Safaree Samuels and Erica Mena Trying Too Hard to Make Relationship Look Real, Fans Claim

Social media appears to still be on the fence about “Love and Hip Hop” stars Safaree Samuels and Erica Mena‘s relationship.

The couple have been posting photos and videos of one another nonstop since their engagement in December. However, fans still think the pair’s relationship is a publicity stunt.

Samuels recently shared a video of himself and his bride-to-be inside a room together. Mena doesn’t appear to be paying her boo any mind after he jumps on their bed and starts playfully grinding on her backside.

“Ladies how many of y’all Man do things like this to you?? 🌚,” Samuels asked his Instagram followers. “She is paying me no mind 😭😭😭 You sure you gonna be able to handle this for the rest of your life? 😂 love love laugh.”

Mena commented under future husband’s video about how he keeps her “heart filled with love” and laughter.

Safaree Samuels

photo courtesy@iamsafaree/ Safaree (L) and Erica (R)

However, some fans felt the two were trying too hard to convince people their relationship is authentic.

“Ya’ll trying so hard to convince us 😩.”

“Deadass like if you happy be happy, Jay and B don’t post s–t like this, they private asf.”

“To be honest i’m just not bying this. They got together quick af and now they bout to get married. Seem forced.”

One fan jumped to the couple’s defense by saying they bring out the “best” in one another.

“Seems like you both bring out the best in each other. Forget the haters.”

Samuels and Mena were spotted together at a Jazz-Nets basketball game in November 2018, when folks began speculating they were dating. The pair officially confirmed their relationship in December when the New York rapper proposed to Mena on Christmas Eve with friends and family around.

Samuels told fans on Dec. 26 that he and Mena already set a wedding date, although he did not confirm the date.

“Date set Gonna be a movie!” Samuels tweeted.

Samuels was in 12-year relationship with female rap artist Nicki Minaj, but the two called it quits in 2014. He said Minaj treated him more like an employee than her man, and he decided to walk away from their relationship.

Mena was engaged to hip-hop star Bow Wow in 2014, but they went their separate ways in late 2015. She claimed Bow was mentally abusive, which led to their breakup.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZR7jEhVop/

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top