Ashanti and Nelly welcome their first baby together after reconciliation

Ashanti and Nelly have welcomed their first baby together.Getty Images

Ashanti and Nelly’s latest collaboration has arrived — and it’s their cutest yet.

The longtime couple welcomed their first baby together on July 18, Ashanti’s rep confirmed to People on Wednesday.

The “proud and happy parents are so in love” with son Kareem Kenkaide Hayes.

Nelly previously welcomed two kids and adopted two more. Instagram/@ashanti His fifth child is Ashanti’s first. Getty Images

Ashanti and Nelly, who have worked together on “Body on Me,” “This Lil’ Game We Play” and more songs, met in 2003 at a Grammy Awards press conference.

The duo dated for a decade before calling it quits in 2013, only to spark speculation last year that they had rekindled their romance.

Nelly, 49, confirmed in September 2023 that he was dating Ashanti, 43, in a reconciliation that was not “planned” and “surprised” them both.

The actress sparked pregnancy speculation in late 2023. Johnnie Glover/Instagram She confirmed the news in April. Getty Images for E11EVEN

“We both were pretty much doing what we do, but sometimes being separate you understand one another more,” he told “Love & Hip Hop” stars Rasheeda and Kirk Frost at the time, insisting they were not putting “pressure” on themselves.

A report surfaced three months later that the couple had a baby on the way, but they did not comment on the news until April.

The “Foolish” singer revealed to Essence that she was expecting — and engaged.

Ashanti also revealed she and Nelly were engaged. Getty Images The couple first dated from 2003 to 2013. WireImage

“This new year of my life is such a blessing full of love, hope and anticipation,” Ashanti, who reportedly wed Nelly in secret in December 2023, gushed. “Motherhood is something that I have looked forward to.”

While the announcement marked Ashanti’s first pregnancy, Nelly was already a father when the news broke.

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Not only did the “Ride Wit Me” rapper welcome son Cornell and daughter Chanelle in previous relationships, but he is also the adoptive dad of his late stepsister Jacqueline “Jackie” Donahue’s two kids, Sydney and Lil’ Shawn.

They reconciled in 2023. FilmMagic The reunion was a “surprise” to them both. Getty Images

Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., called the decision a “no-brainer” during a “Tamron Hall Show” interview in September 2020, explaining that family “pick[s] up the pieces.”

The “Hot in Herre” performer then made headlines in November 2023 when he was asked about having another baby with Ashanti and quipped, “I’m on it.”

The “What’s Luv?” singer, for her part, told People the previous year about her desire to “slow down” and start a family.