Who does Nelly have children with? Singer says he married Ashanti since he “didn’t want her to be a baby momma”

Hip-hop star Nelly shared his views about his marriage to R&B legend Ashanti in a recent interview with radio personality Bootleg Kev. Nelly and Ashanti had secretly gotten married in December 2023, after Ashanti became pregnant with the couple’s child.

On The Bootleg Kev Podcast, Nelly said,

“I didn’t want her to be a baby momma”

Nelly was responding to Bootleg Kev, who asked the rapper why he and Ashanti decided to tie the knot. Explaining his relationship, the rapper said:

"If we're back like this, this must be what this is supposed to be"

Nelly and Ashanti had been in an on-and-off relationship for several years. Before having a child with Ashanti, Nelly had fathered two children with Channetta Valentine back in the '90s when the couple was dating. Despite having two children together, Nelly and Valentine never got married.

Besides his three biological children, Nelly has two more adopted children. He adopted his stepsister’s two children back in 2005. The rapper’s stepsister, Jackie, had been suffering from leukemia and succumbed to the disease that year, as per MTV.

Nelly and Ashanti’s relationship explored

Nelly and Ashanti met for the first time at the 2003 Grammy Awards nomination ceremony. According to People Magazine, Ashanti, while describing their first meeting to VH1’s Behind the Music special, said:

“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…that picture has been in so many publications as something else, but it all started out as a joke. For the record, it took him a long time to get my number.”

As per Showbiz Cheatsheet, Nelly and Ashanti began dating in 2006. Their relationship lasted for several years, but the two never got married at the time. The Showbiz Cheatsheet report also provided insight into Nelly’s views on marriage when he was dating Ashanti in the early 2000s. In an interview with Rap-Up TV, Nelly reportedly said:

“I think that’s the thing that people don’t understand, and I say that because…Society puts a pressure on you because they want to see a certain kind of relationship…If that relationship don’t work, then society doesn’t take the responsibility…I think you really have to be friends first.”

After being together for several years, Nelly and Ashanti reportedly parted ways in 2013.

In 2021, the former couple unexpectedly ran into each other at a concert where they were both performing. At the time, Nelly and Ashanti performed alongside rappers Ja Rule and Fat Joe. As per a report by People Magazine, Ashanti spoke about their unexpected reunion in a live Instagram video. She said:

“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…I seen his eyes get big and I didn’t know what was gonna happen. I didn’t know what to expect. It was positive.”

Nelly and Ashanti had kept their personal lives under wraps when they were dating the first time around. The couple never really shared the nature of their relationship with the media or their fans. For years, there was speculation about their relationship status, and in 2013, rumors surfaced that the hip-hop couple had parted ways.

As per a report by People Magazine, Ashanti confirmed the breakup in 2015. During The Meredith Vieira Show, Ashanti said:

“I’ve been betrayed. 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.”

Rumors about the couple’s rekindled relationship flared up when Nelly and Ashanti crossed paths again in 2021. These rumors gained momentum when the duo performed their 2008 track Body on Me at a concert in Arizona. Despite performing together for years, their chemistry on stage was electrifying.

As speculation about Nelly and Ashanti’s supposed relationship grew, the couple hinted that they were doing better. However, neither confirmed whether they were in a relationship.

In August 2023, Nelly shared a video on Instagram featuring him and Ashanti singing Usher’s song Nice & Slow to each other. The lyrics of the song hinted at the couple’s rekindled romance, delighting their fans. The two could be seen singing:

“See, I've been waiting for this for so long / We'll be making love until the sun comes up, baby / I just wanna take it nice and slow"

The video intensified fan speculation, and Nelly and Ashanti’s supporters hoped the former couple was back together.

In September 2023, Nelly and Ashanti appeared together on the red carpet for the first time in a decade. Speaking exclusively to People Magazine, Ashanti said:

“We're in a great space, everything is positive, we're having a lot of fun”

Nelly and Ashanti got married later that year in December 2023. However, their marriage was kept a secret.

Ashanti revealed in April 2024 that she was pregnant with Nelly’s child, but she had not spoken about their marriage yet. It was only about a month before she gave birth to their son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, that news of the couple’s December wedding broke. According to public records first accessed by TMZ, the couple had tied the knot in Nelly's hometown of St. Louis County, Missouri, on December 27.