Ashanti and Nelly are not the same as they were nearly a decade ago.
There has been a lot of excitement for the couple after they publicly gave their love another shot in 2023. And since their rekindling, they have wasted no time to make up for the 10 years that they were apart. They got married in December 2023, and by July 2024 they welcomed their first child together.
Now, they have a new reality series called Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together, which follows their journey of being newlyweds and parents. While chatting with The Breakfast Club about the project, they also discussed how they’ve seen each other change from the first time they were in a relationship to present day.
“You know, this one [Nelly] is more patient. I mean, don’t get it twisted, the temper is still there,” Ashanti said. “He definitely goes from zero to 100 quick, but back then that sh-t went from zero to 1000 in two seconds. So I feel like once we started rekindling, so to speak, I was like ‘Oh ok. He’s talking. He took a minute and we are able to talk.’ So I picked up on that and I was very appreciative.”
Nelly chimed by sharing a small detail about how their upbringing was different.
He said, “Again our families are very, very different. So I grew up not having. She grew up not wanting. So when you find that compromise it’s just like – she appreciates everything. I appreciate literally everything, because I know what it’s like not to have. So it’s just, she understands a lot more that that’s not the norm. The getting what you want when you want, it is not the norm and the only thing you want to feel is appreciated.
“Once that was that, I don’t care. You can have it all, I’ll do whatever. I’ll step in front of the bullet and the train as long as I know i’m appreciated,” Nelly said.
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He continued, “You know when you ain’t never had sh-t, you ain’t scared of going back to not having sh-t. But you’ll do whatever you need to do for the one you give a damn about, and I’m just like shawty you know I’ll run through the brick wall for you. Just long as I know you understand I’m about to run through this brick wall for you. I might not get up.”
Nelly noted that these changes were born out of “maturity and growth.” It seems evolving was hard to do before with both of them being such leaders in their own lives.
“She’s an alpha in the Ashanti world. I’m the alpha in the Nelly world. And when you are trying to build a relationship in the business, the alphas bump.”
The first time the world saw the couple even speak in public again was during a Verzuz battle in 2021. During that particular battle in the music series, Fat Joe and Ja Rule went head to head. Ashanti has songs with both artists, so it’s no surprise that she was on stage with them. Nelly was also on stage when he suddenly walked across and hugged Ashanti.
The hug between the exes was one of the most viral moments of the night because no one had seen them together in years. They dated off-and-on for 11 years since 2003. However, when it ended there was no clear explanation why.
But according to the trailer for their new show, something definitely went down. They both say they “hated” each other to a point during their breakup. Plus, during the Breakfast Club Interview, they both admitted the relationship had left them hurt.
It’s not clear if they’ll really get into the weeds of why they ended things back in the day. They may just leave the drama behind, especially since they are in a better place.
To catch Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together, viewers would need to tune into Peacock. The nice surprise is fans can binge watch it, as they have dropped all eight episodes on the app.
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