Nelly asks Ashanti if she ‘really be up at night’ with their baby
Nelly isn’t sugar coating his role as a father to the child he shares with fellow performer Ashanti.
In a clip from their reality show on Peacock, “Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together,” the “Air Force Ones” rapper admitted that he doesn’t have any plans of caring for their child until he’s old enough to walk and talk.
While discussing Nelly going on tour and leaving the house for a “long time,” Ashanti admitted she was a little sad that he was leaving despite being “proud” of him.
“I think it will be fine,” Nelly told Ashanti, who noted that it was going to be “a lot” with a baby at home.
“Well, listen, it’s all you. I ain’t gonna even lie. You know, I ain’t got nothing for him,” Nelly told Ashanti as they ate a meal together. “Absolutely not,” she said in agreement.
The clip then flashed back to a conversation Nelly was having with his friends, telling them that until their son can express his needs he’s hands off.
“I’m trying to understand, how is it that you sleep through when he starts crying,” Ashanti asked Nelly.
“Do y’all really be up at night? I heard about it,” Nelly responded as Ashanti rolled her eyes.
In addition to his 11-month-old son, KK, he shares with Ashanti, Nelly is also a father to 30-year-old Chanelle and 26-year-old Cornell, who he shares with his ex-partner Channetta Valentine. Nelly is also an adoptive father to his late sister’s children, Shawn and Sydney, after his sister died of leukemia in 2005.
In an interview with The Shade Room, Nelly admitted that he’s “pretty much on cruise control with parenting” after starting over at 50.
Now, Nelly says he lives vicariously through Ashanti, 44, as he watches her go through her first experience as a parent.
“I know she’s always wanted kids, and I know when you’re in this business, sometimes timing cannot work, and some artists have went their whole lives through this business and never get a chance to see that, or never get a chance to experience that,” Nelly continued.
“So watching her go through it, I’m, in a sense, living vicariously through her, but letting her know, she knows I’m here, she knows she has a support, she knows whatever she needs I provide, and that includes nannies.”
In the comments, fans debated Nelly’s parenting style.
“Sometimes it’s better to just stay private! I liked the image they painted for us before the show,” one commenter wrote.
“Sad for her? The man said he’ll provide all the nannies she needs to help. That’s a fair balance. We mad at men who won’t help and can’t provide a nanny,” another commenter countered.
Nelly and Ashanti previously dated for years at the height of their respective music careers in the early 2000s, the “Today” show reported. They later reconnected in 2021 before marrying in 2023.
During a conversation with Today, Nelly also opened up about how he felt having a fifth child at the age of 50, saying that he was open with Ashanti in the beginning.
“I said, ‘Now listen, I’m here, but chasing toddlers at 50,’” he told the “Today” co-hosts. “I said, ‘As many as she wants, but as many nannies as we can afford.”
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 4:05 PM