Nelly and Ashanti Quietly Married 6 Months Ago
It might be getting a little hot in here for Nelly and Ashanti.
That's because the couple have already taken the next step in their relationship and gotten married, despite announcing their engagement and pregnancy in April.
Their wedding date was listed as Dec. 27, 2023, in public records obtained by TMZ. While the documents did not specify exactly where the "Body on Me" collaborators got hitched, it did say that the marriage became official in St. Louis County, where Nelly's hometown of St. Louis is located.
E! News has reached out to reps for Nelly and Ashanti for comment but hasn't heard back.
Nelly and Ashanti's marriage news comes more than two decades of their first meeting. The pair dated during the early aughts but broke up in 2013, with Ashanti saying at the time that they were focusing on their respective careers.
However, Nelly, 49, confirmed in September that they had rekindled their romance after years apart.
"I think it surprised both of us," the "Hot in Herre" rapper said on the Boss Moves with Rasheeda show. "But sometimes being separate, you understand one another more, where you could be like, 'Well, yo, let me exactly see, maybe, what they see.' 'Cause you know we all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. And we know we're wrong, but we're going to stand on it."
Ashanti, 43, announced her pregnancy with Nelly's baby earlier this year, saying that the past months have been filled with "love, hope and anticipation."
"Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to," the "Rock Wit U" singer told Essence in an April statement, "and sharing this with my family, fiancé, and loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience."
This will be the first child for the couple, though Nelly is already dad to daughter Chanelle, 30, and son Cornell Haynes III, 25, with ex Channetta Valentine. He also adopted his sister Jackie Donahue's kids—Shawn and Sydney Thomas—after she died of cancer in 2005.
For a look back at Nelly and Ashanti's love story, keep reading.
Nelly and Ashanti first crossed paths at the 45th annual Grammy Awards nomination announcement in 2003.
"The first time I met Nelly, he asked me for my autograph but I think he was being sarcastic," she recalled during VH1’s Behind the Music special. "I remember writing it down on the program, and that picture has been in so many publications as ‘something else.’ But it all started out as a joke."
Although, a romance didn't blossom right away.
"For the record," Ashanti continued, "it took him a long time to get my number."
Over the next few years, the "Happy" singer and the "Hot In Herre" artist continued to attend several events together—including each other's birthday celebrations.
And while Ashanti confirmed to People she and Nelly went out, she made it clear they were "not boyfriend and girlfriend."
Still, the duo continued to spark romance rumors as they sat courtside at basketball games, went to parties and walked the red carpet together, including at the 2006 premiere for Ashanti's movie John Tucker Must Die.
And while it may seem foolish to think there wasn't a connection between Ashanti and Nelly, especially after the release of their 2008 hit "Body On Me," she insisted their bond was just platonic.
“Me and Nelly, we’re good friends. We kick it–hang out a lot,” she told People at the time. “The industry is very hard, so it’s good to have fun and lighten it up.”
As for any rumors that a wedding was in the works?
“Oh no. Noooo! No engagement," Ashanti added. “But definitely in the future. Ha! Ha!”
In 2009, reports spread that Nelly and Ashanti had broken up.
"We're always going to be cool," he told VladTV in 2010 about where they stand. "We're friends. It's definitely something that, right now, my focus is 5.0. Her focus is her album and getting her music and stuff like that together. And I think it's just one of those things."
However, the "Just a Dream" rapper continued to play coy about their history.
"To say we split up is to say that we were together," he added. "Our relationship has been based in the media because it's nothing we ever said about it."
However, it wasn't long before Ashanti and Nelly were spotted together again. Here, they're pictured attending the 2012 Angel Ball.
But in 2013, Ashanti fueled split rumors.
"Nelly and I are in the space where I'm kind of like focusing on my career," she said on Hot 97. "He's focusing on what he's doing. There's a lot of things that happened this year. A lot of things went public more than other things have gone public before."
"I have to do me," Ashanti, who released her album Braveheart in 2014, continued. "We're in that space right now. And there were things that were said and things that were done that probably shouldn't have been said or done but they have been."
She then confirmed the split in 2015.
"I think sometimes when people have their own insecurities it allows them to act out of character," she said on The Meredith Vieira Show. "I’ve been betrayed. Again, you just have to grow. You have to grow up. You have to accept responsibilities for the things that you do."
"I’m not a big fan of people being cowards," she added. "So I think that it’s just really important to know yourself and understand what you want and get it. You know, I’m in a different place right now."
Fast-forward to 2021, when Ashanti and Nelly joined Jermaine Dupri, Papoose, Ma, Fat Joe, Ja Rule and Lil' Mo for VERZUZ: Fat Joe Vs Ja Rule.
The following year, they performed together again, and the John Tucker Must Die star later revealed if she believed in second chances.
"What I will say is I believe that people evolve," she said on Bevy Smith's Bevelations. "I believe that people grow. I believe that people learn from their mistakes—some of them, not everybody. You know what I’m saying? I feel like you definitely have to go through something that makes you change in your time."
As she later put it, "We have to see. I mean, what’s meant to be will be, undoubtedly. Did I think a few years ago that I’d be performing with Nelly on stage? No."
In 2023, Ashanti confirmed to E! News she and Nelly rekindled their romance, and the "Country Grammar" artist suggested they hadn't anticipated getting back together.
"We cool again," he said on Boss Moves With Rasheeda. "I think it surprised both of us, though. It wasn’t anything that was like, I don’t think, planned. I think we both was pretty much doing what we do. But sometimes being separate, you understand one another more."
Ashanti announces she and Nelly are engaged and having a baby.
“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.”
