Claressa Shields may be known as an Olympic gold medal-winning boxer, but lately her fighting prowess has been the last thing taking over headlines. In fact, it’s her personal business — specifically her relationship with rapper Papoose –that’s been the talk of the timelines.
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But exactly how did the two even get entangled in the first place…to the point to where she’s now debunking potential breakup rumors? Well, we’ve got the break down right here, so let’s get into it!
How It Started
Let’s take it all back to December 2024 when Shields and Papoose’s involvement was blasted to the masses on social media thanks to Papoose’s estranged wife, fellow rapper Remy Ma. As we told you at the time, Remy leaked alleged text messages between Papoose and Shields, the woman he was allegedly having an affair with then. The “Shether” rapper then began putting out even more texts between the two and hopped on Instagram to blast him.
“This lady #claressashields and that sorry ass publicity team been putting out fake stories on me EVERYDAY to make me look bad and him look like gods gift for too long,” Ma wrote back then.
She continued: “I BEGGED @papoose to put out something to stop the narrative and he kept telling me just stay quiet that that’s the best thing to do… welp I’m tired oh and he said he would never f*ck your cuz you ugly but don’t worry I saw EVERYTHING now the world gonna see it since u so tough boo.”
Papoose, in return, accused Remy of cheating on him for years with another man.
February 2025
Fast forward to February 2025 and it seemed like the drama between Remy and Papoose had died down. In fact it seemed like Papoose was adamant about his new relationship with Shields, as he was seen walking her out during a fighting match towards the top of the month.
In an Instagram live session at the time, Shields praise Papoose for his support, saying: “I love him, I love having his support. His support is very different from what I’ve had in the past. How he speaks to me is very different.”
Weeks later, the two posted up in Hawaii over Valentine’s Day weekend and for the inaugural Wynn Records Hawaii Fest 2025. In various social media posts, they were all smiles and appeared to be in good spirits in spite of the drama they just endured some months back.
May 2025
Just a few months later, Shields appeared on “The Breakfast Club” and broke her silence on her relationship in an official interview. During the conversation she stated that although the entire situation was messy, she was confident in the bond she built with Papoose.
“I’m such a secure woman when it like comes to him because he’s proven, he’s proven it to me,” she said then. “When somebody is just truthful with you from the beginning, there is no there is no secrets. It is what it is and do you accept or do you not accept, that’s kind of what it was and he’s been truthful from the beginning.”
She later addressed Remy, directly saying that she didn’t have any issues with her.
“I don’t have any ill will toward any women and I don’t have any ill will toward her. She made her post and whatever and that was about it,” she said.
In response to her interview, Remy took to Instagram to send a message to Shields in which she said that she wasn’t afraid of her “tough talk” and further pushed for a divorce from Papoose.
“Listen, this is what I would like: Papoose, you have my lawyer’s information. If you can’t afford to retain a lawyer since the lawyer that you gave has not been retained yet, I told you I’ll pay for [the divorce],” she said at the time.
However, Papoose shortly fired back at Remy’s comments, posting alleged proof that he’d already filed for divorce but was at a standstill because she hadn’t pulled the plug her end. He also accused the rapper of still trying to get back with him.
“This was so easy to file for divorce. Why hasn’t she done it ? #pumpfaking The only reason I haven’t filed previously Is for the sake of my daughter. She has to go to school,” Papoose wrote then.“When two individuals behave like civilized adults. You can get a divorce peacefully/privately. And that was my intentions. But when a person wants to be bitter, & clout chase. It turns into a circus. Which can lead to an embarrassment for my child.”
He concluded: “You just lied for a hour straight. But actions speak louder than lies. You just called me YESTERDAY trying to get back with me. And I said NO!”
How It’s Going
Just two months later in July and it seemed like the impending divorce between Papoose and Remy was still going nowhere. However, that didn’t seem like it was making Shields put a pause on any future planning with him.
As we previously told you, Shields shocked even more of her fans when she revealed on “The Pivot” podcast that she and the “Turn It Up” rapper were doing some serious family planning with the goal of welcoming their first child in 2026.
“I’m gonna have a baby next year. We already had it planned out. I’m gonna have baby next year. And then after I go through my stuff, then I’ll come back and fight and fight some more, and then probably have another one and then do the same thing again,” she said.
She went on to say that she’d prefer not to wait until she’s in her 40s to have a child as she wants to be able to be active with them and mobile enough to keep up with them. She also detailed a few things she was doing ahead of time to help prepare herself and her body.
However, once her words made the rounds on the internet, a lot of folks took issue with Shields’ plans and the fact that both she and Papoose were allegedly making them while he’s still legally married. Though it is true Papoose and Ma have been legally separated since 2022, the ink has yet to dry on official divorce papers. So, welcoming a child in this environment would be the less ideal thing to do according to some folks.
What’s more is the fact that now, in August, Shields is now fielding off cheating rumors that some folks on the internet have lobbed against Papoose. But as shown in a recent Instagram post on Wednesday, the decorated boxer isn’t letting the online chatter ruin anything.
“All I see is lies [laughing emojis],” she captioned it, as captured by The Neighborhood Talk. “Stop lying! Me and my man at his mama house eating victory dinner that she cooked for me! I see I gotta start checking y’all lies! We great over here!”
She later added in a post to X/Twitter: “I just be watching God handle my enemies, yeah uppercut em God, Get em, don’t turn em loose!”
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