Nelly is back in the parenting game—this time at 50—and he’s doing it with style, love, and a little bit of help!
The Grammy-winning rapper, who tied the knot with longtime love Ashanti in 2023, recently welcomed his fifth child, a baby boy named Kareem Kenkaide, in July last year. Although already a dad to four grown kids, Nelly admits stepping back into baby mode comes with new rules.
Speaking on Today, Nelly got candid about what parenting in his 50s looks like, jokingly saying:
“Listen, I told her before we had this baby, I said, ‘Now listen, I’m here. But chasing toddlers at 50…’”
He added with a laugh:
“I said, ‘As many as you want, but as many nannies as we can afford.’ I pay for a professional chaser.”
Nelly shares daughter Chanelle Haynes, 31, and son Cornell “Tre” Haynes III, 26, with ex-girlfriend Chanetta Valentine. He also adopted Shawn “Lil Shawn” Thomas Jr. and Sydney Thomas, the children of his late sister Jackie, back in 2005.
Now with baby Kareem in the picture, Nelly and Ashanti are letting fans in on their blended family journey with their upcoming reality show, “Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together,” premiering on Peacock this Thursday, June 26.
The trailer gives a sneak peek into their new normal, with Ashanti admitting:
“KK is my first child, so I’m a little more frantic.”
Nelly chimes in with his signature humor:
“My parenting style is just don’t burn down the house.”
Beyond the jokes, the couple seems deeply committed to building a home together amid busy careers and new parenthood. Ashanti summed it up perfectly during their Today appearance:
“We are really in real life managing our lives together, our child, our careers, traveling, getting those moments, the cameras—it’s a lot.”
It may be a lot, but one thing is clear: Nelly and Ashanti are making it work—love, laughter, late nights and all.
