Ashanti has always tried to keep her relationship status pretty private.
One of her very best kept secrets was that once upon a time, she dated James Harden.
The rumors about Ashanti and James started spreading back in 2018.
Source Claimed Ashanti and James Were ‘100 Percent in a Relationship’
A source for Ebony magazine claimed that the alleged couple were actually pretty serious for a while.
At the time, Ashanti was 37 and James was 28 years old.
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The source claimed that James had “put Ashanti up at a Houston hotel.”
They went on to state that Ashanti had sat with James’s family to watch him play, and that he had even bought her flowers.
The source claimed that Ashanti and James were “100 percent in a relationship.”
They also mentioned that James was “getting older,” and so he was maybe starting to think about settling down once and for all.
After some digging, it was established that the two had been friends for at least a couple of years.
According to Ebony, a fan tweeted in 2016 about seeing them enjoying each other’s company in Las Vegas.
However, there were no reports at the time that would suggest that there was a romantic aspect to their friendship.
Fans’s Responses About Ashanti and James Harden’s Relationship
For fans of celebrity gossip, the news of a relationship between James and Ashanti came as a shock.
One fan commented online to remark on how everyone “totally slept on” the rumors about the pair.
They went on to suggest that the couple eventually broke up after James decided to end things between them.
However, reports on that are conflicting, with some claiming that it was actually Ashanti who first decided to split up with James.
This comment was made in October 2018, but the following year, some more information was dug up that might have changed the situation.
A fan shared a video online in which Ashanti could allegedly be seen flying by private jet to celebrate the 60th birthday of James’s mom.
It was suggested that the couple had been trying to keep their relationship as secret as possible.
The fan who posted the video also wrote, “They did an excellent job of being low-key with the pictures, but if you look at the YouTube video you can see that Ashanti was there.”
At the time they were thought to be dating, the alleged couple got a mixed reception from fans.
A lot of people thought that Ashanti should have stayed away from the infamous ladies man of the NBA.
One fan commented, “I have no words. She played herself even letting that one have a chance. Maybe this breakup will give her more music material to write.”
Another expressed their belief that “Ashanti should really think about leaving the industry dudes alone.”
Ashanti and Andre Parker’s Relationship
However, the truth is that James is just one of the many industry boyfriends Ashanti has been rumored to have spent time with.
So much of what we know about Ashanti’s alleged partners has been speculation and gossip.
It’s been claimed that she had an affair with rapper Andre Parker between 2003 and 2005.
Madame Noire reported in 2013 that the two shared a relationship despite both being involved with other people.
At the time, Ashanti was dating Nelly and Andre was with Keyshia Cole, who Ashanti co-wrote the song Woman to Woman with.
Ashanti’s Relationship With Other Celebrities
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club, she also had to deny rumors that she was dating wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
However, she did admit that she had recently attended a match with him.
Another footballer who was linked to Ashanti around the same time was Darnell Dockett.
After she tweeted to wish him a happy birthday in 2015, many took this as confirmation of their relationship.
However, if they ever really were dating, it didn’t last past 2016.
Ashanti and Nelly’s Relationship
Now, Ashanti and Nelly are back together.
In recent months, the couple have been very public about their relationship.
Both artists have shared videos with their followers of their PDA.
The two of them appear to be all loved up again.
However, fans were devastated when they appeared to call it quits back in 2013.
It would be a long time before we were treated to Nelly and Ashanti sharing a stage once again.
They were reunited for Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle in 2021.
It wasn’t long before gossip of a potential rekindling of their romance started to swirl.
And the following year, Ashanti even let us know that they were in a much better place during an interview.
Soon, they were spotted out and about together several times.
And it wasn’t long before they went public, saying that they had gotten back together.
Nelly’s Surprise Birthday Gift From Ashanti
At Nelly’s Halloween party last year, he was super surprised by Ashanti’s gift.
The recently reunited couple hosted a costume party on October 31, two days before the rapper’s actual birthday.
As the festivities got into full swing, Ashanti presented Nelly with a car.
She bought him what appeared to be a customized convertible Chevrolet Impala.
The car first rolled off the production line all the way back in 1964.
And from what we could see online, Nelly was overwhelmed by the gift.
A video was soon shared on Instagram of Nelly grinning from ear to ear as he sat behind the wheel for the first time.
Fittingly, his hit song Ride Wit Me played in the background.
The reason the track was so perfect was also the reason why Ashanti’s gift was extra thoughtful.
As reported by Complex Magazine, this was the car that Nelly was actually referring to in that very song.
The track referred to Nelly’s love of 64 Impalas.
More specifically, he rapped about the iconic lowrider version of the vehicle.
Who is James Harden’s New Girlfriend?
At 43, Ashanti is now expecting her first child with Nelly.
Meanwhile, in recent years, James Harden has been rumored to be in a relationship of his own.
Multiple media outlets have reported that he is currently dating model and influencer Jessyka Janshel.
Jessyka has been featured in various magazines and music videos.
She and James have been seen together in public on multiple occasions since 2017, following his high-profile breakup with Khloe Kardashian.
James and Khloe met at Kanye West’s birthday party at the Staples Center and went on to date for around 8 months.
While he seemed to move on pretty quickly following their breakup, James and Jessyka have not made their relationship public.
In January of this year, a post Jessyka put up on Instagram got fans talking about how well James appears to be treating her.
James’ Girlfriend’s, Jessyka, $4,900 Diamond Watch
Jessyka shared a picture of a $4,900 diamond watch she was wearing along with a caption reading “blurry aesthetic.”
It was not confirmed whether or not the watch was a gift from James.
But with an alleged net worth of around $160 million, James could definitely afford to shower his partner with any number of expensive watches.
These days, the rumors about Ashanti and James’s relationship are a thing of the past.
But while both stars have moved on, fans are still putting the pieces together to find out what really happened between them all those years ago.
