Ashanti Confirms Pregnancy Amid Rekindled Romance With Nelly
This will be Ashanti's first child.
After months of speculation and even hints from her own momager, Tina Douglas, singer Ashanti has confirmed she's pregnant. The news comes after months of the singer donning oversized attire and stage costumes, which set off fans' pregnancy radar as she's usually known for her skin-clad clothing. Ashanti confirmed the news in an Instagram video on April 17. The video showcased her team running rampant backstage before a show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. After her mom asks how much time she needs to finish getting ready, the singer emerges with a positive pregnancy test, declaring, "Imma need about nine months." Her mom appears shocked and excited. She captioned the post "Baby, baby, baby, bay, bay" alongside a heart emoji, a nod to her hit 2002 single, "Baby."
The baby will be Ashanti's first baby, and her boyfriend Nelly's third child. The "Hot in Herre" rapper is the father of adult children, Chanelle, 29, and Cornell Haynes III, 24. He also adopted his sister, Jackie Donahue's, kids -- Shawn and Sydney Thomas -- after she died from leukemia in 2005. Their family dynamic was chronicled on a BET reality series.
The rekindled couple first hinted at their baby news around Christmas 2023 in a video that circulated the net in celebration of Nelly's 11th Black and White Ball. In one of the shots, Nelly places his hand on Ashanti's stomach, as she makes a heart over it with her hands, before they both laugh and rush off the stage.
The pair dated for 10 years before a heartbreaking split due to Nelly's alleged infidelity which Ashanti detailed in her music. He quickly moved on to model Shantel Jackson and was engaged for several years before they split. Ashanti and Nelly, who hadn't been in contact since their split, reunited during a Verzus battle between Ja Rule and Fat Joe. They began dating again shortly thereafter.
Nelly has attributed their breakup to making their second shot at love even better. "I think we both were pretty much doing what we do, but sometimes being separate you understand one another more," he said during an interview with Love and Hip Hop's Rasheeda and Kirk Frost. "You be like, 'Yo, let me see exactly what they see.' You know, because we all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We know we wrong but we going to stand on it. But we all a victim to that."