Oh, to be Nelly and Ashanti’s baby during the holidays.
The “Dilemma” singer opened up to Us about his holiday plans with his wife and their 17-month-old son, Kareem, at iHeartRadio’s Z100 Jingle Ball in New York City on Friday, December 12.
“Yes. Definitely yes,” Nelly, 51, told Us Weekly exclusively when asked if he and Ashanti, 45, are planning on spoiling Kareem this holiday season. “And well deserved. He’s such a joy to be around. He’s a happy baby.”
The couple welcomed Kareem, their first child together, in July 2024, following their reconciliation after a 10-year separation and wedding the previous year. Nelly is also dad to Chanelle and Cornell, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine, and Shawn and Sydney, whom he adopted after the death of their mom and his sister, Jackie Donahue.
Nelly Says He Married Ashanti So She Wouldn’t Be a ‘Baby Mama’
“Even if you’re feeling down, he’ll make you laugh,” Nelly told Us of Kareem. “He’s just like his dad, man. He tries to stay positive, but he looks like his mother. So he gets it both.”
Nelly and Ashanti brought fans into their life with a newborn in their Peacock reality series, Nelly and Ashanti: We Belong Together, which premiered in June. Eight episodes of the show gave fans insight into the couple’s reconciliation and early days with Kareem.
The Grammy-winning rapper gave Us a tease of what we can expect in season 2.
“We’re definitely working on season 2,” Nelly told Us. “We want to thank everybody that supported us out the gate. Shout-out to Peacock and everybody involved. We’re looking forward.”
Yet, he doesn’t have any specific notes on what the duo will be tackling in the new season.
“I don’t like to call them story lines, it’s just our life. And that’s the beautiful thing about it is that we love to bring the positive to it, man, we think there’s so much negative going on in the world. We just wanted our show to be a moment of positivity [and] joy,” Nelly told Us. “People can see we advocate for family, sticking with your family. Hang [with] it and everything will be OK.”
Nelly and Ashanti first sparked a romance back in 2003 after they connected at a Grammys event. After years of speculation, Ashanti finally confirmed in 2015 that they were a couple until 2013. They reunited publicly for the first time while appearing on Ja Rule and Fat Joe’s “Verzuz” battle in 2021.
Soon enough, they were spotted out together as a couple and confirmed their engagement and Ashanti’s pregnancy in April 2024.
Pregnant Ashanti and Boyfriend Nelly’s Relationship Timeline
“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope and anticipation,” Ashanti told Essence at the time. “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 pair wed in December 2023 and welcomed Kareem seven months later.
Nelly says he has learned a lot from the 25 years since he released his debut album, Country Grammar.
“You’re just more mature. You’re way more thankful,” he told Us. “You learn to appreciate a lot of things more, and you’re just very appreciative of everything that people have been doing for so many years.”
Throughout that time — in addition to rekindling his romance with Ashanti — Nelly has released seven additional studio albums, toured the world, appeared on several reality TV shows and even dabbled in acting.
Yet the rapper only has four words of advice that he would give his younger self before embarking on his journey in the entertainment industry: “Save all your money.”
