Ashanti confirms pregnancy, expecting first child with Nelly

Ashanti confirmed that she and fiance Nelly are expecting their first child together.

Ashanti, an eight-time Grammy Award nominee who won best contemporary R&B album for her self-titled disc in 2003, made the announcement in a video shared to her Instagram account on Wednesday.

In the video, Ashanti, 43, is preparing for a performance, Entertainment Tonight reported. When her mother, Tina Douglas, asks how much time she needs, the singer responds, “Uh, I’m gonna need about nine months.”

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Ashanti, whose full name is Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas, confirmed her pregnancy with the “Hot In Herre” rapper in an interview with Essence magazine on Wednesday. A representative for Nelly, 49, a three-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated 12 times, also confirmed the news to USA Today.

Ashanti also said the couple are engaged, People reported.

“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope and anticipation,” Ashanti told Essence. “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.”

The child will be Ashanti’s first and Nelly’s third, according to Entertainment Tonight. The rapper, born Cornell Haynes Jr. is the father of two adult children -- Chanell Haynes, 30, and Cornell Haynes III, 25, according to the entertainment news outlet.

He also adopted his sister’s two children Shawn and Sydney Thomas, after his sister, Jackie Donahue’s died from leukemia in 2005.

Ashanti and Nelly rekindled their relationship last year, Entertainment Tonight reported. The couple had dated sporadically for a decade before officially splitting in 2013.

Nelly confirmed in September that he was back together with the R&B singer when he appeared on the Boss Moves with Rasheeda show, saying it “surprised both of us.”

“It wasn’t anything that we planned. We both were pretty much doing what we do,” Nelly said. “But sometimes, being separate, you understand one another more. You could be like, ‘Well yo, let me exactly see maybe what they see.’ We all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We know we wrong but we going to stand on it, you know what I mean? But we all a victim to that.”

“We’re in a great space,” Ashanti told People in September. “Everything is positive; we’re having a lot of fun.”

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