Ashanti and Nelly are having a baby!
The singer shared the good news exclusively with ESSENCE that not only is she overjoyed to be giving birth to her first child, but she’s also engaged to her longtime love.
“This new year in my life is a blessing filled with love, hope and anticipation,” she said. “Becoming a mother is something I’ve always looked forward to, and sharing it with my family, fiancé and loyal fans who have been so supportive of my career has been an amazing experience.”
The couple also told ESSENCE exclusively that they are co-owners of Proov with founder Dr. Amy Beckley. It’s a diagnostic company that offers at-home tests to help people who want to get pregnant achieve pregnancy faster and without leaving a huge dent in their pockets. Medical-grade tests can help reveal problems that prevent people from getting pregnant. Proov appeared in Ashanti’s pregnancy announcement video, which was co-shared by ESSENCE on Instagram.
All of this is part of a new chapter in a star’s life. As mentioned, this will be Ashanti’s first child and Nelly’s fifth. He has a daughter, Chanelle, and a son, Cornell Jr., and adopted Shawn and Sydney Thomas, his sister Jackie Donahue’s two children, after she died of leukemia in 2005.
The couple are back together in 2023, the “Country Grammar” rapper confirmed the news, after the two were seen attending events together and acting in a flirtatious manner, with Ashanti last year holding a phone with her and Nelly’s faces on it clutch to attend the Grammy Awards.
“Yeah, we’re cool again,” he said last fall in an interview with “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” stars Kirk Frost and Rashida Frost. “I think it surprised both of us, though. It wasn’t something…[was] plan. I think we’re all doing what we’re supposed to do.
The couple rekindled a romance in 2003 during the early stages of their music careers. He said things were easier now that they were older and loved differently.
“There’s no pressure,” he said in the same interview. “You know, before I feel like we’re both doing what we’re doing career-wise. Things can be difficult when you have so many people involved.
Prior to the reunion, the two began communicating again following the Verzuz incident between Fat Joe and Ja Rule. Nelly made a point of hugging Ashanti during the star-studded event, which she later said surprised her.
“I didn’t know he was going to be there. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since we broke up. I don’t know if it’s six years or something, so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said in 2021 said during an Instagram Live with friends and collaborators Ja Rule and Fat Joe. “It was a crazy thing, nothing was said. I saw him walking and his eyes were wide open and I didn’t know what to expect. It was positive.
Ashanti initially recused herself from negotiations for a settlement when Jia suggested that Nelly was single and available for a relationship.
“Listen, I’m a very positive person. I’m very private. I wish him all the best and everything goes well. “There’s a lot going on and a lot that’s unresolved. A lot of gray areas. A lot of chaos. That’s what I’m saying. ! There’s a lot going on. They hate hearing that part, right? They want to hear, “What’s that old thing?” “They don’t want to hear everything that happened in between. Don’t worry, I won’t tell you.
But behind the scenes, the two struggle to let go of their past and fall in love again. Now, they’re preparing to start a family together and become husband and wife, a union that Nelly seemed unsure about in the past. But apparently Ashanti helped him change his mind, which we’re glad to see.
