Beloved music couple Ashanti and Nelly are going to be parents together.
Ashanti, 43, finally confirmed exclusively to Essence magazine that she is expecting her first child with the Country Grammar rapper.
Just as monumental for the “Baby, Baby, Baby” songstress is the fact that she and Nelly, 49, are getting married.
“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.”
This will be Ashanti’s first child and Nelly’s fifth. The St. Louis native has a daughter, Chanelle, and a son, Cornell Jr. He also adopted Shawn and Sydney Thomas, the two children of his sister, Jackie Donahue, after she passed away due to leukemia in 2005.
It was surprising how things transpired for Ashanti Douglas and Cornell “Nelly” Haynes Jr. They had dated for about a decade, beginning in 2003, before breaking off and going their separate ways.
Serendipitously, the couple rekindled their romance exactly ten years after their breakup and were seen at the 2023 Grammy Awards holding hands.
“Yeah, we cool again,” he said during an interview last fall with “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta” stars Kirk and Rasheeda Frost, according to Essence.
“I think it surprised both of us, though. It wasn’t anything that …[was] planned. I think we’re both pretty much doing what we do. It’s no pressure,” Nelly added. “You know, before I felt like both of us are doing what we’re doing career-wise. And when you got so many people in the middle of it, it can be tough.”
