Nick Young & Iggy Azalea (Getty)
NBA star Nick Young and his fiancee, rapper Iggy Azalea, began dating in September 2013. They made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.
The couple is in hot water after a video surfaced in the past week, showing a private conversation between Young and fellow L.A. Laker‘s teammate, D’Angelo Russell. In the video Young admits to cheating on Azalea. Russell, who is at the center of the controversy for making the recording, can be heard asking Young a series of questions pertaining to his relationships with other women. Young doesn’t appear to realize that the conversation is being recorded.
Here’s what you need to know now:
1. D’Angelou Russell Recorded a Video of Young Admitting to Cheating on Azalea
Sources told ESPN that trust in L.A. Laker’s rookie, D’Angelous Russell, is dwindling since the recording he made, asking Young about different women he has been with, surfaced. At one point in the video, Russell asks Young, “You was 30 and she was 19?” At the end of the video, Russell says to Young, “I’m glad you told my video all that.” The video abruptly cut off after Young responded, “huh?”
It’s not clear how the video became public, and it’s rumored that it could be one of the contributing factors to the Laker’s Monday night loss, which has been dubbed the ‘worst loss in franchise history.’
The controversy has unleashed a plethora of reactions and accusations on social media. On Fameolous’ Twitter account, they claim to have found one of Young’s ‘side chicks.’
The account tweeted a screenshot of the conversation, where the woman in question is eluding to the fact that she isn’t going to talk without payment. “Mannnnn…this tea costs,” it says. Famelous, however, is not in the field of paying for info.
2. Azalea’s Latest Tweet Alludes to Supporting Russell, While Young Is Keeping Low-Key in Response to the Video
Though Azalea doesn’t come right out and talk about the details of the scandalous video, she does allude to the fact that she’s supporting Russell’s decision to record it, tweeting that she “actually liked his film.”
On March 25, Young tweeted, “I dnt play them games,” followed by a tweet the next day where he states, “You dnt wanna be me in a relationship.”
3. They Were Engaged in June 2015, & Azalea Knew There Would be a ‘High Probability of Cheating’ in Their Relationship
Young and Azalea have been dating since September 2013. Their first date took place at Target, one of Azalea’s ‘favorite places.”
“The first date, we, it’s kinda funny actually, we went out to a real dinner after this, for a real dinner, just for the record, but I was like Target is my favorite place, I wanna go to Target, and so I made him. You can learn so much from someone at Target,” Azalea told TMZ. Later in the interview, when asked about the potential of Young cheating on her, Azalea replied:
I think if you’re ever going to date anybody with any kind of status, then there’s gonna be girls that yeah want to do that, and there’s a high probability of that. And also if you have your own status there’s girls who just want to smash who you’re smashing. I like Nick, he’s really cool. He’s making me very happy at the moment.
At his 30th bithday party last June, Young got down on one knee and asked Azalea to be his wife, to which she gleefully responded, “Yes!”
Young admitted to Billboard that wedding planning wasn’t going very smoothly, saying, “Whew, a nightmare in its own. I think we should go to the courthouse. [Laughs] It’s tough, it takes a lot of time and compromising and arguing but eventually the women always win. I think [wedding days] should just be women’s day.”
4. Young Was Born in Los Angeles and Has Been Playing with the Los Angeles Lakers Since 2013
Nick ‘Swaggy’ Young (Getty)
Nick Young, 30, was born June 1st, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. In 2007 he officially started his NBA career with the Washington Wizards. After spending a season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2013.
Young, who nicknamed himself Swaggy, played three years of college basketball at the University of South Carolina. Instead of completing his senior year at the college, he decided to join the National Basketball Association.
5. Azalea is an Australian Native, & Turned to Modeling Before Rising to Fame as a Rapper
Iggy Azalea (Getty)
Azalea, 26, whose birth-name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, was born in Sydney, Australia. At the age of 15, Azalea moved to the United States and made her first mixtape, Ignorant Art, in 2011. The tape didn’t take off and Azalea turned to modeling. In 2012, she became the “New face of Levi’s Jeans,” after signing with Wilhelmina Models.
Later in 2012, Azalea was featured on the cover of XXL Magazine, in the magazine’s annual Top Ten Freshman issue, of which she was the first female, non-American rapper to make the list. The hip-hop world took notice, and so she concentrated her efforts into rapping once again. In 2014, she quickly rose to stardom after signing with Mercury Records, releasing The New Classic.