and showered her with flowers for Mother’s Day.

As far as what’s next for their marriage, Cardi told the outlet, “I think it through. We think it through, because we do love each other.”

“It’s not even about love,” the “Clout” artist added. “We’re best friends. And it’s like, ‘OK. Well, there was a time that I didn’t have a best friend, or I didn’t have a support system.’ It’s not even about ‘How do you leave a partner?’ How do you stop talking to your best friend?”

Cardi and Offset first began dating in 2017, shortly after they collaborated on their song “Lick” from the former’s Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 mixtape. The Set It Off rapper would then propose to the “Bongos” star that October at Power 99's Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia. However, the two actually tied the knot in Atlanta weeks prior on Sept. 20.

Months later, on June 25, 2018, Cardi confirmed their marriage news in a Notes app screenshot posted on X (formerly Twitter), captioned, “This why i name my album ‘Invasion of privacy’ cause people will do the most to be nosey about your life .Welp f--- it.”

“There are so many moments that I share with the world and then there are moments that I want to keep for myself!” she began. “Getting married was one of those moments! Our relationship was so new breaking up and making up and we had a lot of growing up to do but we was so in love we didn’t want to lose each other, was one morning in September we woke up and decided to get married.”

“We found someone to marry us, and she did, just the two of us and my cousin,” the rapper continued. “I said I do, with no dress no make up and no ring! I appreciate and love my husband so much for still wanting for me [to] have that special moment that every girl dreams of when he got down on his knee and put a ring on my finger and he did that for me!!”

Cardi, in true fashion, concluded the note with a sassy zinger, writing, “Well now since you lil [nosy] f—s know at least ya can stop saying I had a baby out of wedlock.”

Cardi and Offset welcomed their first child together, daughter Kulture Kiari, 5½, on July 10, 2018. Three years later, on Sept. 4, 2021, their son, Wave Set, 2½, was born. Offset is also a father to sons Jordan, 14, and Kody, 9, and daughter Kalea Marie, 9, from previous relationships.

In between that time, though, the couple had broken up, with Cardi announcing the news in a since-deleted Instagram video on Dec. 5, 2018. "We got a lot of love for each other, but things just haven't been working out between us for a long time," she said. "It's nobody fault I guess we just grew out of love, but we are not together anymore. It might take time to get a divorce and I'm going to always have a lot of love for him because he is my daughter's father."

A month later, the two decided to work things out and, shortly after, celebrated an extravagant Valentine's Day to mend their relationship.

In a 2020 interview with ELLE, Cardi addressed the couple’s tumultuous romance, saying, “I do know that my relationship has a lot of drama and everything. But there’s a lot of love there’s a lot of passion, there’s a lot of trust, there’s a big friendship.”

She added, “It’s always us against the world.”

However, on Sept. 15, 2020, Cardi filed for divorce from Offset, saying the marriage was "irretrievably broken" and "there are no prospects for a reconciliation" after finding out the “Jealousy” rapper had been unfaithful yet again, PEOPLE confirmed. A month later, though, the two were spotted kissing at Cardi's birthday party. By Nov. 2, 2020, she called off the divorce.

Related: Cardi B Strips Down in Offset-Directed Video for 'Like What (Freestyle)' — Watch!

Things appeared to be smooth sailing from there — with the exception of cheating rumors about Cardi that surfaced in June 2023 — but on Dec. 11, 2023, Cardi revealed that she and Offset had broken up, again.

In an Instagram livestream, the “Bodak Yellow” star confirmed her single status, adding, “But I have been afraid… Not afraid, I just don’t know how to tell the world. But I feel like today has been, like, a sign.”

She also said she wanted to start the new year “fresh” and “open,” adding, “I’m curious for a new life, for a new beginning. And yeah… I’m excited.”

Related: Cardi B Celebrates Her Hit Songs Joining Spotify’s Billion Streams Club: 'I'm Never Gonna Stop'

By New Year’s Eve, Cardi and Offset reunited again, though the former clarified the two had not reconciled despite having sex, explaining on a now-expired Spaces livestream on X, “We're not together until we work out our issues.” As of today, they’re still married.

As the world waits for Cardi’s long-awaited sophomore album to follow up her Grammy-winning Invasion of Privacy debut, Offset has been supportive of his wife’s recording process. In February, he told her, “Stop being scary and drop the album, s--- goes crazy.”

Cardi’s been dropping promises of releasing her new album in 2024 since last summer. Despite telling fans, “NO album this year,” in a now-deleted X post on May 14, a rep for the rapper confirmed to Rolling Stone that there are still plans for the project to drop later this year.

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Read the original article on People.