Offset is finally breaking his silence on what really went down between him and Cardi B before she filed for divorce — for a second time — in 2024. The rapper also got candid about getting sober from codeine.
In an interview with Keke Palmer, the 33-year-old rapper got real about the pressures of living a public life. He admitted he wishes their marriage had stayed private, especially since every high and low — both personal and professional — was constantly under a microscope. Offset also owned up to his part in the split, saying he “wasn’t perfect” during their seven-year marriage, which officially ran from 2017 to 2024.
“I was definitely not perfect in the situation,” Offset — born Kiari Cephus — admitted on Palmer’s Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast on Tuesday. “I made a lot of mistakes. [There’s] a lot of things that I did wrong. She did things that was wrong. But it was always on the front screen, so it’s hard to move on from it.”
Offset Admitted To Dirty Doggin’ During His Cardi B Marriage
When Palmer asked the rapper if there was anything he would have done differently or regretted, Offset told the actress that he should have respected Cardi “way more.” He also admitted to what the public already knew, he had a history of cheating on the Grammy-winning femcee.
“I made bad decisions as a man, like stepping out. Gotta take that on the chin,” he continued. “That’s why when she left, I had to take that on the chin. We got so much, our kids to live for. I was being selfish, you know what I mean? And I can say that as a man. I’m a grown man.”
Infidelity rumors have been a constant battle throughout Cardi B and Offset’s marriage
This marks the first time Offset has openly admitted to infidelity, something that had been rumored for years during his relationship with Cardi B. Back in 2017, a video surfaced appearing to show the rapper in a hotel room with another naked woman. At the time, Offset claimed his iCloud had been hacked. But not long after, more infidelity rumors began to emerge.
Despite the swirling rumors, both Cardi and Offset denied any cheating had occurred until a year later, when Cardi addressed the infidelity rumors head-on in a 2018 interview with Cosmopolitan. In classic no-holds-barred fashion, she didn’t sugarcoat the reality of their relationship.
“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 look good,” Cardi B, 32, told Cosmopolitan at the time. “I know I’m rich, I know I’m talented. I know I could get any man I want — any basketball player, football player. But I want to work out my s–t with my man, and I don’t have to explain why.”
The couple’s marriage almost ended in 2020 after the “Bodak Yellow” hitmaker filed for divorce from the Georgia-bred emcee. During an Instagram Live session in September of that year, the hip-hop star said she pulled the plug on her marriage because she was “tired” of “arguing” with Offset. Cardi had a change of heart and later filed a petition to dismiss her divorce without prejudice in November 2020.
But this time around, there’s no going back. Offset revealed that while the divorce hasn’t been finalized yet, he’s “ready for it to be over with,” so they can both focus on their own healing. He also took a moment to call out social media for fueling false narratives around the breakup.
“The narrative be nasty sometimes on me, and it don’t be that,” he stressed to Palmer
Offset revealed that he was addicted to codeine during his interview with Keke Palmer
Later in the interview, Offset opened up to Keke Palmer about his past addiction to codeine, an opiate commonly used to treat pain and suppress coughs. He revealed that he turned to the drug to “cope” with the overwhelming pressures of life in the spotlight. The rapper — who shares three children: Kulture, Wave, and Blossom, with Cardi B — said his dependence began to spiral after the massive success of “Bad and Boujee,” his breakout hit with Migos, the group he formed with Quavo and the late Takeoff.
Now four years sober, Offset looked back on that chapter of his life with raw honesty, reflecting on the pain that fueled his addiction.
“The job is a lot, traveling all the time, not being with your kids all the time, people saying this and that, being in the group, going against the business side of it, it’s just all that in one bottle,” he explained. “So, I was taking it to the cup. And then, you know what? A lot of artists get tricked on, ‘Oh, I can’t make music without the drugs.’ But that’s cap…. It’s also addicting.”
Offset said he also got “a wake-up call” from his eldest son, Jordan, whom he shares with a previous relationship. According to the “MotorSport” rapper, he was deep into drinking lean — also known as sizzurp, a soda-based mix made with codeine — when he noticed Jordan starting to mimic his behavior. That moment made him realize just how much his addiction was impacting more than just himself.
“My oldest son kept asking for like Pineapple Fanta, but he don’t even really drink soda,” he recalled. “And then one day he came in the studio like, ‘Why is yours a different color than mine?’ It killed me.” Offset continued, “I had to lie to him because I ain’t know what to say. I’m like, ‘Mine is old, I’m about to throw it away,’ and I just grabbed it and walked off.”
It was in that moment that the rapper “damn near cried,” knowing that he had to change his life around.
“I felt bad as a father,” Offset told Palmer. “He don’t even notice it’s drugs in here though. He don’t know, but in my head it’s like him even just saying he wants the same soda I want. It’s just like, ‘Oh no, I’m influencing him.’”
The rapper also faced tough criticism from his mother, which made the reality of his situation hit even harder. Fortunately, with the support of his family and close circle, he was able to turn his life around.
“I’m glad I got solid people around me,” he added.
Watch Offset’s full interview on the latest episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer above. Thoughts?
