Ashanti and Nelly's dating timeline: when did they get back together & first start dating?

18 April 2024, 09:22 | Updated: 18 April 2024, 16:58

Ashanti gets a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Ashanti and Nelly have had over twenty years of relationship history, so take a look back at all their poignant moments.

Nelly and Ashanti are old school R&B sweethearts, who have not only rekindled their romantic relationship in 2023, but have also announced that they are expecting their first child together!

The 49 and 43-year-old musician's history dates back twenty years to 2003, where they first met.

• Nelly kids: His children’s names & ages as he’s expecting baby with Ashanti
• Ashanti pregnant: due date, baby’s gender & all the pregnancy details
• Ashanti is pregnant and expecting first baby with boyfriend Nelly

So, when did Ashanti and Nelly get back together and when did they first start dating? Here's Ashanti and Nelly's full relationship timeline.

1. Ashanti and Nelly confirm engagement (April 2024)

   Ashanti took to Essence Magazine to share the news from herself that she is pregnant and is also engaged to Nelly.

   “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.”

   View this post on Instagram

   A post shared by Ashanti (@ashanti)

2. Ashanti and Nelly reveal they are expecting a baby (December 2023)

   R&B singer Ashanti, 43, has revealed she is pregnant with her rapper boyfriend Nelly, 49, with a source confirming rumours to Us Weekly: “Nelly and Ashanti are welcoming their first baby together.”

   This comes just months after Nelly and Ashanti rekindled their romance ten years after ending their decade-long relationship.

   So far, Ashanti and Nelly have not publicly revealed when their little one is due, however we do know it will be sometime in 2024.

   

3. Ashanti and Nelly confirm reconciliation rumours (2023)

   In September 2023, Nelly spoke about their relationship earlier in the day to Philo TV’s Boss Moves With Rasheeda.

   “Yeah. We cool again,” Nelly said. “We cool again. I think it surprised both of us, though. It wasn’t anything that was, like, I don’t think planned.

   I think we both was pretty much doing what we do. But sometimes being separate, you understand one another more.”

4. Ashanti and Nelly papped holding hands in Vegas (2023)

   Ashanti and Nelly were spotted holding hands in April 2023 after a boxing match in Las Vegas.

   A month later, the pair partied together in a New York City nightclub, with a source telling Page Six at the time that "They were keeping it very cute and not heavy into the PDA.

   

5. Ashanti confirms her and Nelly broke up (2014)

   Amid breakup rumours, Ashanti gave a statement about Nelly's status with her: "It's a very small industry. Are we gonna see each other?

   "Yeah… I'm not bitter," she says in an interview with radio station Hot 97.

   "I feel like in a relationship, it's like ping-pong. Sometimes you love them, sometimes you hate them. That's a real statement, everyone goes through that," she continued by saying.

   

6. Nelly insists the pair are just friends and says he's not ready for marriage (2010)

   In an interview with RapUpTV, Nelly shared that whilst they enjoy each others company, he and Ashanti are 'just friends'.

   “Right now we’re friends, I’m married to my work,” he said.

   “I’m married to getting things in a certain situation right now and she’s married to getting things in a certain situation right now.”

   

7. Ashanti appears in music video for Nelly's 'Body On Me' (2009)

   The pair kept their relationship relatively quiet, however gave fans a glimpse of their love in the music video to Nelly's track 'Body On Me'.

   He raps: "I wanna make you someone more than just a bone in my closet/I wanna win that type of relationship.”

   The music video features the pair getting flirty and dancing with each other.

   

8. Ashanti and Nelly meet (2003)

   Ashanti and Nelly first met in 2003 at the 2003 Grammy Awards press conference.

   An adorable image of the young musicians was even captured, and Ashanti opened up about the relationship later on.

   "The first time I met Nelly he asked me for my autograph, but I think he was being sarcastic and I remember writing it down on the program," she told VH1's Behind The Music.

   

Here Are All The Ways You Can Listen To Capital XTRA