Nelly and Ashanti celebrated their son Kareem Kenkaide Haynes's first birthday by throwing him a lavish party in Long Island on Saturday. According to PEOPLE, the couple decked out the Kunda and Friends themed bash with a dual slide, playpen, and a race track with cars and trucks. Several celebrities were in attendance as well, including LL Cool J, Lloyd, and more. Louisa Kiwana Olafuyi, the co-creator of Kunda and Friends, also flew from Uganda.
"We cannot believe KK is 1,” Nelly and Ashanti told PEOPLE. “This year has flown by and we have enjoyed every minute of seeing his milestones, funny moments and growth. He brings us and our family so much joy.”
Ashanti and Nelly welcomed KK as their first son, last year. The two originally dated from 2003 to 2013, but split up for nearly a decade. In 2021, they ran into one another during the Verzuz between Fat Joe and Ja Rule.
Nelly & Ashanti's Relationship
Speaking with Bootleg Kev, earlier this year, Nelly revealed that he was actually with somebody else at the event. “When I went to Verzuz, I had somebody with me,” he admitted. “We didn’t even talk. I just went over, got a hug…break the ice…We didn’t talk for another almost 8-9 months to a year. We didn’t have a conversation.” Eventually, they did rekindle their romance and the two tied the knot at a private ceremony in 2023.
Ashanti previously discussed her and Nelly's decision to initially shield KK from the public eye while promoting their reality series Nelly and Ashanti: We Belong Together. "I just feel like I'm kind of like a mama bear already, you know? Very protective. And I just feel like, I didn't wanna show my son to the world," she said at a panel at the American Black Film Festival, earlier this year. "I haven't even posted him on Instagram or anything like that. I just feel like those moments are very sacred to me, and we'll make the decision on when he's ready to pop out and show."
