Ice Spice Skips 2025 Met Gala Amid New Romance With NFL Star
Rapper Ice Spice was notably absent from fashion’s biggest night for the second consecutive year, choosing to skip the 2025 Met Gala despite rising celebrity status that would typically warrant an invitation to the prestigious event. The “Munch” hitmaker’s absence from Monday’s star-studded red carpet comes just days after confirming her relationship with New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, suggesting the chart-topping artist may be prioritizing her budding romance over fashion obligations.
The Met Gala, themed “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” this year, brought together Hollywood’s elite including a pregnant Rihanna (who revealed her baby bump on the carpet) and numerous A-list celebrities, according to NBC News. However, fans of the Bronx-born rapper were left disappointed when she didn’t appear on the famous Metropolitan Museum steps, marking her second consecutive year skipping the event after her memorable debut in 2023.
New Relationship Takes Priority
Ice Spice’s absence from the Met Gala appears connected to her newly public relationship with Gardner, which she officially confirmed last week through a mirror selfie shared on social media. The 24-year-old rapper included the intimate photo in an Instagram carousel on April 29, according to People magazine, finally validating rumors that had circulated since early 2025.
“Ice Spice posted a since-deleted selfie to her Instagram featuring herself posing with Gardner in front of a mirror,” Billboard reported, noting the significant fan reaction to the relationship reveal. The public confirmation came after months of speculation about the pair, who had been spotted together at Jets games and various events throughout early 2025.
The timing of their relationship going public coincided almost perfectly with the Met Gala, suggesting the rapper may be focusing on her personal life rather than maintaining the high-profile public appearances that characterized her breakthrough years. Gardner, a two-time All-Pro NFL player entering his fourth season with the Jets, represents a significant departure from Ice Spice’s previous rumored romantic connections within the music industry.
Fashion History Left Behind
Ice Spice’s Met Gala absence is particularly notable given her well-received debut at the event in 2023, where she wore a striking white sequined Balmain gown. “In honor of this year’s theme, ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,’ the ‘Munch’ MC stunned the A-list audience in a simple yet elegant, body-hugging white sequined Balmain gown,” Billboard described of her first appearance.
Her 2023 invitation reportedly came directly from Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, according to Euronews, marking a significant achievement for an artist who had only recently broken through to mainstream success. “I’m just so grateful, I’m so happy to be here. You know, I was like really nervous approaching the carpet. And once I heard everybody screaming, I felt better,” Ice Spice told Met Gala host La La Anthony during that event.
After skipping the 2024 event as well, her absence from the 2025 gala reinforces speculation that the rapper is intentionally distancing herself from certain high-profile industry events. “Ice Spice skipped the Met Gala—Again,” Cosmopolitan noted in their coverage of celebrities who missed this year’s event.
Career Momentum Continues Despite Absence
Despite foregoing the Met Gala spotlight, Ice Spice continues to maintain significant career momentum. Her absence doesn’t indicate any professional slowdown, as she recently launched a new campaign with Kate Spade and is preparing for her acting debut alongside Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky in Spike Lee’s upcoming film “Highest 2 Lowest,” according to Billboard.
“It’s unclear whether or not Ice Spice was invited to the Met—she hasn’t attended since 2023—but I’m still salty about her absence. Regardless, the rapper probably had better things to do anyway,” Cosmopolitan speculated about her reasons for skipping the event. Given her current career trajectory and new relationship status, the rapper seems to be strategically choosing which public appearances best serve her evolving public image.
The relationship with Gardner also connects Ice Spice to another high-profile celebrity friendship, as she has previously described Taylor Swift as her “closest celebrity friend.” This expanding network of connections across music, sports, and fashion suggests the rapper is diversifying her public persona beyond her musical identity.
While fans disappointed by her Met Gala absence might have to wait another year for her potential return to fashion’s biggest night, her relationship with Gardner offers a new dimension to her public narrative that’s likely to generate continued media attention throughout 2025.
