Ashanti has added fuel to rumors suggesting she’s pregnant with Nelly‘s child after a recent performance alongside Ja Rule.
During a My 00’s Playlist Tour stop in Corpus Christi, Texas over the weekend, the singer appeared with what some interpreted as a discreetly concealed baby bump.
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In a clip shared via Instagram, Ashanti can be seen alongside the Murder Inc. Records hitmaker performing their smash hit, “Mesmerize.”
The singer is rocking an oversized embellished t-shirt dress which she paired with thigh-high boots, in what looks like an attempt to hide her pregnancy — or so fans thought.
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“Is that a belly!?” wrote one person. “I think it’s safe to say when an artist starts dressing like Billie elish .. they got something cooking [sigh emoji] but we can respect her privacy until she ready [shrug emoji],” a second comment reads.
A third user celebrated the prospect of Ashanti and Nelly starting her own family, writing: “We’re about to be aunties and uncles yall!! [raised hands, laughing emoji].”
Rumors alleging there’s a bun in the oven began to run rampant after the pair shared a flirtatious moment at Nelly‘s Black White Ball, held in December.
In the clip, Nelly and Ashanti — who confirmed several months ago that they are dating — can be seen onstage together. Both of them rub Ashanti’s stomach, and Nelly appears to be laughing while doing so.
Notably, some of this rubbing came in response to the rapper’s exhortation that the celebrity couple should “seal the deal.”
Ashanti and Nelly rekindling their love was only a matter of time, according to Ja Rule. Appearing on the Tamron Hall Show earlier this month, the Queens, New York legend admitted he wasn’t surprised when he saw the power couple get back together as he had a hunch that his former labelmate “wanted that old thing back.”
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“Not really,” Ja said when asked if he was caught off guard by Ashanti and Nelly getting back together. “So her and my wife, they do their ha-ha ki-ki-ing, right? And so, you can tell sometimes when women want that old thing back.”
“I don’t wanna blow sis up!” he added after the crowd exploded. “But the chemistry was there. And I think for both of them, it came back quick. I think they missed each other. The way they clicked just came back so fast.”
