Why Ice T and Coco Waited Over a Decade to Welcome Their First Baby
They said ‘I do’ more than a decade ago, but Ice T and Nicole “Coco” Austin made the decision to wait to expand their family.
“There were a lot of things I wanted to complete before having a baby,” Austin tells PEOPLE.
From starring in the Las Vegas striptease spectacular Peepshow to getting her own E! reality series, Ice Loves Coco, the former fitness model turned entrepreneur says 35 was always the magic number for her.
Spencer Heyfron
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It was a decision her husband, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Ice T, fully supported.
“I am 20 years older than her,” he explains. “I didn’t have a clock ticking. I said to Coco, ‘When you are ready, let me know.’ ”
“Just because I was finished with the clubbing and the partying doesn’t mean she was,” he adds. “It’s like Disneyland. I can’t say, ‘You don’t want to go, all the rides suck.’ You gotta go for the rides.”
The couple welcomed their daughter Chanel Nicole in November.
“I’m 100 percent all-in,” says Austin. “I think motherhood was always my calling. I wish I had let it happen earlier, but this is perfect. I’m dedicating my whole life to molding this little nugget into a fabulous person.”
For more from Ice T and Coco, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
— Emily Strohm