Our favorite spin-the-block couple, Ashanti and Nelly, are almost at the finish line to being parents to their first child together, and to celebrate, Nelly threw his wife a surprise shower at the Dolce & Gabbana store in New York City.
The intimate affair included the parents of both Nelly and Ashanti, as well as close family and friends. The festivities began when Nelly walked his wife out of an elevator, and she was met by excited family and friends. The mom-to-be was in disbelief and couldn’t stop laughing and smiling. Ashanti looked stunning in a yellow and white two-piece maxi skirt and crop top, with her baby bump out.
A highlight from the shower included Ashanti’s father sharing the story about how Nelly asked for her hand in marriage and saying he was “very impressed” that the rapper came to him first. Nelly also narrated how he broke the ice between himself and the singer at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle in 2021 by walking across the stage to give her a hug. That innocent hug rekindled their relationship, which became public in 2023.
Rapper Fat Joe was also at the baby shower and posted about it on Instagram, sending well wishes and sharing his excitement.
“Today we had a Baby Shower, I love you my sister I’m sooooooo happy for yall guys GOD IS GREAT @ashanti @nelly @lolamilan1,” he wrote.
Fat Joe also gives himself credit for the two coming back together after their public breakup in 2013.
“I immediately tell them I need 10 percent of this kid because if it wasn’t for Verzuz that I brought Nelly out [during] me against Ja Rule, that’s when they saw each other and energy connected again. That’s when he said, ‘I gotta have her.’ He was over there contemplating; he really wanted to go over there,” the rapper said.
Nelly and Ashanti shared the news that they’d be having their first child together in April after ongoing speculation (Ashanti was rocking an oversized jersey during every performance).
This won’t be Nelly’s first child since he has two adult children, Chanelle, 29, and Cornell Haynes III, 24, from a previous relationship. The “Hot In Here” rapper also adopted his sister Jackie Donahue’s kids—Shawn and Sydney Thomas—after she passed away from leukemia in 2005. This will be Ashanti’s first child, and she’s looking forward to seeing her husband be a father to their child.
“I think he’s going to be amazing, he’s so good with his kids. When they have a chance to spend time together, he makes it count,” she said to ET. “They have all had to make sacrifices because of [his] career and the traveling and them growing up, you know. But when they are together, it’s the best thing in the world to watch.”
She is also elated about welcoming and raising her first child. “I’m excited about seeing this little human version of myself and the person that I love so much be here,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to having an extension of both of us, be with us, and watching that spirit grow. It’s an amazing thing.”
