Nelly and Ashanti have a romance decades in the making, and years after their first meeting, and several ups and downs, they're embarking on a new phase of their relationship.
This week, the "Rock Wit You" singer, 43, confirmed that she is expecting her first baby with the "Just a Dream" singer, 49, and they're engaged too!
Below, catch up on the couple's years-in-the-making romance, from first meeting in 2003, their break-up, and what they've said about each other through the years.
When did Nelly and Ashanti meet?
Nelly and Ashanti first met in 2003, at the Grammy Awards nominations announcement. Ashanti, recalling the moment in VH1's Behind the Music episode on Nelly, said: "The first time I met Nelly he asked me for my autograph, but I think he was being sarcastic and I remember writing it down on the program."
"That picture has been in so many publications as something else, but it all started out as a joke. For the record, it took him a long time to get my number."
© GettyHow long was Ashanti with Nelly?
Ashanti and Nelly continued to make occasional appearances together throughout the early aughts, however they remained largely mum on whether they were actually together.
It wasn't until 2008 that Ashanti gave subtle insight into their relationship, when she coyly told People: "Me and Nelly, we're good friends. We kick it – hang out a lot… The industry is very hard, so it's good to have fun and lighten it up."
© GettyAnd while she denied any engagement rumors at the time, she did tease: "Definitely in the future."
By 2010, Nelly also kept maintaining the two were "just friends," and in an interview for RapUpTV said: "What people don't understand is that I think you really have to be friends first, that's the thing. It's not about how long it takes, there's no time limit on this."
MORE: Meet Nelly's four kids ahead of baby number five with Ashanti: all we know
He further explained: "I'm not a person who wants to be married more than once, I'm not a person who wants to be in a relationship more than once. You're dying if you leave me," and emphasized: "I'm married to getting things in a certain situation right now and she's married to getting things in a certain situation right now."
© GettyWhen did Ashanti and Nelly break-up?
Though they never quite fully confirmed they were in a relationship, rumors nonetheless swirled in 2013 that they had broken up.
Still, Ashanti appeared to have confirmed the split when asked about it while on The Meredith Vieira Show in 2015, revealing: "I've been betrayed. You just have to grow. You have to grow up. You have to accept responsibility for the things that you do. I'm not a big fan of people being cowards."
© GettyThey first appeared to have rekindled their romance last year, when they were spotted holding hands, and though just like a decade before they maintained it was casual, but by June, they made their first red carpet appearance together since 2012, and Ashanti confirmed they were dating that September.
© GettyDoes Nelly have kids?
Aside from his forthcoming baby with his fiancé, Nelly is also a father to daughter Chanelle, born in 1994, and Cornell Hayes III, born in 1999, who he shares with ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine.
Plus, he adopted his sister Jackie Donahue's kids, Shawn and Sydney Thomas, after she passed away in 2005 following a battle with leukemia.
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