All About Nelly’s Mother Rhonda Mack 

Nelly has always sung high praises of his mom.

In interviews, he’s talked about how hard she worked when she was raising him, and how much respect he had for her.

Nelly’s Mother Rhonda Mack Allegedly Disapproves Of Ashanti 

But lately, something has reportedly come between the mother and son which is said to be testing their relationship.

There are reports that Nelly’s mom, Rhonda Mack, does not actually approve of Ashanti.

Family sources claim that she doesn’t think that the couple is right for each other, so she’s given her son an ultimatum. 

He supposedly has to choose – either her, or his wife.

The rapper is known for his famous song with Kelly Rowland, Dilemma. 

And now, it’s been reported that he has found himself in his own dilemma.

Rumor That Nelly’s Mom Doesn’t Want Him To Marry Ashanti 

Rumor has it that Rhonda doesn’t want Nelly to marry Ashanti. 

The pair announced their engagement in April 2024. 

In an interview she had with Essence, Ashanti referred to Nelly as her fiance.

She later talked to Entertainment Tonight about how the pair were planning a big and luxurious wedding. 

Ashanti said that it was going to be a combination of fashion, glam, and Caribbean vibes. 

She added that it was important to her that it took place on a beach with palm trees, next to the ocean, in the sunshine. 

But Rhonda’s alleged request that Ashanti and Nelly don’t tie the knot together reportedly fell on deaf ears. 

Because TMZ reported that the duo had already gotten hitched.

According to public records seen by the outlet, the marriage date was listed as the 27th of December, 2023.

The documentation didn’t reveal exactly where the duo had allegedly gotten married.

But it became official in Missouri, so TMZ claimed that this probably meant they wed in Nelly’s hometown of St. Louis.

Why Nelly’s Mom Doesn’t Approve Of Ashanti

If the hearsay about Rhonda is true, then some people speculate that she might also be disappointed that Ashanti is the mother of her grandchild, Kareem Kenkaide Haynes.

People can always get a divorce, but having a baby together means that they will be connected for the rest of their lives.

So, Ashanti will always be a part of Nelly’s life.

The Celebrity Insider claimed that Rhonda didn’t approve of Ashanti because of her own personal beliefs and family values.

It’s also been alleged that Ashanti was devastated that her mother-in-law was reportedly asking Nelly to choose between them, because she loved him and wanted nothing more than to be in his life.

Why Nelly Doesn’t Like Ashanti’s Mother Tina Douglas 

This isn’t the first time that there have been reports of a disapproving mother involved in Nelly and Ashanti’s relationship.

But in the past, it was about Ashanti’s mother, Tina Douglas.

According to PEOPLE, Nelly and Ashanti were together on and off for about a decade, between 2003 and 2013.

And it was during that time that reports came out that Tina was allegedly making things difficult for Nelly and Ashanti because of her controlling nature. 

It was claimed that her supposed behavior was what prevented Nelly from making a permanent commitment to his then-girlfriend.

A 2008 report by AceShowBiz alleged that Nelly couldn’t stand Tina.

It said that, according to a Star Magazine insider, Ashanti’s mother stuck her nose in everything because she was also her manager.

They claimed that she was always pushing Ashanti to make more money and to always look great, which would stress the R&B singer out.

Nelly Wants Ashanti To Stand Up To Her Mother

And Nelly didn’t like that.

The report also made the claim that he was trying to get Ashanti to be more independent and stand her ground more.

But she reportedly found it really hard because of the tight grip that her mother had on her.

The source said that Tina had such a strong personality that her daughter was kind of scared of her. 

They added that it was getting in the way of their long-term plans at the time.

Nelly allegedly wanted to know that Ashanti could make decisions on her own before he committed to spending the rest of his life with her.

He supposedly had hopes that she would put her mom in her place eventually.

Nelly Speaks Out About His Mom’s Struggle

Despite having his own reality TV show in 2014, Nelly is actually a pretty private person.

So he’s never publicly shared how he feels about his mother-in-law, or how his own mom feels about his wife.

But he has talked about the ways that his mom inspired him while growing up.

The rapper has shared how his mom had struggled before he made it big as a famous rapper. 

She went through some seriously trying times, both in her personal life and her professional life.

During an interview he had with the YouTube show The Shop, Nelly opened up about the reason he got to be so good with money.

It was all down to his mother, because it was her strong work ethic that inspired him to hustle and learn how to make, save, and invest money.

Rhonda was a single mother, which meant that she needed to work super hard to pay the bills so that she could put food on the table for her son and daughter.

While speaking to Access Hollywood, Nelly revealed that Rhonda would sometimes have to work two jobs at the same time. 

She worked in the fast food industry for almost 40 years.

Nelly said that anyone who had worked in a fast food franchise would know how difficult that line of work was.

The rapper told the co-hosts of The Shop that it was non-stop, and that it could be very taxing. 

How Nelly’s Mom Rhonda Mack Inspired Him To Hustle

He also talked about a memory he had of when wanted to go to his high school’s homecoming but his mother could only give him $50 dollars for it.

In the end, she offered to get him a job working at a food truck so that he could make some extra cash for himself. 

He was just a fourteen-year-old at the time.

Nelly confessed that he ended up making $140 dollars by the time the homecoming came around, which was a lot of money to him back then.

When he got a little older, he started working the grill at a McDonald’s in his hometown, and he stayed there throughout high school.

Obviously, he didn’t end up staying in the fast food industry.

But he credited his mom with teaching him the meaning of hard work. 

A report by Last.fm revealed that Nelly and his friends formed the St. Lunatics in 1993, and they quickly made a name for themselves.

He later rose to superstardom with the release of his hit album, Country Grammar, which quickly reached the Billboard 200.

How Nelly Surprised His Mom At Her Job

When he knew that he had enough money to take care of his family, he wanted to show his mom how grateful he was to her for everything that she’d done for him by making a grand gesture.

He told Access Hollywood that one day, he decided to surprise Rhonda at the fast-food joint that she was working at.

She was in the middle of a shift at Rally’s when her son pulled up to the drive-thru window and gave her some good news.

Nelly said: “The best memory that I had was being able to pull up to her job and tell her she doesn’t have to work there anymore.”

He admitted that it felt incredibly rewarding to have done that for her after how hard she’d worked her whole life in order to support him.

Rhonda Mack Speaks Out About Son Nelly 

But what has Rhonda said about her son and what he did for her that day?

The incident came up in an interview she had with the Baltimore Sun to talk about how much her life had changed since Nelly’s debut album Country Grammar skyrocketed his career.

There was a song on the album titled Luven Me with a verse about Rhonda.

The proud mother said that one of her favorite lines from it was: ‘You don’t have to work no more.’

When she first heard the song, she couldn’t help but cry.

According to her, she was always supportive of Nelly’s dream, and when he quit his job with UPS to pursue his budding rap career, she was behind him.

Rhonda said: “I knew he had it in him. He worked hard to get there and he had to make sacrifices to get there.”

Why Nelly’s Mom Wants To Work Again

The funny thing is that while Nelly’s big gesture was touching, it reportedly wasn’t exactly what his mom wanted.

She told the Baltimore Sun that she had plans to work again.

At that time, she was working at Nelly’s 4Sho4Kids foundation, which helped disadvantaged youth.

But she felt like getting a regular job again. 

Rhonda explained that she was grateful for everything that Nelly had done for her and that she was really blessed. 

But she’d reportedly gotten to a point where she felt like she was losing her independence. 

According to her, she loved the world of fast food, and she’d be happy to stock shelves again.