Getty Images
Irv Gotti Says He Was 'Hurt' After Learning Ashanti Was Dating Nelly
Irv Gotti was crushed when he found out that Ashanti was dating Nelly.
The Murder Inc. boss, who was once rumored to have had an affair with the “Foolish” singer, revisited their relationship during an interview with “Drink Champs.” Speaking with N.O.R.E., Gotti opened up about his feelings for Ashanti and how he felt when he discovered that she was in love with another man.
“I could get past you wanting to be with Nelly,” Gotti said in a teaser, prompting N.O.R.E. to respond, “Sounds like you didn’t get past that, I’ma be honest.”
Gotti ain’t over it ššš pic.twitter.com/7eLW6RF0ou
ā N.O.R.E (@noreaga) August 2, 2022
“Listen, at the time, it happens… Any man is hurt,” admitted Gotti. “The chick you fu**in’ are in love with is with this ni**a.”
Gotti then revealed that he was watching TV at home when he learned that Ashanti and Nelly were a couple.
“I was at home,” he continued. “This is God wanting me to find out. I was at home, NBA package, I like watching sports. ‘My God, what’s this commotion going on in the stadium? We just found out what the commotion is. Nelly has walked in with Ashanti.'”
After the clip was released, social media was quick to point out that Gotti was still married to his wife Debra Lorenzo while he was catching feelings for another woman.
Damn Ashanti did Irv Gotti dirty stepping out with Nelly..Good thing he had his wife’s shoulder to cry on https://t.co/BO2wJWnkX5
ā BIG MALCOLM X PLAY COUSIN (@Omowale99949437) August 2, 2022
It’s just crazy how he talks about that like he didn’t have a whole wife, 2.5 kids & a house with a white picket fence at the time https://t.co/bJVuDhhPDt
ā Still Loyal To The Soil (@LazyLeftyOG) August 2, 2022
Gotti previously denied that he had an affair with Ashanti. “No, Ashanti is not a homewrecker,” he told Wendy Williams in 2019. “Ashanti had nothing to do with me and Deb. Deb caught me when I was directing ‘I Cry’ in Baltimore. Deb, being the vicious person she is, she came down unannounced, ‘I’m Mrs. Lorenzo, give me the room key.’ The door was latched, but she knows I’m in there. That’s what broke me and Deb up.”
Ashanti and Nelly started dating after meeting at a Grammy press conference in 2003 and broke up a decade later. They briefly reunited at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz event last September.