Nelly and Ashanti are husband and wife and have been for some time, according to a database of legal documents.
The “Lil Bit” rapper and the “Only U” singer quietly tied the knot late last year, according to the St. Louis County Recorder. The Missouri database entry said Nelly (born Cornell Iral Haynes Jr.) and Ashanti (full name Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas) were married on December 27, 2023, but had no additional information about their nuptials.
TMZ first reported the database entry on Wednesday. Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment on Wednesday.
Just a few months ago, Ashanti confirmed that she and the “Hot in Herre” rapper, 49, were engaged and expecting their first child together. The “Baby” singer, 43, told Essence in April that she was looking forward to being a mother “with my family, my fiancé and my loyal fans, who have been so supportive of my career.”
According to the database, the R&B stars tied the knot shortly after rekindling their romance in September. Nelly confirmed her romance with Ashanti in an interview with Rasheeda of “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta” on her TV show “Boss Moves.”
“Yeah, we got cold again,” he said at the time. “However, I think it surprised us both. It was nothing that…[was] planned. “I think we’re both pretty much doing what we do.”
Nelly and Ashanti split in 2013. Before calling it quits, the “Body On Me” collaborators had dated on and off for 11 years.
Ashanti opened up about Nelly's proposal, telling ET in an interview published Tuesday that it was “such a beautiful, intimate” moment.
“I cried, I gave him the biggest hug and kiss of all time, I FaceTimed everyone I know,” she said, later adding that she and Nelly were “probably” ready to walk down the aisle.
Neither artist has publicized their marriage on social media. Ashanti added in her conversation with ET that she doesn't want to get pregnant at her wedding.
She also addressed the viral moment that sparked pregnancy rumors. During a performance at an Atlanta event in September, the “Ride With Me” rapper and his now-wife playfully caressed her stomach. She didn't know she was pregnant at the time.
“When he blurted that out on stage, we didn't really know. He hadn't even given me a test at that point,” he told ET. The singer said that at the time she was just fixing her wardrobe but that Nelly was “making it look like something.”
The incoming child is Ashanti's first and Nelly's third. He shares two adult children, Chanelle and Cornell Haynes III, with his ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine.
“Never in a million years did I think [Nelly and I] I would be here,” Ashanti told ET. “Maybe 10 years ago, but after our breakup, I didn't even think we'd have a conversation again.”
Times staff writer Nardine Saad and researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.
