Ashanti and Nelly have welcomed their first baby together

Ashanti’s dream of becoming a mom has come true.
The “Foolish” singer, 43, and husband Nelly, 49, welcomed their first son together last month, she announced on Instagram Wednesday with a photo and video of her postpartum body.
“Four weeks postpartum,” Ashanti said in the video. “You have no idea what this body can do.”
In the caption, she explained how she has been coping with the fourth trimester and new motherhood.
“Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings!” Ashanti wrote, giving a shoutout to the postpartum underwear she was wearing. “I’m so proud of my body for giving me my baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.”
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Ashanti told Entertainment Tonight their baby boy’s name is Kareem Kenkaide Haynes, and he was born a little ahead of schedule on July 18, 2024. Kenkaide is Ashanti’s dad’s name, she explained.
“His dad named him with a lot of pride,” she told the outlet. “Having all of us in the delivery room and seeing his face for the first time, I cried it was just so emotional and spiritual at the same time.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the singers’ reps for comment.
Nelly has two children from previous relationships: daughter Chanelle Haynes, 30, and son Cornell Haynes III, 25. He also adopted Shawn and Sydney Thomas, the children of sister Jackie Donahue, after she died of leukemia in 2005.
The birth of Ashanti and Nelly’s son comes two months after the revelation that the couple was already married. According to St. Louis, Missouri, public records reviewed by USA TODAY, the couple legally married Dec. 27, 2023.
After meeting in the early 2000s, the Grammy-winning couple privately dated on and off for around a decade, according to Entertainment Tonight. In 2021, after the two reunited at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle, DJ City gave Nelly Ashanti’s phone number.
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Following months of speculation about the two rekindling their romance, Nelly revealed in a September 2023 interview that he and the “Foolish” singer were giving things another go. He said on the Philo show “Boss Moves with Rasheeda” that he and Ashanti were “cool again.”
For her part, Ashanti made their relationship red-carpet official at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in September by accessorizing her look with a clutch that had a photo of the couple printed on it.
A few months before Ashanti’s VMAs shoutout, Ashanti and Nelly sparked rumors when they hit the stage together in Las Vegas for a surprise performance of their 2008 hit “Body on Me,” which features Akon.
Earlier this month, Nelly was arrested in his hometown of St. Louis in the early hours of Aug. 7.
Nelly was charged with possession of a controlled substance after four ecstasy pills were found on his person during a visit to Hollywood Casino.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Nelly’s attorney Scott Rosenblum alleged the singer was “targeted by an overzealous, out of line officer” after winning several jackpots.
“Instead of just supervising the transfer of Mr. Haynes’ winnings, this officer felt compelled to needlessly run a check for warrants,” Rosenblum said. He added the officer’s search of Nelly following the discovery of his warrant was conducted “without probable cause,” adding that the officer “handcuff(ed) Mr. Haynes behind his back and parade(d) him through the casino in front of other patrons.”
“I am 100% confident this case will go nowhere. And we will be asking for an inquiry into this officer’s conduct,” the attorney concluded.
Contributing: Edward Segarra