AceShowbiz - In a candid conversation on "The Bootleg Kev Podcast", Nelly opened up about the whirlwind events that led to his marriage to Ashanti. The couple, who rekindled their romance in 2023 after nearly a decade apart, made the quick decision to marry as soon as they learned Ashanti was pregnant with their first child together.

Nelly shared that there had been no initial discussions about marriage, but the news of the pregnancy catalyzed their plans. "I was like, 'Yo, you know what? Let's just knock this out because we're going to be doing so much and everything's moving so fast.' I didn't want her to be a baby mama, you know what I mean?" said Nelly.

Ashanti and Nelly tied the knot on December 2023 in a secret ceremony, merely three months after confirming their relationship was back on track. Ashanti revealed her pregnancy in an April 2024 interview with Essence, and their son, Kareem Kenkaide Hayes, known as KK, was born in July 2024.

Reflecting on their rekindled romance, Nelly described how the reunion began with a simple hug at the 2021 Verzuz battle between Fat Joe and Ja Rule. "We didn't even talk. I just went over, got a hug [to] break the ice. We didn't talk for another almost eight to nine months to a year. We didn't have a conversation," Nelly recounted.

Nelly's three biological children and the niece and nephew he adopted after his sister's death in 2005 now have a new addition to their family. But the couple is not stopping there; Ashanti recently told E! News that she wants to have "one or two more" children, expressing a desire for a daughter to "balance it out."

The 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards marked another milestone for the couple, with Ashanti presenting Nelly the Landmark Award. Nelly praised his wife for the surprise presentation, saying, "That's my baby, man. She did her thing."

The award honors artists whose album releases have inspired and shaped culture over multiple decades, a fitting accolade for Nelly's impactful career.