Nelly and Ashanti: An Evolution of Their Love Story

In the early 2000s, you couldn’t find bigger Hip-Hop and R&B stars than Nelly and Ashanti. Fresh off her debut self-titled album with hits like “Foolish,” Ashanti was everywhere, appearing on almost every hook of popular Hip-Hop collaborations of that era. 2003 was a year of continued success for Nelly as well, as he took home the Grammy for his chart-topping hit with Kelly Rowland, “Dilemma.” The two reportedly met right at the height of their success, at the 2003 Grammy Award nomination announcements. “The first time I met Nelly he asked me for my autograph, but I think he was being sarcastic and I remember writing it down on the program,” Ashanti revealed while on Vh1's Behind the Music.

While they have been linked since as early as 2003, the two were often cryptic in the first decade or so after they met as to whether or not they were truly dating. One of the first true confirmations came from Ashanti in 2005, when she told People that while she and the “Country Grammar” rapper were “not boyfriend and girlfriend,” they “went out.”

From 2003 to 2008, the two remained linked in the press, with rumors constantly swirling about the two and their potential romantic connection. In 2008, Ashanti once again spoke on their relationship, insisting to People that they are “good friends” who “kick it.” When asked about an engagement between the two, she replied, “Oh no. Noooo! No engagement, but definitely in the future. Ha! Ha!”

While the two arguably dominated the music game in the 2000s, they made us wait a bit before collaborating. That all changed in 2009 when they dropped “Body on Me,” their song together with Akon that appeared on both Ashanti’s album “The Declaration” and Nelly’s “Brass Knuckles” record.

Once again, marriage speculation between the two was put on ice years ago, this time by Nelly. Speaking to RapUp TV in 2010, he explained, “What people don’t understand is that I think you really have to be friends first, that’s the thing. It’s not about how long it takes, there’s no time limit on this. I’m not a person who wants to be married more than once, I’m not a person who wants to be in a relationship more than once. You’re dying if you leave me.”

In 2013, ten years after they met, rumors of their breakup began to circulate. From 2013 to 2014, the two played it coy in the press as the rumors continued to surface, with Ashanti even telling Hot 97 in 2014, “It’s a very small industry. Are we gonna see each other? Yeah… I’m not bitter,” before continuing to say a relationship is like “ping-pong.”

Ashanti officially confirmed the split on The Meredith Viera Show in 2015, finally letting the public in a bit more on their relationship. “I’ve been betrayed,” she explained. “You just have to grow. You have to grow up. You have to accept responsibility for the things that you do. I’m not a big fan of people being cowards.”

After almost 10 years since rumors of their split hit the press, Ashanti and Nelly reunited, unexpectedly hitting the stage together for Ja Rule and Fat Joe’s Verzuz battle in 2021. “Now look, this is the crazy part: I had no idea he was gonna be there,” Ashanti revealed on Instagram Live after the event. “I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since we broke up. Six years or something? So, I didn’t know what to expect.” During the performance, Nelly went over to Ashanti and embraced her, a moment that we now realize was the beginning of the a new chapter in their story.

In the year following the performance, the two appeared together once again, performing their “Body On Me” song for Power 98.3 and 96.1's Under the Mistletoe concert in 2022. Later that year, Ashanti told Andy Cohen that they were in a “better place” and “cool now.”

Then came the reconciliation rumors, fueled by the two getting spotted around town. The two were first seen in Vegas in the spring of 2023, looking “cozy” per People, before officially hitting their first red carpet together in years just a few months later.

In September of 2023, the two officially confirmed their rekindled romance. “I think it surprised both of us,” Nelly revealed on “Boss Moves with Rasheeda.” “It wasn’t anything that was planned.”

The two rang in the new year with their love in 2024, getting married on Dec. 27th 2023. While the news was not confirmed until months later, the two were able to privately celebrate their love for each other, a truly one-of-a-kind love story almost exactly 20 years in the making.

Ashanti announced her pregnancy and engagement to Nelly in April of 2024 to Essence. “This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she told the outlet at the time. “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.” Court documents later confirmed that Nelly had already been her legal husband at the time of the announcement.

Ashanti and Nelly welcomed their first child, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, in July of 2024, as we reported. She wrote on her Instagram at the time, “Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings!”