Carol Maraj, the mother of superstar Nicki Minaj, wrote the sweetest poem in honor of her grandson’s birthday on Instagram.
The toddler Minaj and husband Kenneth Petty, called Papa Bear, turned one-year-old on Sept. 30, and his grandmother marked the milestone with a beautiful poem. The proud grandmother noted how handsome her grandbaby is in the poem.
“Happy Birthday Papa Bear,” Maraj wrote. “I look into your eyes and I linger there. What striking good looks Papa Bear. May you grow up to live against the status quo. But trust in Jesus as you go. May you make a difference in your generation, I pray. It’s a pleasure to wish you Happy 1st Birthday.
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Maraj published a book in August called “Leaving My Pain,” which details her abusive marriage to Minaj’s father, the late Robert Miraj. Robert died after a hit-and-run accident last February. The couple also has two sons, 42-tear-old Jelani and 23-year-old Micaiah.
The 61-year-old author revealed that her husband was physically abusive and once tried to burn the house down. She also accused her husband of dragging her out of a car and beating her on New Year’s Eve in 1989. Maraj wrote that after her husband dragged her out of a car, he proceeded to punch her in the face and head repeatedly until she was numb.
“I felt blood running down my face, my nose was bleeding and I was in a state of shock from that many hits to my head,” she wrote.
Maraj worried about how her children were being affected by witnessing the violence her husband unleashed on her.
“A son sees his father abusing his mother, he’ll grow up and think that’s normal,” she wrote. “And he does that to his girl and he’s controlling. And then the daughter, she sees her mother being submissive and taking a lot of these things and she thinks that maybe that’s okay and she falls for the same kind of man… I always was concerned about that; that they would do the same thing that their father did.”
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After ten more years, Maraj eventually found the courage to separate from Robert. She is now an advocate for ending domestic violence and helping other victims. Her new book tells her story and also advises other abuse victims. The couple never divorced but remained separated until Robert’s death, although Maraj eventually forgave him, and the two became friends.
