Nicki Minaj Explains Why She Doesn’t Need a Man to Be Happy

The “Chun-Li” rapper may be single, but that doesn’t mean she’s not dating. In a sneak peek for the season 16 premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which airs Tuesday, the daytime talk show host gets Minaj to talk about her current love life.

“Why?” Minaj replies, as Ellen DeGeneres explains how last time Minaj was on the show she revealed that she was with Nas. “No. I didn’t say I was with Nas,” the hip-hop star quips back. “I said I chilled. I hung out with him and he and I are still good friends.”

Yet, after setting the record straight about her relationships with Drake and Meek Mill,DeGeneres reveals that she heard that Minaj has a “new boy.”

“Who’s new boy?” DeGeneres bluntly asks. “There is new boy, right? I have my people.”

“Well, there was a new boy but he and I kind of fell back a little bit. And then…” Minaj says before coyly giggling. “And then there’s a newer… yeah, fairly new. He’s been around for a couple wigs. But I don’t have a boy.”

Minaj then explains how she’s always been in relationships and feels “happier and more free” being single.

“Look, I’m just chilling. I’ve always been in a relationship my whole life. I was in a relationship since I was 15 years old. This is the first time that I’m single, and I’m happier. I’m more free and it’s OK!” she passionately preaches. “I used to feel like I had to have a man, I swear. My whole adult life I use to feel like I had to have a man. I want every woman out here to know you absolutely don’t.”

“Amen, sister,” DeGeneres says, jokingly adding, “I want women to know also, you don’t need a man.”

Earlier this year, Minaj echoed those same sentiments, telling ELLE magazine that there was a point where she began second-guessing herself and depending on her boyfriend.

“I remember feeling like I could do anything at one time in my life and somewhere along the line, I just started second-guessing myself for whatever reason,” she explained. “As soon as I realized that I could actually live and breathe, and eat and sleep, and walk and talk, without having a boyfriend, something clicked in me.”