Congrats! Ashanti and Nelly announce they’re engaged and expecting a child together
On Wednesday (April 17), Nelly and Ashanti announced they’re not only expecting their first child together but also engaged.
The “Rain On Me” singer shared the news in an Instagram video. In it, she humorously responded to her mother's question about her performance preparation time with, "Uh, I'm gonna need about nine months."
In a statement to ESSENCE, Ashanti expressed her joy. "This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she explained. “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.”
The pair, who rekindled their relationship in 2023 after a previous long-term romance, initially fueled pregnancy rumors in December of that year. In a video shared online, they attended the 11th annual Black and White Ball in St. Louis, where Ashanti was seen with her hands on her stomach, a gesture Nelly mirrored. From there, the couple broke into laughter and smiles, which many fans took as a hint of the coming announcement.
Nelly is already the father of two children — Chanelle and Cornell Haynes III — from a previous relationship and adopted his late sister’s two kids, Shawn and Sydney Thomas. On the other hand, this will mark Ashanti’s first.
The “Hot In Herre” hitmaker previously discussed the unexpected but welcomed nature of their reunion on the "Boss Moves with Rasheeda" show. "I think it surprised both of us,” he said. “It wasn’t anything that was, like, I don’t think planned. I think we both were pretty much doing what we do.”
“Sometimes, being separate, you understand one another more,” Nelly added. “You could be like, ‘Well, yo, let me exactly see maybe what they see.’ We all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We know we [are] wrong, but we going to stand on it, you know what I mean? But we [are] all a victim to that.”
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