Cardi B says the split changed her
Cardi B says 2024 brought a major reset. On the March 31 episode of Aspire With Emma Grede, the rapper said her breakup with Offset, from whom she filed for divorce in 2024 after seven years of marriage, helped trigger a personal transformation. The divorce has not been finalized, because apparently even celebrity breakups enjoy paperwork.
"I feel like last year a new person was reborn," she said. "I don't know if it was the divorce. I don't know if something woke me up. I feel like I'm definitely a new person."
That shift, she said, has made her more determined to focus on her career and build long-term success rather than just staying busy being famous, which, as it turns out, is not the same thing.
A sharper focus on business
Cardi, who is the founder of Grow-Good Beauty, said she has been looking at how other stars have built lasting companies and used those examples to think about her own next steps.
"A lot of artists or celebrities that have really big, major businesses that are successful, they didn't build their brand on the second or third year of being big celebrities," she explained. "They built their brand when they [were] seven to eight to 10 years in the business, and I feel like right now is the perfect time."
She also tied that urgency to her age and outlook.
"I'm 33 years old," Cardi continued. "I'm in my Jesus year. I'm in my Orisha year. This is the year. It's like God is telling me, ‘It's gonna be now or never - take advantage of it.’"
Her family remains part of the picture
Cardi shares three children with Offset: Kulture, 7, Wave, 4, and Blossom, 18 months. She also shares a 4-month-old baby boy with Stefon Diggs.
The family situation has been complicated for a while. In addition to filing for divorce in 2024, Cardi previously filed to end the marriage in September 2020 before moving to dismiss that case two months later.
Last year, she spoke about the difficulties of co-parenting with Offset during an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings in September. At the time, she said she wanted a more functional relationship for the sake of their children.
"We should be able to raise kids," Cardi said. "We should be able to ask each other questions. We should be able to be like, ‘Hey, look at what one of the kids just did. Look at this. Look at the report card.’ We should be able to celebrate. But it’s not about the kids."
She added, "I just wish he was a better person, but it is what it is. Be a better person for your kids."
For now, Cardi says she is moving forward with a new mindset, a crowded family calendar, and the kind of professional ambition that tends to arrive right after a life change people did not ask for but definitely noticed.
