Ashanti and Nelly are engaged and expecting their first child together

Christine Samra
·2 min read
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(KTLA) — Ashanti announced that she and Nelly are expecting a bundle of joy.

The R&B songstress revealed the pregnancy news to fans in an Instagram post that also served as an ad for Proov Tests, an at-home fertility and hormone testing company.

“Baby baby baby baby,” the caption reads, paying homage to Ashanti’s 2002 hit “Baby.”

The video shows the singer and her team gearing up for a performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Before hitting the stage, Ashanti’s mother asks her how much time she needs while pulling back the curtain to her dressing room.

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The singer then holds up a test result and says: “I’m going to need about nine months.” A record scratches as her mom steps back with a shocked look on her face.

“To be continued” then flashes across the screen.

Back in December 2023, US Weekly exclusively reported that the New York native was pregnant, but neither she nor Nelly confirmed the news at the time.

Rapper Nelly and singer-songwriter Ashanti arrive for the 25th Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Rapper Nelly and singer-songwriter Ashanti arrive for the 25th Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Ashanti also revealed that she and the St. Louis rapper are engaged, in an exclusive interview with Essence that was published Wednesday.

“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she told the magazine. “Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to, and sharing this with my family, fiancé, and loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience.”

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The duo were one of the it couples in the early 2000s. They started dating in 2003 and called it quits in 2013. The couple rekindled their romance in 2023, with them making it official in a post to Instagram on Ashanti’s birthday in October.

This will be Ashanti’s first child.

Nelly has two children from a previous relationship, Cornell Hayes III and Chanelle. He also has two adopted children, Shawn and Sydney Thomas, from his stepsister Jaqueline Donahue, who died from leukemia in 2005.

It’s unclear when the couple’s baby is due.

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