Music
Inside Ashanti’s private birthday bash for husband Nelly
He’s so happy, baby.
Ashanti threw a private, star-studded 51st birthday party for her husband, Nelly, at the hot spot Lo Kee Atlanta on Saturday.
A source exclusively tells Page Six that the “Foolish” singer, 45, rented out a private room for the “Dilemma” emcee to celebrate his big day.
The bash was attended by 50 of Nelly and Ashanti’s closest friends and family, including rapper Bow Wow and producer Jermaine Dupri, we’re told.
The couple, who secretly tied the knot in December 2023, arrived at the modern Asian fusion restaurant around 10:30 p.m. ET and stayed until 1:30 a.m. ET.
The “Baby” songstress and the “Hot In Herre” rapper, born Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., dined on Beijing chicken, chicken satay, rock shrimp tempura and salt and pepper prawns.
They also enjoyed a birthday cake and other desserts.
After Ashanti serenaded her beau with a sweet rendition of “Happy Birthday,” everyone watched the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series together.
In 2023, Nelly and Ashanti reignited romance rumors by holding hands together, nearly 10 years after they broke up for good.
That September, the “Air Force Ones” emcee confirmed that they were back together, saying that they were “cool again.”
“I think it surprised both of us, though. It wasn’t anything that I don’t think was planned,” he said in an interview with “Love and Hip Hop” stars Rasheeda and Kirk Frost.
Nelly said he believed the years he and Ashanti spent apart contributed to them finding their way back to each other.
Three months later, news broke that the “John Tucker Must Die” actress was pregnant and expecting her first child with Nelly. (Nelly is also a father to daughter Chanelle, 31, and son Cornell Haynes III, 26, with ex Channetta Valentine.)
In June 2024, Page Six obtained the pair’s marriage license, stating that they were secretly married for six months and said “I do” in Nelly’s hometown, St. Louis, Mo.
Ashanti gave birth to their son, Kareem Kenkaide Hayes, in July 2024.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six, Ashanti’s Murder Inc. collaborator Ja Rule gushed over how “great” the singer was at motherhood.
“She’s been manifesting this moment for a long time, so now it’s finally here,” the “Always On Time” rapper, 49, told us in January.
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