Safaree Opens Up About the Alleged Emotional and Physical Abuse He Experienced While Dating Nicki Minaj
Safaree Samuels is silly, likes to have fun and doesn't take himself too seriously. We've seen that lovable side of him on Love & Hip Hop, Love & Hip Hop Hollywood and Scared Famous. Apparently, he wasn't always this charming fur-loving goofball we all enjoy.
Yesterday he stopped by The Casey Crew podcast, hosted by DJ Envy and his wife Gia, where we got to see a more serious side of him as he talked about the difficult times in his 12-year long relationship with Nicki Minaj. Safaree and Nicki broke up three years ago, but a relationship that you invested so much in is pretty difficult to just get over. While looking back on that time in his life, Safaree said he even felt like he was being trained to be a certain kind of boyfriend as he tried to handle Nicki's quick rise to fame.
“I ended up being trained to be that kind of person. Like, in the beginning, its like aight, ‘Lil Wayne wanna holla at you? Imma shut my mouth and let’s see where this is gonna go. I can’t give you what he can give you so I’m gonna support.' I was just doing that for so long it was programmed in my head.”
On top of feeling trained, Safaree also felt abused in the sometimes rocky union with the hip hop superstar. DJ Envy, who's friendship with Safaree goes way back, even backed that up when he said, "I don't wanna say you were battered, but you were an abused boyfriend." Gia thought her husband was joking, but DJ Envy cut to the chase "sometimes Safaree couldn’t leave the crib...because [Safaree] was sheltered."
"Nah, Nah that’s true, but it’s because she was sheltered," Safaree elaborated. "She’s in her cocoon and I’m there with her. I didn’t really have a life outside of that."
He finally left the relationship when it got to a point where things were too much.
"I was really comfortable, but then the fights and stuff it was getting too crazy. I was like, 'You know what? I don’t wanna go to jail. I don’t wanna go to the hospital.' I walked away, I'm not a confrontational person and I don’t like to argue. We’re not gonna be doing this all day every day, I’m not gonna have hands put on me and the verbal—it takes a while to get over that. It took me a while to have my confidence that’s why I was going to the gym so hard...It took me a good 4 and 1/2 years to be like, ‘Okay, now I’m me and I’m walking in my own.'"
This isn't the first time that Safaree has made allegations of abuse. He sued Nicki in 2016 for emotional and physical abuse.
You can listen to the whole podcast interview below.
Safaree may have a difficult time picking the right kind of girlfriend. Maybe he should let his mom pick his next lady as she suggested in Season 8 of Love & Hip Hop.