Following the bombshell news of Nelly’s secret marriage to Ashanti, it seems like everyone is having their say.
But one person with more right to speak out about it than most is Ashanti’s dad, Ken-Kaide Thomas Douglas.
How Nelly Asked Ashanti’s Dad, Ken-Kaide, For His Blessing
Recently, he offered us some insight into how Nelly went about making Ashanti his wife.
Ken-Kaide revealed that the rapper was keen to go about things in a proper, traditional way, as he actually asked his future father-in-law for his blessing to marry his daughter.
The details emerged after The Shade Room obtained a video showing Ashanti’s dad speaking at the couple’s recent surprise baby shower.
Ken-Kaide could be heard saying that he and Nelly had a discussion about him wanting to marry Ashanti, which Ken-Kaide described as a brief little conversation.
He went on to say that he found it very special for a man in the modern era to ask for someone’s hand in marriage in this way.
He added that it was definitely even more special since it was his own daughter whose hand was being asked for.
The video then shows Ken-Kaide addressing his son-in-law directly to tell him that he was very impressed that Nelly had gone about it in the way that he did.
Ken-Kaide Told Nelly That ‘God’s Way Will Always Happen Best’
He then took the opportunity to offer Nelly his support and double down on his blessing for the happy couple.
He said that he was glad that things worked out between them, and added that “God’s way will always happen best.”
This was possibly Ashanti’s dad’s way of acknowledging the long road that Nelly and Ashanti took to get to this point.
They first started dating all the way back in 2003 and stayed together for more than ten years until splitting up in 2015.
It would be several years before they were even seen in the same room again.
But luckily, things worked out better than anyone could have predicted.
The couple are now married and expecting their first child together.
Nelly’s Surprise Baby Shower For Ashanti
Ashanti’s dad was in attendance along with other family and friends when Nelly threw a surprise baby shower for his pregnant wife about a week ago.
Ashanti couldn’t believe what Nelly had managed to organize without her knowing.
Footage of the singer’s surprise was captured by her publicist Juliette Harris.
The video showed the couple arriving at a high-end boutique in New York City, apparently to do some shopping.
But when they arrived, they were instead welcomed by their loved ones as they stepped out of the elevator.
When Ashanti saw what was going on, she was visibly shocked.
The guests all captured the sweet moment on their phones as Ashanti was seen gasping.
Juliette shared the video on social media along with a caption that read, “Nelly threw a surprise baby shower for Ashanti!”
The message continued by saying that Ashanti was “so surprised and looked incredible!”
Juliette informed fans that the shower was also attended by some famous faces, including Fat Joe, with his wife Lorena Cartagena, and country singer Breland.
From the pictures posted online, it’s obvious that Ashanti genuinely had no idea what was going on.
Behind her, Nelly’s smile as he watched his wife walk out of the elevator showed that he was happy at how his plan came together.
Ashanti’s Reaction
Ashanti later got the chance to share her reaction.
She made a speech at the party during which she shared what she had expected to happen that day, before she finally understood what was really going on.
In a clip of her speech that has since been shared online, Ashanti explained that Nelly had brought her to the venue for an entirely made up reason.
She said that she’d been told that she was arriving for a photoshoot.
Considering how many people were there photographing her amazed reaction to the party, maybe this was kind of the truth.
But when Ashanti was greeted by her nearest and dearest, she struggled to comprehend what was happening.
Still, she was obviously delighted.
She said in the clip that she was in shock, before going on to thank everyone who came to see her and expressing her love for them all.
She then turned to thank her husband specifically for the plan he’d put together for her.
Nelly then got the chance to talk, thanking everyone from both his own team and Ashanti’s for coming together to help him give her the baby shower she deserved.
Celebs Who Attended Nelly And Ashanti’s Baby Shower
Throughout the party, both Ashanti and Nelly posed for pictures with their guests, including Fat Joe and Lorena.
Fat Joe later shared a picture of the two couples on Instagram.
In the caption, the rapper told his “sister” Ashanti how happy he was for her and Nelly.
It came as no surprise Fat Joe made an appearance at the baby shower.
He has been friends with both artists for many years and has always rooted for them as a couple.
The Battle That Reunited Nelly And Ashanti
In fact, when they reunited a few years ago, Fat Joe even suggested that he was partly responsible for their reconciliation.
He was clearly delighted when the couple got back together, and even more delighted about it happening during his Verzuz Battle with Ja Rule.
When Fat Joe and Ja Rule faced off on the Comedy Central show, both Nelly and Ashanti were in the studio.
At one point, Nelly walked across the stage to give Ashanti a hug in their first reunion since splitting up.
Since then, their renewed relationship has evolved really fast.
After news started spreading about Ashanti being pregnant, Fat Joe joked online, “I immediately tell them I need 10 percent of this kid.”
He went on to say that if it wasn’t for him bringing Nelly out during the show, they would not have connected again.
He went on to say that it was at the moment Nelly saw Ashanti across the stage behind Ja Rule that he said: “I gotta have her.”
Ashanti And Nelly’s Happily Ever After
After such a long and up-and-down relationship across a couple of decades, for Nelly and Ashanti to finally be married with a kid on the way is every fan’s wish come true.
Even Ashanti herself admitted that she never thought this would be how their story went.
She told ET that she didn’t think in a million years that they would get to this point.
After they broke up about ten years ago, the singer thought that they might never even have a conversation again.
She was ready to shut Nelly out of her life, which she actually did for a long time.
But in 2022, Ashanti let us know that they were in a much better place during an interview.
Soon, they were spotted out and about together on several occasions.
And it wasn’t long before they went public, saying that they had gotten back together.
Nelly admitted on Philo TV’s Boss Moves that they were both actually surprised by the fact that they had become part of each other’s lives again.
Despite the fact that it wasn’t planned, they agreed that going their separate ways helped them to understand each other more.
It seems like Ashanti’s dad was right to keep the faith that everything would work out between Ashanti and Nelly in the end.
Along with everyone else, he was just happy to see the couple back together after so many years apart.
