In the middle of all the crazy attention and celebrations surrounding Nelly and Ashanti’s recent news, one of the rapper’s old flames has had her say.
Before reuniting with Ashanti, one of Nelly’s most serious relationships was with Shantel Jackson.
A few months ago, Shantel raised some eyebrows during a live stream online in which she took questions from her followers.
Did Nelly’s Ex Shantel Throw Shade?
One of her answers in particular got fans wondering if she was throwing some shade at Nelly and Ashanti getting back together.
The video started innocently enough with Shantel telling her followers that she was trying to utilize all of her social media platforms.
She stated that she was happy, and she seemed to be enjoying answering questions about her life right now.
When asked, she confirmed that she was single and added that she was ready to mingle.
At one point, however, one follower asked her a question that seemed to be a reference to Nelly and Ashanti.
The question was what advice she had for someone who went back to somebody they really loved.
This was in January of this year, a short time after Nelly and Ashanti secretly got married.
Shantel Said ‘I Don’t Go Back. I Don’t Go Backwards’
When she answered the fan question, Shantel started off trying to be diplomatic.
She said that if it worked out, it was something that people should do.
However, what she went on to say seemed to suggest that there was more to it.
She played with her earring as she stated, “I don’t go back. I don’t go backwards,” before laughing and moving on to the next question.
How Nelly and Shantel Jackson Met
Fans would definitely have joined the dots regarding Shantel’s past with Nelly and what Ashanti meant in their relationship.
Although Ashanti and Nelly seemed to many to be destined to be together, for many years, Shantel was the woman in the rapper’s life.
She dated Nelly for many years after they first got together in 2015.
Nelly met Shantel shortly after she split up with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, who she was actually engaged to for a number of years.
There had been rumors for a while that the couple ended things because of cheating.
Although Floyd was originally believed to be the guilty party, rumors soon started swirling that Shantel had had an affair with a well-known hip hop star.
Although nothing was ever proven, Nelly and Shantel went public as a couple that same year.
Shantel Was Ready To Get Married To Nelly
And things quickly became serious for the new lovers.
Shantel quickly started putting out signals that she was ready to get married.
And the signs weren’t always that subtle.
In 2016, she shared an Instagram post featuring an elephant family of three, a father and mother with a baby elephant.
Though probably accidental, it seemed pretty strange to a lot of people that the picture didn’t acknowledge the kids Nelly already had.
Another sign came when Shantel tagged Nelly and herself as Mr. and Mrs. Adventure while they were vacationing in Bali.
Although they parted ways without ever actually going down the aisle, there was no doubt that they both took their relationship seriously.
And Nelly clearly wanted Shantel to be close to his family, as she even featured on his short-lived reality show Nellyville.
For a long time, it looked like Nelly was taking Shantel just as seriously as she was taking him.
Why Did Nelly And Shantel Break Up?
So what happened?
Shantel opened up about the end of their time together while appearing on The Real in 2021.
She stressed that they didn’t actually end things on bad terms, but that distance grew between them due to their busy schedules.
In the early part of their relationship, according to Shantel, she was out on the road with Nelly most of the time.
But eventually, she decided to focus on herself and build her own company, Shoe Gummi, which was when the problems apparently started.
Nelly continued to tour, with Shantel spending more time at home.
Shantel Said She and Nelly Started To ‘Grow Apart’
Shantel said that they started to “grow apart.”
However, they tried their best to keep things going.
Shantel told The Real hosts that they decided to take a break with the intention of coming back to figure things out between them.
However, the time for rekindling their relationship never seemed to arrive, and the couple split up for good.
Shantel made her revelations about the break up in 2021, just a couple of months after Nelly and Ashanti were reunited in a moment that went viral during Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle.
Fans Call Out Nelly And Shantel
With so many people talking about Nelly and Ashanti again after so many years, it was inevitable that Shantel’s name got pulled into the mix after her appearance on The Real.
A lot of fans made it clear that they didn’t believe that busy schedules was the reason for Shantel and Nelly’s split.
Instead, they suggested that Nelly’s devotion to Ashanti drove him away.
One fan commented online to say, “That man wants Ashanti.”
Others suggested that Shantel would have been better off leaving Nelly earlier, as the rapper had failed to prove his commitment to her.
One fan commented, “7 years and he never gave you a ring… u should’ve moved on!”
And now, after Shantel’s interesting comments online from a few months ago, it looks like she might be feeling the same way.
Shantel herself first broke the news of her split from Nelly on social media.
One of her followers commented on a post she shared asking if they were still together.
Shantel responded in the comments section to confirm that they were now just friends.
Nelly’s Change Of Heart
This came as a shock to many, especially after everything that Nelly had previously said about the relationship in public.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he even hinted that he could see them staying together forever.
He said that he didn’t want his life not to have Shantel in it.
He added, “We have been seeing each other for five or six years. Anytime you can connect with someone like that, it works in the long run.”
It now seems crazy that Nelly was considering going all the way with Shantel, only to end up marrying the woman he was dating before getting together with her in the first place.
Shantel’s Connection With Nelly And Ashanti
Despite the fact that it’s been many years since Shantel was with Nelly, she keeps finding herself mentioned in connection to Ashanti and Nelly’s very public second romance.
And some of the things people have been saying are just straight petty.
Her name was brought up last October after Ashanti threw Nelly a surprise birthday party.
The swanky fancy dress celebrations even included a surprise birthday present Ashanti bought the rapper.
The singer bought Nelly a customized convertible Chevrolet Impala reminiscent of the vehicle mentioned in Nelly’s hit song Ride Wit Me.
The touching gesture was filmed and later shared on Instagram, showing how delighted Nelly was with his gift.
But somehow, some fans managed to make the moment all about Shantel.
Reporting on the birthday party, Atlanta Black Star mentioned that fans commented on the post with messages such as: “Ms Jackson ain’t never did no [stuff] like this.”
However, Shantel has made it clear that she has no intention of looking back, even if Nelly’s fans continue to do so.
