Ashanti and Nelly welcome first baby, share name: 'I've been waiting to be a mom for a long time'

"Funny how life's plans aren't… always on time," Ashanti joked in an Instagram post.

Musical power couple Ashanti and Nelly have welcomed their first baby together.

The "Foolish" singer shared the news in an Instagram post Wednesday. She posed for a selfie in a floor-length satin robe with a caption that read, "Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings!"

"This is what postpartum looks like," she continued, writing, "I’m so proud of my body for giving me my baby, baby, baby, baby, baby." Ever the clever lyricist, the post's opening line riffed one of Ashanti's biggest hits, the 2001 Ja Rule collaboration "Always On Time," and the closing line snuck in another playful reference to 2002's "Baby," the third single from her debut album.

A representative for the couple told PEOPLE that they "welcomed their baby boy, Kareem Kenkaide Hayes, on July 18, 2024. The proud and happy parents are so in love with KK!" 

"Having kids is always a blessing and seeing how dope Ashanti is as a mother is awesome," Nelly told Entertainment Weekly through a spokesperson.

Nelly and Ashanti's long-running romance first kindled in 2003 at a Grammy Awards press conference, when Nelly cheekily asked the newcomer for an autograph. By 2005 they were dating, making their first public appearance as a couple the year after. The pair dated on and off, releasing music together like 2009's "Body On Me" until they officially broke up in 2013.

Related: Ja Rule, Ashanti reunite for mesmerizing performance of 'Helpless' in exclusive clip

Fans were delighted to learn that the couple had rekindled their relationship in 2023. In an interview on Philo's Boss Moves with Rasheeda series, Nelly told the Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta star, "Yeah, we cool again ... I think it surprised both of us, though. It wasn't anything that ... [was] planned. I think we're both pretty much doing what we do."

The couple announced their pregnancy in a heart-warming April Instagram post in which Ashanti's mother, Tina Douglas, asks the singer backstage at a show "how long will you need?" Ashanti looks directly in the camera and with a smile says, "I'm gonna need about nine months." The pregnancy also came with the announcement that the couple had gotten married.

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Kareem Kenkaide is the couple's first baby together, nearly 20 years since they first started dating.

Related: 'Snapped' Judgment: Ashanti's 'The Way That I Love You' video

The child is Ashanti's first but Nelly's fifth, following Chanelle (born 1994) and Cornell (born 1999) with his ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine, and Shawn and Sydney Thomas, Nelly's nephew and niece, whom he adopted after his sister Jackie Donahue died of leukemia in March 2005.

Nelly made waves in 2023 when he sold off half his music catalogue, including smash hits "Hot in Herre," "Dilemma (featuring Kelly Rowland)," and "Ride Wit Me." The sale reportedly netted the 49-year-old rapper $50 million dollars. In February 2024, both Nelly and Ashanti featured on Jermaine Dupri's single "This Lil' Game We Play," alongside Juicy J.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.