In April, Ashanti and Nelly announced that they were engaged and expecting their first child together, making a strong case for giving an old ex a second chance. Now, TMZ reports that the couple has actually been secretly been married for months.
On Wednesday, the tabloid obtained a marriage certificate that reportedly shows that the musicians tied the knot on December 27, 2023 — four months before they revealed their engagement. The report comes after Ashanti told ET earlier this week about Nelly’s low-key proposal.
“I felt like [the proposal] was going to come soon,” she said, but “I didn’t know when. The way that it happened was just so funny. I’m sitting in the bed watching TV with boxers on.” She said that she gave the rapper the “biggest hug and kiss ever” before FaceTiming everyone she knows to share the news. “I was overjoyed and shocked and surprised and happy, kind of, like, all in one.”
Nelly and Ashanti met in 2003 and dated off and on over the next decade before splitting up in 2013. The two reunited onstage in December 2022 to sing their 2008 song “Body on Me.” Their palpable chemistry had fans wondering if they were getting back together. A few months later, they were spotted holding hands in L.A. and, by all appearances, they were back on.
Since then, the duo has shared dozens of nostalgia-inducing romantic moments to their Instagram accounts and while performing onstage together. In December, fans began speculating that Ashanti was pregnant after Nelly rubbed her stomach and smiled at the crowd before Ashanti playfully slapped his hand away and they laughed off the moment — though, she says, the couple didn’t actually know she was pregnant at the time. A coincidence! Four months later, she confirmed their engagement and revealed that they were expecting their first child together in an April interview with Essence.
“Never in a million years did I think we would be here,” Ashanti told ET. “Ten years ago — maybe yes — but after our breakup, you know, I didn’t even think we’d ever have a conversation again.”
This post has been updated.
