Ashanti confirms pregnancy and engagement to Nelly after viral video of him performing at a concert with empty seats

After months of speculation, singer Ashanti finally revealed her pregnancy on Wednesday, April 17, via an Instagram video with the caption, “Baby, baby, baby.”

As she was preparing to go on stage, her “mom” Tina Douglas, who apparently confirmed the news last month, asked, “Shan, how much time do you need?”

The “Foolish” singer got here out from behind the scenes and said, “I need about nine months,” while holding what appears to be a positive pregnancy test.

In an interview with Essence magazine, Ashanti also revealed that she and Nelly are actually engaged.

“This new year of my life is a blessing full of love, hope and expectation,” she said he said. “Motherhood is something I’ve been looking forward to, and sharing it with my family, fiancé and the loyal fans who have been so supportive of my career is an amazing experience.”

This exciting news comes days after a viral video of Nelly performing for University of Florida students to a not-so-sold out crowd.

The three-time Grammy winner hit the high notes when he took the stage on April 9 for a free-to-the-public performance as part of an event co-sponsored by Student Government Productions and the ACCENT Speakers Bureau.

Footage from the show circulating on social media revealed that the Stephen C. O’Connell Center was nearly empty.

“I feel second-hand shame,” the video’s caption reads. The video features the “Hot In Herre” rapper and his brother City Spud, who can also be a founding member of St. Lunatics, performing on stage, and it wasn’t hot inside.

“I definitely would have preferred if there were more people because it seemed a little empty at first,” said Jennifer Cardenas, a UF freshman WUFT. “When he started doing music, it got better and I really liked it.”

According to the station, the performance was supposed to start at 7:00 p.m., but due to low attendance, the “Country Grammar” emcee began performing only at 8:00 p.m. It was then that spectators who arrived were informed that they might take a seat on the ground, leaving several rows of seats empty.

According to WUFT, Nelly didn’t let the boring crowd dissuade him from imparting sage wisdom about being a good person and having a good heart to future graduates. However, on social media, reactions to the concert were mixed and interspersed with remarks about his girlfriend, Ashanti.

“She’s still coming home to Ashanti,” wrote a fan who hailed Nelly’s love life as the best victory of all. “I hate it when people try to shame someone. This clearly looks like a sound check to me.” he wrote another person stands up for him.

Even rapper The Game weighed in on the difficulty, writing, “Nothing to see here. He probably earned 60-100 thousand per performance, even though there was only one person performing. Sometimes promoters decide not to promote shows, so it’s not helpful.”

But one other one that wanted to tie the show to the “Foolish” singer couldn’t help herself Attention“So this is why Ashanti won’t sit down!? 19 months with a baby and everything.”

Pregnancy rumors first surfaced last May, when fans noticed her chubby appearance during a joint performance in Last Vegas. Speculation that she was secretly pregnant with a child grew as her figure appeared fuller and her rounded belly began to peek out from under her oversized stage costumes at various live shows.

In March, Ashanti’s mother by chance announced that her daughter was pregnant.

When the radio host congratulated her on the upcoming birth of her first grandchild, Douglas quickly snapped, “Nothing has been announced. It ain’t out yet until I hear it from Ashanti and Nelly,” adding, “It ain’t out yet until I hear it from Ashanti and Nelly.”

Ashanti’s ex-boyfriend Joyner Lucas confirmed the news ahead of her announcement, saying, “She’s having a baby soon. I’m just excited. I know how much you wanted to be a mom” – during a recent interview.

Nelly and Ashanti dated on and off from 2003 until 2013, after they broke up for good. To the shock of many, they rekindled their romance sometime in 2022, but didn’t publicly confirm that they’d be an exclusive relationship until 2023. Neither party was married, nonetheless, Nelly has two adult children from previous relationships and an adopted niece and a nephew after his sister died of leukemia in 2005.