Ashanti and Nelly have confirmed they are engaged, and expecting their first child together.
The singer, who rekindled her romance with the rapper last year, revealed her pregnancy in a video posted on Instagram.
In a video captioned “Baby baby baby baby”, Ashanti’s mother Tina Douglas is seen asking her how much time she will need to get ready for the show.
Ashanti then appears from behind a curtain and says: “Uh, I’m going to need about nine months.”
The 43-year-old later confirmed she is also engaged to Nelly, real name Cornell Haynes Jr, during an interview with Essence magazine.
She said: “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.”
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While this will be Ashanti’s first baby, it will be Nelly’s fifth child.
The 49-year-old already shares his 21-year-old son Cornell III (who goes by Tre) and his 26-year-old daughter Chanelle (who goes by Nana) with his former partner, Channetta Valentine.
He also adopted the two children of his late sister, Jackie Donahue, after she died of leukaemia in 2005.
Rumours were rife Nelly and Ashanti were expecting a baby back in December, but the couple waited until now to share the news.
The couple dated on-and-off for over a decade, before they called it quits in 2013.
Last September, the former hip-hop flames confirmed they had decided to give their relationship another chance, ten years after their split.
They first sparked reconciliation rumours in April 2023, when they attended a fight night in Las Vegas together.
Following their split in 2013, Nelly moved on with Shantel Jackson in 2015, but they parted ways in 2021 after six years together.
