Ashanti and Nelly Have Been Married for Months

Ashanti and Nelly attend I Love R&B Mondays at Greenhaus ATL on October 30, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ashanti and Nelly secretly got married months ago, and we had absolutely no idea!

Us Weekly has confirmed that the two musicians tied the knot on Dec. 27, 2023 in St. Louis, Missouri, just months after they first rekindled their relationship in April 2023.

Back then, a source had told Us Weekly, "They don’t want to rush anything."

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.... News broke in December that the lovebirds were engaged and expecting their first child together, though news of their marriage wasn't revealed publicly until now.

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Funnily enough, this news comes just a couple days after Ashanti sat down with Entertainment Tonight and talked about her ideal future wedding—which presumably is a bigger, less secret celebration the couple wants to host after their baby is born. The singer explained that she knows which month she wants to have the wedding in, and that it'll probably be on a beach in the Caribbean somewhere.

In that interview, Ashanti also opened up about the sweet and unexpected proposal Nelly staged for her. "I felt like it was gonna come soon. I didn't know when," she recalled. "And the way that it happened was just so funny. I'm sitting in the bed, watching TV, with boxers on..."

After he popped the question, Ashanti said, "I cried. I gave him the biggest hug and kiss ever. I FaceTimed everyone I know."

The two originally dated on and off between 2003 and 2013, with Ashanti explaining that there had been a ton of growth on both sides in the decade they were separated.

So many exciting things on the cards for these two!

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.