Ashanti and Nelly dated on and off from the early 2000s before breaking up in 2013, only to rekindle their romance this year. As Nelly's special guest at his Black and White Ball on Dec. 3, Ashanti was on stage with her beau when she placed her hands on her midriff. Nelly rubbed the area, sending the room into shock and speculation about the possibility of the couple expecting a child. Now that the news is confirmed, all that's left for the "Ride Wit Me" rapper is to "seal the deal," as Polow da Don put it.
Nelly suggested that he was ready for a child with Ashanti after the singer gifted him an all-blue convertible for his 49th birthday last month. "I'm on it" he responded to an Instagram follower who demanded that Nelly get Ashanti pregnant.
The two recently hit the studio to work on an upcoming collaboration, following 2008's "Good Good" (where Nelly made a cameo as Ashanti's love interest) and "Body on Me," featuring Akon. Jermaine Dupri and Juicy J are joining the upcoming track, which they hinted at in an Instagram post last week.
Earlier this year, we put together a timeline of how Nelly and Ashanti found their way back to each other.
The new delivery will be Nelly's third child, as he already has a daughter, Chanelle Haynes, 29, and a son, Cornell Haynes III, 24, with Channetta Valentine. But Ashanti's been manifesting pregnancy since last year. "But I have to make sure it's with the right person," she told People last December. "Trust me, there's a lot of guys that want to be my baby daddy — and they've tried."
This article originally appeared on Complex.