Ashanti and Nelly are business partners as they reveal company they co-own while announcing pregnancy

Ashanti has confirmed she is pregnant with Nelly. But, that is not the only good news the lovebirds have in their nest, as the songstress announced her engagement to Nelly.

She made this revelation in an interview with Essence. “This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope, and anticipation,” she explained.

“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.”

While this is Ashanti’s first pregnancy, partner Nelly, 49, has two adult children, Chanelle, 30, and Cornell Haynes III, 25, with his ex Channetta Valentine. He adopted his niece and nephew, Shawn and Sydney Thomas, following the death of his sister Jackie Donahue.

Ashanti announced her pregnancy on Instagram, promoting their fertility diagnostics company Proov with a video capturing a heartwarming moment with her mother, Tina Douglas, asking “how much time do you need?.”

Ashanti takes an early pregnancy test from Proov, emerging with a swab in hand, quipping, “I’m going to need about nine months.”

She captioned the post: “Baby baby baby baby….” with a red heart, prayer hands, and silly emoji. 

Ashanti and Nelly co-own Proov with founder Amy Beckley, PhD. Proov is a company offering affordable fertility diagnostics and treatment at home. Their partnership was revealed in an interview with Essence. The couple, who rekindled their romance last year after a decade-long split, sparked pregnancy rumors in December at Nelly’s 11th Black and White Ball at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis, according to Daily Mail. A source later confirmed to Us Weekly that they are “welcoming their first baby together.”

Their reconciliation was confirmed by Nelly in September during an interview with Love and Hip Hop stars Rasheeda and Kirk Frost.

“Yeah, we cool again,” he gushed when asked if they had rekindled their romance.

The performer continued: “I think it surprised both of us though. It wasn’t anything that I don’t think was planned.”

Nelly noted that their time apart has helped their reunion given that it provided space for understanding each other and their relationship more deeply.

He explained: “I think we both were pretty much doing what we do, but sometimes being separate you understand one another more.

“You be like, ‘Yo, let me see exactly what they see.’ You know, because we all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships. We know we wrong but we going to stand on it. But we all a victim to that.”

Ashanti and Nelly’s happiness now stems from the fact that their current relationship feels positive and pressure-free.

Nelly added: “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.”

Rumors of Ashanti and Nelly rekindling their romance surfaced when they were spotted together in Las Vegas in March 2023. A week later, they further fueled speculation by attending a 40th birthday celebration for businessman Jon Schwartz as a couple.