Ashanti and Nelly. John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
Ashanti and Nelly seem to be letting fans know that they’re taking things at their own pace.
On Monday, August 7, Nelly, 48 — who dated Ashanti, 42, from 2003 to 2013 — once again sparked dating speculation by sharing an Instagram Story video of the hip-hop stars singing to Usher’s “Nice & Slow.”
“I just want to take it nice and slow,” Nelly and Ashanti croon in the video, as the “Foolish” singer rests her head on his. “See I’ve been waiting for this for so long.”
“We on my bro shyt,” the rapper captioned the post.
The duo first sparked reconciliation rumors in April when they were spotted holding hands at a boxing match in Las Vegas. Two months later, the pair attended the 3rd Annual Birthday Ball for Quality Control CEO Pierre Thomas in Atlanta, where they posed with their arms around each other.
Nelly and Ashanti first met in 2003 at a Grammy Awards press conference, keeping their romantic relationship close to the vest for the next 10 years. Instead, the duo’s public-facing persona was nothing more than collaborators and friends. In 2008, the twosome released two duets together: “Body on Me” and “Switch.”
In 2010, Nelly told Rap-Up TV that the two were wedded to their careers.
“I’m married to my work. I’m married to getting things into a certain situation,” he explained at the time. “[Ashanti’s] married to getting things into a certain situation right now. We enjoy each other’s company. We love it.”
Two years after the pair’s 2013 split, Ashanti got candid about their relationship — and their breakup.
“I think sometimes when people have their own insecurities it allows them to act out of character,” she said in a 2015 appearance on The Meredith Vieira Show. “I’ve been betrayed. Again, you just have to grow. You have to grow up and accept responsibility for the things that you do. I’m not a big fan of people being cowards. I think it’s really important to know yourself and understand what you want and get it. I’m in a different place right now.”
Following Nelly’s split from Shantel Jackson in July 2021, Ashanti and Nelly reunited to sing “Body on Me” while performing in Arizona in December 2022. A few days later, Ashanti revealed where she stood with Nelly at the time.
“I saw a lot of comments. My reaction was, ‘Wow.’ It was a lot of comments and a lot of people wanting [us to get back together],” she said during an interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “What I will say is, we’re in a better place. … We’re cool now. We had some conversations, so it was cool.”
In February, Nelly spoke out about making up with Ashanti after going through a rough breakup years prior.
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“Time does wonders for a lot of different things,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “And time is one of those things that allows you time to reflect on what’s what, and you get a chance to see things in a different light and see your faults. So I think we both did that and it’s cool that we just friends.”
