Ashanti Announces She Is Pregnant and Engaged to Nelly

Ashanti is pregnant with her and Nelly‘s first child, the singer confirmed Wednesday. The duo also announced they are engaged.

Ashanti announced the pregnancy news via an Instagram video that portrays her getting ready for a performance. A handler and her mother, Tina Douglas, take turns asking her how much time she needs until she’s ready, until the “Foolish” singer finally steps out to say, “I’m going to need about nine months.”

Ashanti captioned the video, “Baby baby baby baby….” Nelly also posted the video to his own Instagram.

The singer then revealed their engagement to Essence, telling the outlet, “This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation. 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.”

Nelly, 49, and Ashanti, 43, first dated in 2003 before ending things in 2013 and then rekindling their romance in 2023. Nelly confirmed their new relationship last September, in an interview with Love and Hip Hop‘s Rasheeda and Kirk Frost.

“I think we both were pretty much doing what we do, but sometimes being separate you understand one another more,” he said of their long break. “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.” 

The baby will be Ashanti’s first child and Nelly’s fifth. The rapper is father to Chanelle, 29, and Cornell Haynes III, 24. He is also the adoptive father of his late sister’s children, Shawn and Sydney Thomas.

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