Ashanti and Nelly have been married for months

Ashanti and Nelly have been married for months.

The couple rekindled their romance in 2023 after over a decade apart and, in April, revealed they were engaged and expecting their first child together.

But it has now emerged they actually tied the knot long before they made the announcement.

According to public records viewed by TMZ, the musicians are legally man and wife, with their marriage date recorded on Dec 27, 2023, almost six months ago.

The paperwork doesn't specify what city they got hitched in, but it was made official in St. Louis County, Nelly's birthplace.

It is unclear if the couple are also planning a public wedding ceremony for family and friends, but that may be what they have been teasing in recent months.

Meanwhile, Ashanti, 43, recently admitted she was caught off guard when 49-year-old Nelly - who already has Chanelle, 30 and 25-year-old son Cornell from his previous relationship with Rhonda Mack - popped the question.

She told Entertainment Tonight: She shared: "It was just such a beautiful, intimate moment. We were not dressy."

Ashanti was actually wearing one of Nelly's T-shirts and a pair of boxer shorts when he proposed.

She said: "I felt like [the proposal] was going to come soon. I didn't know when. The way that it happened was just so funny. I'm sitting in the bed watching TV with boxers on."

Ashanti recalled feeling "shocked and surprised" in the immediate aftermath of the proposal.

She said: "I gave him the biggest hug and kiss ever. I FaceTimed everyone I know… I was overjoyed and shocked and surprised and happy, kind of, all in one."

Towards the end of last year, Nelly shared that their sudden reconciliation wasn't "planned" but admitted that they had learned to "understand" each other better because of their split.

Speaking on Boss Moves with Rasheeda, he said: "It wasn't anything that we planned. We both were pretty much doing what we do. But sometimes, being separate, you understand one another more.

"You could be like, 'Well yo, let me see exactly what they see'. We all can be defensive sometimes in our own relationships.

"We know we're wrong but we're going to stand on it, you know what I mean? But we are all victims of that."

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