Ashanti and Nelly Share Sweet Update on Family Life 3 Months After Welcoming Baby
What's Luv? For Ashanti, it's life with her and Nelly's little one.
Indeed, in the three months since welcoming their baby Kareem Kenkaide "KK" Haynes, they are loving every precious moment with their son.
"He's such an incredibly happy baby," Ashanti shared with Entertainment Tonight in an interview published Nov. 4. "He recently just found his toes, his feet. So now he grabs his feet whenever he can, like when he's lying down. And he smiles all the time."
And for Nelly—who quietly tied the knot with his longtime love last December—getting to experience Ashanti become a mom has been a thrill all its own.
"She's an awesome mom," the 50-year-old gushed. "To watch someone care about someone else so much and give their all and is willing to give their all."
Although the "Ride Wit Me" did poke fun at his Ashanti, 44, for how seriously she takes KK's wardrobe.
"She treats him like a Build-A-Bear," he shared. "The boy is 3 months. He changes outfits in the house. He doesn't leave the house. He changes outfits three times in the house."
Nelly continued, "It's a laughable love, in a good way, 'cause I just laugh. I just say, ‘Look at this baby.' I can't wait to show him some of the pictures and the videos, like 'Look at what your mom is doing to you.'"
But Ashanti alleges she isn't the only one going all in on celebrating each of baby KK's milestones.
"We had a photoshoot the other day," she said. "But Daddy directed the photo shoot. We had a pumpkin photo shoot. He's like, ‘No ma, you gotta do it this way.'"
As Nelly joked, "I'm learning."
And already being a dad to kids Chanelle, 30, and Cornell Haynes III, 25, with ex Channetta Valentine, as well as Sydney, 27, and Shawn Thomas, 26—his sister Jackie Donahue's children who he adopted after she passed away in 2005—did prepare him for one of the more interesting aspects of fatherhood.
"He's a boy, and you know I've had boys—I have boys. And boys, you have to duck when you're changing them," Nelly laughed. "And I've been peed on so much by my oldest son that it's pretty much over."
As for Ashanti, the "Rock Wit U" singer is not only grateful for her baby boy, but also for her relationship with Nelly, which rekindled in 2023 more than a decade after they first broke up.
"To have my soulmate, my person, my best friend, my protector—it's an amazing feeling," she said. "The universe doesn't make mistakes, you know what I'm saying? So I'm super blessed to have him."
To see more of Nelly and Ashanti's love story over the years, 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.”
