Ashanti has finally confirmed the happy news that, at 43, she's expecting her first child with Nelly, 49—and revealed for the first time that the two are engaged.
"This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation," the "Rock With U" singer 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."
Ashanti and Essence also released a video on Instagram, in which the singer is getting ready for a show. Her mom Tina Douglas asks her how much time she needs, to which Ashanti replies, "I'm gonna need about nine months" while brandishing a pregnancy test.
The video, captioned, "Baby baby baby baby….," also serves as an ad for Proov, a company which Ashanti and Nelly co-own with founder Amy Beckley, PhD. Essence describes Proov as "a diagnostics company that offers at-home tests that help individuals looking to conceive make it happen faster."
News first broke of Ashanti's pregnancy back in December, when Us Weekly reported that she was expecting a child with Nelly.
This will be the singer's first child, while Nelly already shares Chanelle, 30, and Cornell, 25, with ex Channetta Valentine. The rapper also adopted his sister's children, Shawn and Sydney, after their mom sadly passed away in 2005, per People.
As for the parents-to-be, they got back together in 2023, after breaking up "for good" in 2013. Before that, they had dated on and off starting in the mid-2000s, as reported by Us Weekly.
