Nelly Says He Married Ashanti Because ‘I Didn’t Want Her to Be a Baby Mama’

After rekindling their romance in 2023, Ashanti and Nelly didn’t waste any time tying the knot during a secret ceremony later in the same year.

Upon finding out Ashanti was pregnant with her first child, Nelly explained to Bootleg Kev this week that there were no initial discussions of marriage, but that was sped up as the Country Grammar artist didn’t want the singer to be a “baby mama.”

“Once we found out that she was pregnant… We didn’t talk about any of that,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yo, let’s just knock this out because we’re going to be doing so much and everything’s moving so fast.’ I didn’t want her to be a baby mama because we already knew where we were in life. If we’re back like this, this must be what it’s supposed to be.”

Ashanti gave birth to her first child with Nelly (his fifth), Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, in July 2024. The “Body On Me” singers started dating in 2003, and they dated on and off until ultimately breaking up in 2013.

The couple confirmed they were once again an item in September 2023. However, Kev wondered if sparks were flying when they reunited onstage during the summer of 2021 at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle in NYC.

“When I went to Verzuz, I had someone with me,” he said. “I didn’t want it tense. When I walked in, her mother had saw me and I knew mom was gonna go back and let her know that I was in the building. We didn’t even talk. I went over and got a hug and break the ice. We didn’t talk for probably almost another eight to nine months to a year. Everything happens for a reason.”

Earlier this year, Ashanti revealed that she wants more kids with Nelly and is hoping to bring a daughter into the world.

“We’re going to add some more,” she told E! News. “Definitely a girl to balance it out. I’m outnumbered in the house right now. So, a girl would be great… I am feeling amazing, incredibly pleased, humbled. My life has completely changed for the better. I feel full, you know? My cup is full.”

Elsewhere in his interview with Bootleg Kev, Nelly recalled feuding with Eminem at the turn of the century, which he chalked up to a “miscommunication.”

Nelly famously took a shot at Em on MTV’s TRL during the summer of 2000 following the arrival of his debut album Country Grammar and questioned Em making a St. Louis tour stop. “Well, you know, dirty, dirty, I don’t too much know nothing bout dirty, you know what I’m sayin. But he be having some sly little comments about me,” he said. “I don’t play with candy, you know what I’m saying? I eat M&Ms, flat out.”

A month after its 2000 release, Em’s The Marshall Mathers LP still held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, which meant Nelly would debut behind him at No. 3.

Twenty-five years later, the St. Louis native explained that he “misinterpreted something when I was really, really new. I want to apologize to Em,” Nelly said. “Somehow I misinterpreted that he had something to say about what we were doing.”

The pair would clear the air when Em pulled up on Nelly backstage at a Detroit show with his daughter, Hailie, who was a big fan of Nelly’s.

“I felt like a di–, man. Because we were Eminem fans,” he said. “Just miscommunication, man. Em’s a dope cat and I’m glad we got that out the way. It’s f—ed up when you admire people on a level. Dude spits. I appreciate all factors of hip-hop.”