“Turned me into a real woman”: Cardi B opens up about being the “only provider” for her kids following Offset divorce

Cardi B, the multi-platinum rapper and mother of three, recently offered a candid reflection on motherhood and her evolving identity amid her ongoing divorce from Offset. In a cover interview with Billboard, she shared how raising her children has profoundly shifted her perspective on what it means to really step into womanhood. The interview reveals a side of Cardi B that’s grounded, determined and deeply shaped by parenthood. 

She explained how her priorities and personal sacrifices have changed as a result of the daily challenges of raising her son Wave and daughters Kulture and Blossom. Cardi B spoke about how she now plays a crucial part in her children's life as their major provider and how she's drawing on her own upbringing and her mother's unwavering work ethic. This period of her life becomes more than just a time of transformation since she prioritizes the needs of her children over her own. 

Cardi B shares how parenting during her divorce has reshaped her identity and her role as the only provider for her kids

Cardi B openly spoke of her role as the only provider for her kids amid her divorce from Offset. In the Billboard interview, she reflected: 

“It turned me into a real woman. I was like, ‘What makes a woman? Her body? Her cooking?’ It’s her maturity and her thinking." She continued, “This summer, I haven’t even put my feet in a pool. I do everything for my kids. I’m the only provider and you know what? Ain’t no complaining about it."

That sense of sacrifice is rooted in her own upbringing. Cardi B recounted how her mother worked tirelessly as “a freakin’ cashier,” she said. She made sure she and her siblings never lacked even when times were rough. Cardi B explained that even now, success doesn’t mean rest: 

“If you think when you get rich you’re going to stop working, you’re never going to stop working."

From that legacy, she draws her drive to provide a stable, nurturing life for her children:

“I want my kids to be like, ‘My mom made sure I had everything that I wanted’."

This came against the backdrop of a deeply public separation where Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset in July 2024. The couple shares three young children named Kulture (age 7), Wave (3) and Blossom (11 months). In recent months Cardi has spoken candidly about financial pressures, revealing that the costs of private schooling, tutors, music lessons, drivers and caregiving have placed significant responsibility squarely on her shoulders.

Despite the exhaustion she may feel she's been looking at her situation as purposeful. She emphasized her love and devotion:

“I love them so much and they ground me."

To her, every sacrifice is a reaffirmation of her agency not just as an artist, but as a mother shaping her own path in the midst of personal upheaval.