Ashanti’s got that pregnancy glow.
The singer, 43, flaunted her bump beach-side while sporting a sparkly gold bikini in an Instagram photo on Wednesday, June 19, hours after Us Weekly confirmed her marriage to Nelly, 49.
“The greatest feeling ever,” she captioned the post, tagging the photographer, Derek Blanks.
“My inner 90’s child is SCREEEAMMIINNGGG,” one fan gushed in the comments, while another remarked, “Motherhood looks good on you.”
Earlier that day, Us reported that Ashanti and Nelly had secretly wed in St. Louis on December 27, 2023. The twosome are expecting their first baby together, and Nelly’s fifth. The Grammy-winning “Hot in Herre” rapper also shares daughter Chanelle, 29, and son Cornell Haynes III, 24, with ex Channetta Valentine. He also previously adopted Shawn and Sydney, the children of his late sister Jackie Donahue, after her 2005 death.
Nelly revealed in September 2023 that he and Ashanti had rekindled the flame after a period of estrangement. Previously, they dated off and on from 2003 to 2013 after meeting at a press conference for the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.
“Yeah, we cool again,” he told Philo TV’s “Boss Moves with Rasheeda,” noting, “I think it surprised both of us though. It wasn’t anything that I don’t think was planned. Before I felt like both of us were doing what we were doing before career-wise, and when you got so many people in the middle of it, it can be tough.”
That same month, an insider exclusively told Us that Ashanti had not anticipated reuniting with Nelly after a decade apart. She finally confirmed her pregnancy in April, telling Essence, “Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to, and sharing this” with family and fans “who have been so supportive of my career, is an amazing experience.”
While she prepares to welcome her little one, Ashanti’s famous pals and ex-partners are celebrating the happy news.
“So the other day Ashanti FaceTimes me with Nelly,” rapper Fat Joe said in January. “I immediately tell them I need 10 percent of this kid, because if it wasn’t for Verzuz when I brought Nelly out, me against Ja Rule, that’s when they saw each other and that energy connected again.”
Ashanti’s ex, rapper Joyner Lucas, said on the “Jason Lee Show” in April, “She’s a really dope person. She really is. She’s an amazing person. She’s about to have a baby. I know how much she wanted to be a mom.”
He continued, “She’s gonna be an amazing mom. I would tell her that all the time [when we dated].”
