Sometimes, secrets are worth keeping. After rekindling their romance last year, singer Ashanti and rapper Nelly have apparently been married for six months! As if it wasn't exciting enough to find out that they were back together, it wasn't long before they announced that they were expecting their first child together later this year. Ashanti and Nelly were such an iconic 2000s couple, so it’s so great to see them able to rekindle their romance all these years later. The couple first met in 2003 and dated on and off until 2013 when they called it quits for good. In the spring of 2023, they began sparking rumors that they had rekindled their romance. And now, a year later, they've already walked down the aisle.
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Here's what we know about their marriage.
TMZ was the first to report that the pair are already married. They obtained court records that show their marriage date as December 27, 2023, which means they had a holiday wedding no one knew about. Even though the paperwork doesn’t list a specific location for their nuptials, the marriage was registered in St. Louis County, meaning they made it official in Nelly’s hometown.
Ashanti announced their engagement this year.
Ashanti first shared the news of the couple’s engagement in an interview with Essence this spring where she also confirmed her pregnancy.
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope and anticipation,” she said. “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.”
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The proposal was low-key and private.
She opened up about the proposal earlier this week during a chat with Entertainment Tonight. She called it a “beautiful, intimate moment” and admitted that the moment came as a surprise — the couple were “not dressy” when it happened.
“I definitely had one of his T-shirts and his boxers,” she said. She shared that she “had absolutely no idea” but did say she knew the proposal was coming “soon.”
Ashanti has big wedding dreams.
Ashanti seems to have it all figured out. She has already picked out the month that they’ll have the wedding, but she shared that she was keeping it to herself for now. And it’s important to her that the wedding have a “combination of fashion, glam, Caribbean vibes,” she shared. “I have to have a beach, an ocean, sunshine, palm trees!”
The wedding may not be happening for a while.
In the same interview, Ashanti said she was “ready” to take the walk down the aisle, and when asked if the wedding would happen sooner rather than later, she coyly said “probably.”
Is this woman good at keeping several secrets at once or what?
Ashanti did also share that she didn’t envision being pregnant at her wedding, so it’s likely the big celebration will happen after she gives birth. Here's hoping we'll get to see plenty of pictures!
