Why Did Nicki Minaj & Meek Mill Breakup?

It's just the start of a new year and a 2016 celebrity couple has already called it quits. Lovebirds Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill have broken up. After a few weeks of speculation, Minaj confirmed their breakup on social media in a straightforward and positive post. Minaj wrote on Twitter,

To confirm, yes I am single. Focusing on my work & looking forward to sharing it with you guys really soon. Have a blessed New Year. Love u.

Now that one of hip hop's power couples is officially over, it makes sense to wonder: Why did Minaj and Mill break up?

Since at least early December, rumors have been swirling that their relationship was on the rocks after a series of cryptic social media posts from the pair. Minaj posted a suspicious Instagram accompanied with Beyoncé's lyrics for "Best Thing I Never Had," which was a good sign that she was serious. And a few weeks before that, Mill posted memes on his social media, which also seemed to hint at trouble in paradise.

It's easy to speculate about why these two broke up, but Minaj and Mill probably can count their careers and other recent issues as a reason for them officially calling it quits. In mid-December, a source claimed to have insight on their relationship and told Hollywood Life:

“Nicki and Meek fight all the time about a whole bunch of trivial sh*t...Things that don’t really even matter. He tends to get jealous jealous [sic] over the fact that she’s a little more famous than him. For example, when it’s her birthday, tons of media sites give her shout-outs, but they don’t even acknowledge him when it’s his."

Obviously, this is just from an anonymous source, but jealousy and issues with careers does seem to be a common theme when it comes to the demise of celeb relationships.

Throughout their on-off relationship, Minaj has certainly stayed keen on making sure her fans know she didn't need to be in a relationship. In a 2015 interview with NYLON, Minaj said about their new relationship,

"I always got the sense that me being tough and bossy was a turn-on for him. And it's important for me to keep my voice... Being in a relationship should mean that you've met a secure-enough man to allow you, in a sense, to remain a queen."

More recently, she told Marie Claire in their November 2016 issue, "You have to be able to know that you need no man on this planet at all, period."

It will be difficult to ever know exactly why they broke up unless Meek or Minaj provide details themselves, but it's clear that Minaj seems keen to move on this year and is looking forward to bigger and better things.