It’s true that Nelly and Ashanti were once considered one of hip-hop’s power couples. Nelly is a talented rapper and hitmaker while Ashanti’s heavenly vocals and writing skills have established her as one of the greats.

According to HITC, Nelly and Ashanti first met in 2003 at a Grammy Awards press conference where it was rumored that they fell for each other.

Although everyone knew that Nelly and Ashanti were an item, the former couple made it a point to keep their relationship private. The outlet shares that the couple was on and off for years.

But Nelly was very serious about Ashanti and even shared an interest in marrying the songstress. Unfortunately, those plans never came to fruition as the pair separated in 2013.

While there was tons of speculation surrounding their breakup over the years, it wasn’t until 2015 that Ashanti hinted at the reason for the demise of the relationship.

According to Cheat Sheet, Ashanti first hinted at their breakup on The Meredith Vieira Show in 2015.

“I think sometimes when people have their own insecurities, it allows them to act out of character,” Ashanti said. “I’ve been betrayed. You just have to grow. You have to grow up. You have to accept responsibility for the things that you do. I’m not a big fan of people being cowards."

The star went on to say that she's "in a different place now."

The 40-year-old threw even more shade Nelly’s way at a concert in 2018. As Ashanti took the stage, she told the crowd, "I've been betrayed before. Publicly at that."

A member of the audience shouted, “F--k Nelly!” She then pointed the audience member out and said, “Word.”

Fans took that as confirmation that Nelly crossed Ashanti during their relationship, and that's why they broke up. However, Nelly has never spoken about the reason for their breakup.