Pregnant Ashanti Says Nelly Didn't Know She Was Pregnant When He Rubbed Her Belly Onstage: 'Couldn't Wait'

Ashanti is sharing how she revealed to Nelly that she's pregnant — even though he seemed to have already figured the happy news out.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the singer, 43, shared that despite what Nelly shouted during their now-viral December 2023 performance — where the dad-to-be rubbed Ashanti's belly while performing onstage at the Black and White Ball in St. Louis — she actually didn't know she was expecting at that point.

"When he blurted that out on stage, we actually did not know. I hadn't even taken a test at that time," Ashanti tells the outlet, explaining that she was just trying to adjust the pendant on her black dress.

"I was pushing it down and he's like, making it look like something. And I'm like, 'No!' " the singer joked.

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After she missed a period, Ashanti began to suspect she was pregnant and she shared the news with her fiancé by calling him on FaceTime. "I couldn't wait, [I] had to get it out," Ashanti said. "And he was just like, 'Oh I knew.' "

"He was so happy and we were both smiling and it was so funny," the mom-to-be continued. "I was actually at his mom's house. He was in the studio. It was a really cool moment. It was a little bit of everything."

On Mother's Day, Ashanti shared photos on Instagram of herself posing with Nelly and their relatives. One photo showed Ashanti in a dress covering her growing bump alongside Nelly, who sported a gray sweatsuit.

“This Mother’s Day was so special,” Ashanti captioned the post. “Having our families together as we are about to embark on such an incredible journey was amazing. Wishing all of the amazing Moms and Moms to be a beautiful Mother’s Day...!!!! 😆😆😆😆❤️🙏🏽🥳 #grateful 🙏🏽🥰."

She added: “Yeah yeah I know I’m late… it was so much food I got distracted 🤣🤣 Ps… I only had 1 plate tho 🤣🤣👀."

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In April, Ashanti and Nelly announced they are expecting their first baby together, with the R&B singer confirming the happy news in a video shared to her Instagram.

In the video, she was getting ready for a performance when her mom, Tina Douglas, asked her how much time she needed. “Uh, I'm gonna need about nine months,” Ashanti answered, prompting her mom to look shocked.