Cardi B and Soccer Star Maduka Okoye Fuel Dating Rumors After Paris Fashion Week Sighting

Cardi B and Nigerian soccer player Maduka Okoye are at the center of fresh dating speculation after being seen together more than once this month, a run of sightings that has pushed the pair into social media’s favorite kind of gossip cycle.

The chatter picked up fast after the two were spotted on Saturday, July 18, having dinner in Italy with a group of friends. Before that, they had already been seen side by side at a Paris Fashion Week show earlier in the month, then later talking on a balcony after the presentation. The Paris appearances kept the rumor mill moving, especially once photos circulated showing Cardi leaving a Hermès store during Day Four of Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026/2027 on July 9 in Paris, and Okoye leaving Cardi’s hotel the day before, on July 8.

Cardi’s personal life has already been in motion. She recently split from her youngest son’s father, football star Stefon Diggs. Okoye, meanwhile, is also coming out of a breakup with Jelicia Westhoff, the mother of his three-year-old son. That split has become part of the conversation too, after Jelicia took to social media and accused him of being a deadbeat father, cheating on her with both men and women, and physically abusing her.

In a statement to Page Six, Jelicia said she had “nothing against” Cardi, but added that the issue was “about you going out with any woman in public knowing that you don’t take care of your child.”

Elsewhere, the reaction online has been largely enthusiastic, with fans treating the possible pairing like exactly the sort of switch-up they wanted to see for Cardi. “I’m happy for her. It was time to try a different type of guy,” one person wrote. Another added, “He so damn fine, Cardi better have that baby,” while a third was supportive, if cautious, saying, “She should have fun but sis I don’t want you get pregnant again please,” after Cardi welcomed daughter Blossom with Offset in 2024 and then had her son with Diggs one year later.

Check out videos of Bardi and Maduka plus more reactions from fans below.