Source: ROBERTO SCHMIDT / Getty
The St. Louis rapper and
Ashanti have announced the engaged couple is pregnant with their first child.
Ashanti confirmed the news with
Essence, and she is happy to share this first-time experience with her supportive fans and loved ones.
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she told Essence. “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.”
While this is Ashanti’s first child, Nelly has some parenting experience. He has two kids, Cornell Hayes III and a daughter named Chanelle. Plus, he officially adopted his niece and nephew Shawn and Sydney Thomas after his sister died of leukemia in 2005.
Nelly and Ashanti first met in 2003 when they exchanged numbers at the VMAs that year. They dated for about a decade but broke things off, with Ashanti citing “trust” issues.
Then the two reconnected after Nelly walked across the stage of a
Verzuz to hug Ashanti, which she later called
“very unexpected.”
Then, last year, Nelly appeared on Rasheeda and Kirk Frost’s
Philo TV show Boss Moves with Rasheeda to reveal they were back on good terms and seeing where love takes them.
“Yeah, we cool again,” a smiling Nelly told them. “I think it surprised both of us. It wasn’t anything that was planned. I think we were both pretty much doing what we do. Sometimes, being separated, you understand one another more. We all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We could be wrong, but we’ll stand on it. We’re all a victim to that.”
See how social media’s reacting to the happy ending (for everyone except
Irv Gotti) below.
