<p id=”par-1_49″>R&B singer Nivea rose to fame in the early 2000s with a string of hits including “Don’t Mess With My Man,” “Okay,” and “Laundromat.” Over the years, the Grammy-nominated songstress has remained a respected figure in the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/music/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>music industry</a> while co-parenting children with The-Dream and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/rappers/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>rapper</a> <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/jenelle-evans-updates-followers-on-the-lil-wayne-situation-hes-mad-at-me.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Lil Wayne</a>. </p>
<p id=”par-2_43″>On July 21, 2026, Nivea revealed that a few months back she was diagnosed with leukemia. Although the announcement caught her fans off guard, Nivea offered an encouraging update, saying she had been undergoing treatment and that it was “going great so far.”</p>
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<p id=”par-3_80″>“I was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year,” she shared on an episode of <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DbEbIsClNEt/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Cadillac Chronicles</em></a>. “I’m so grateful to God. I’ve been going through treatment, and everything is going great so far. And I expect it to continue … It’s so cliché to say you don’t know the time nor the hour, but it’s true, and it just helped me put a lot of things in perspective, and I live in gratitude, like, religiously, and I’m just grateful for everything.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_23″>Here’s a bit more about Nivea’s life behind the music, including why she and Lil Wayne broke up not once, but twice. </p>
<p id=”par-5_52″>Nivea had an on-and-off relationship with Lil Wayne beginning in 2002. They were even engaged for a bit but called things off in 2003. Nivea previously spoke about the reason for that. According to her, it was due to Wayne’s infidelity, including him moving his ex-wife back into their shared home. </p>
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<iframe title=”Nivea – Don’t Mess With My Man ft. Brian Casey, Brandon Casey” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/zjCBO_2csIE?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-6_47″>Nivea explained that Weezy asked her to step away from her music career to be a stay-at-home partner, and moved them into an apartment together. But she later discovered he maneuvered her out of their house so he could move his ex-wife, Toya Johnson, back in. </p>
<p id=”par-7_69″>During an appearance on Kandi Burruss’ YouTube show <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooN3_k42q0A&t=525s” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>On That Note</em></a>, Nivea explained, “I’m just sitting there, like, being a housewife. All of a sudden — this is kind of funny — he was like, ‘I ain’t never stay in an apartment before. Let’s get an apartment!’ So we move out the house and get an apartment. I didn’t realize he did that to move Toya back in the house.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_14″>Nivea described herself as “heartbroken,” and that’s why their engagement ended the first time.</p>
<p id=”par-9_48″>Following their initial split, Nivea married fellow singer and producer Terius “The-Dream” Nash in December 2004. Together, they had three children before they divorced in June 2008. A year later, Nivea and Wayne rekindled their relationship. They got engaged again while Nivea was pregnant with their son, Neal.</p>
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<iframe title=”Lil Wayne Reveals SHOCKING Reason Behind Becoming a Dad at 16 — and Why He NEVER Sleeps!” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/TAqg7S46iMg?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-10_28″>However, the relationship didn’t last then either because the “Lollipop” rapper simultaneously fathered a child with <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/will-smith-was-behind-the-success-of-atl-starring-t-i-and-lauren-london.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>actress Lauren London</a>, leading Nivea to call off the engagement in 2010.</p>
<p id=”par-11_29″>“I found out the day I was confirmed pregnant with our son that he had another one that should be expected three months ahead of ours,” Nivea told <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX3x2YEVfVw” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>VLADTV</a>. </p>
<p id=”par-12_36″>She added that she became close with London during that time, explaining, “It’s still a testament to the type of man [Lil Wayne] is because all of his baby mothers, we’re all cool with each other.”</p>