In a revelation on The Bootleg Kev Podcast, rapper Nelly opened up about why he and R&B icon Ashanti swiftly tied the knot in 2023 after rekindling their decades-long romance.
It all came down to respect, timing, and an unexpected baby on the way.
The couple, whose rollercoaster relationship began in 2003 and included a highly publicized split in 2013, surprised fans in September 2023 when they confirmed they were dating again. But their reunion moved faster than anyone anticipated: By December 27, 2023, they’d already exchanged vows in a private ceremony, though the marriage wasn’t confirmed until June 2024.
The trigger? A pregnancy that reshaped their priorities. “We hadn’t talked about marriage,” Nelly admitted on the podcast. But after learning Ashanti was expecting their first child together, he felt compelled to act. “I was like, ‘Yo, let’s just knock this out because we’re going to be doing so much, and everything’s moving so fast.’ I didn’t want her to be a baby mama, you know what I mean?” he said, emphasizing his desire to solidify their family foundation. “Because we already knew where we were in life. If we’re back like this, this must be what it’s supposed to be.”
“Any relationship, man,” Nelly continued, “I base any relationship on, ‘Does this person bring more good to your life than bad?’ Any relationship. It could be your relationship with your parents, your kids, your homie. Does this person bring more good to your life than bad? And if they do, then great. But if they don’t, then you know that you might need to remove this person from being able to get some of your time. And that’s what I think, for me and her, after we got a chance to look, and was like, yo, a lot of this s— that we was bitching about, we cool.”
The pair kept their nuptials under wraps for months, even as Ashanti glowingly announced her pregnancy in an April 2024 Essence interview. In July 2024, they welcomed their son, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, whose arrival has deepened their bond. Ashanti, known for early-2000s hits like Foolish, has since gushed about motherhood, calling it “the most beautiful chapter” of her life.
