Heavy/ABC Ashanti and Nelly are expecting a baby together.
Season 29 “Dancing With the Stars” semifinalist Nelly and his on-again girlfriend, Ashanti, are expecting their first together, according to Us Weekly.
Fans started speculating about a baby on board after TMZ uploaded photos taken at the 11th Black and White Ball at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis. At one point during the event, Ashanti placed her hands on her stomach and Nelly followed suit, immediately leading everyone to believe that she was pregnant.
A short while later, a source confirmed the pregnancy with Us Weekly. If the news turns out to be true, Ashanti will be a first time mom. Meanwhile, Nelly has two grown kids from a previous relationship.
Heavy has reached out to a rep for Nelly for comment.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fans Reacted to the Pregnancy Report on Social Media Sites Such as Reddit
Shortly after the news hit the internet, dozens of fans took to sites like Reddit to react.
“I know they had a rocky ending when they first split but honestly I’m so happy they worked things out years later. They compliment each other so well and you can tell when they interact that their love has matured and it’s genuine. That baby is going to be so gorgeous,” one person wrote.
“Congrats to Ashanti and Nelly!!! I hope they have a safe & healthy pregnancy,” someone else added.
There have also been a fair share of jokes about the timing of the reported pregnancy, mainly because most people loved this couple so many years ago.
“What in the 2003 is this??” a Redditor asked.
“This is the first time a celebrity baby announcement has made me feel young, instead of a million years old,” another comment read.
Nelly & Ashanti’s Relationship Spans Decades
Nelly and Ashanti first started dating in 2003. They split about 10 years later, per People magazine.
“I think sometimes when people have their own insecurities, it allows them to act out of character. I’ve been betrayed. You just have to grow — you have to grow up. You have to accept responsibility for the things that you do. I’m not a big fan of people being cowards,” Ashanti said in an interview on “The Meredith Viera Show” in 2015.
The two reunited in 2021 and slowly rekindled their romance. In April 2023, the two were spotted holding hands, pretty much confirming that they were back together. However, the pair didn’t confirm that they were on-again until five months later.
“I think it surprised both of us. It wasn’t anything that was planned,” Nelly said on the “Boss Moves with Rasheeda” podcast.
“We both were pretty much doing what we do/ But sometimes being separate, you understand one another more. You could be like, ‘Well yo, let me exactly see maybe what they see.’ We all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We know we wrong but we going to stand on it, you know what I mean? But we all a victim to that,” he added.
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