Ashanti & Nelly Are Engaged, Expecting First Child Together

Congratulations are in order for Ashanti and Nelly, who are expecting their first child together.

Ashanti announced the news in a sweet Instagram video on Wednesday (April 17), in which the “Rock Wit U” singer is seen getting ready to perform. When her mother asks her how much time she needs until she’s ready, Ashanti cleverly responds, “I’m going to need about nine months.”

To drive the message home, the 43-year-old star captioned the post “Baby baby baby baby….” Nelly also posted the video to his own Instagram page. See the post here.

Ashanti also revealed that she’s engaged to “Just a Dream” singer to Essence, telling the publication, “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.”

The upcoming bundle of joy is Ashanti’s first child and Nelly’s fifth. The “Body On Me” singers began dating back in 2003 and the details of their romance were somewhat of a mystery to fans before they ultimately broke up in 2013. In June, fans began buzzing when Ashanti and Nelly attended the 3rd Annual Birthday Ball for Quality Control CEO Pierre “P” Thomas and were photographed together on the red carpet.

In an interview with Love and Hip Hop‘s Rasheeda and Kirk Frost in September, Nelly confirmed the ongoing rumors of their rekindled romance. “I think we both were pretty much doing what we do, but sometimes being separate you understand one another more,” he said of the 10-year gap in their relationship. “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 life partners were once chart rivals. Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” dislodged Ashanti’s “Foolish” from the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2002. “Foolish” had reigned for 10 consecutive weeks, before “Hot in Herre” took over for a seven-week run.