What is it that makes Ice-T and Coco such an enviable couple? How'd they get together?
How do they keep the spark alive? We'll examine these questions and more as we take a look
at their story, and the secrets to their success.
Lest we ever accuse Ice-T of being completely shallow, he admitted in an interview with
Daily Mail that the first thing he noticed when he met his future wife, Coco Austin,
wasn't her most obvious body part. He said it was her teeth, though he went onto add
-
"And then I saw her boobs. And then when she turned around, that big butt."
Ah, yes, that's the Ice-T we know.
The meeting happened on the set of a music video being filmed by one of Ice-T's friends,
and as he recounted to Howard Stern, he'd been feeling grumpy that day. So his friends
sent Coco over to try and cheer him up; the two struck up a conversation, and Ice-T asked
Coco if she'd ever considered dating a gangster rapper. She said she would if they were nice,
to which the hip hop wordsmith replied -
"Well, baby, you take the 'n' off 'nice' and you get 'Ice.'"
Interestingly, meeting on set runs in Coco's family. According to a HuffPost story, her
parents also met while filming, this time on the set of the TV western Bonanza.
Surprisingly, the folks we welcomed into our living rooms as part of Ice Loves Coco really
don't provide many sparks during their daily lives. As Ice-T told the Daily Mail -
"They thought I'd be burying bodies in the back garden and Coco would be off stripping
at birthday parties, But we're a normal couple with a normal relationship."
Their daily lives were so mundane, actually, Ice-T thought they wouldn't make for good
television. The Daily Mail quotes Ice-T as saying because the couple didn't fight and
never produced much drama that the show would be boring. But it took off, and three seasons
later they both added reality TV star to their already-impressive resumes.
Ice-T didn't immediately seem like the settle down and make a TV show type, but when he
reached his early 40s, he was apparently ready to settle, telling the Daily Mail -
"I was in a point in my life when I was ready to slow down. I wanted a partner."
And though Coco Austin's kind demeanor and bubbly personality certainly helped the couple's
cause, it was none other than the Prince of Darkness who truly inspired Ice-T to tie the
knot, as he told Howard Stern -
"I was studying Sharon Osbourne at the time. Would Ozzy have a house if it wasn't for Sharon?"
Two months later, Ice-T and Coco were married, but the Osbournes' inspiration didn't stop
there, with Coco telling People magazine -
"I model myself after [Sharon]. You know she has a crazy husband that's totally off the
wall, and she just sticks by him no matter what — that's me too."
Though Coco Austin has become known for her... gifted backside, she wasn't always comfortable
being so well-endowed. In an interview with the Daily Mail, she revealed that her grandmother
put her in girdles as early as 9 years old, and her family used to call her "The Crystal
Ball" as they claimed they could see the future in her behind. It continued into Coco's career
in the modeling world, where directors constantly told her she needed to lose weight, even driving
her to a brief bout with bulimia. She also got breast implants at 18, in an effort to
even out her curves.
This changed when she met Ice-T, however, who made her feel more comfortable with her
body, telling the publication -
"My husband really turned it around. He said: 'You have a uniqueness to you, why change
it?'"
As we saw in an episode of Ice Loves Coco, the voluptuous model declined a film role
because it would have taken her away from the former Body Count frontman for too long.
That may seem odd for celebrity couples, but it's not the least bit strange if you know
much about Ice-T and Coco.
In a 2012 interview with the Daily Mail, Ice-T and Coco said they'd never been apart for
more than a day, and the same story repeated in an episode of Ice Loves Coco during which
she leaves for Arizona. The publication noted Ice-T looked particularly dour, which might
explain why taking a long-term film job wasn't such an obvious choice for her.
Ice Loves Coco wasn't the only TV show Ice-T and Coco Austin starred in. In 2015, the couple
also starred in a talk show called Ice & Coco, which they promised during a promotional interview
with People would delve even further into their home lives while offering a free-wheeling,
rock and roll addition to the typical daytime lineup.
Ice-T and Coco started the show off with a bang, announcing during their opening monologues
that Coco was pregnant with their first child.
"Coco has a surprise for you."
"I'm pregnant!"
And where, exactly, does an SVU star and his model wife go after starting with that kind
of sensation? The Washington Post chronicled the debut in one of the greatest pieces of
daytime TV criticism ever written, recounting how the hosts launched into their bios while
their pet bulldogs ran around the set. That was followed by parenting advice from Snooki,
an antique-pricing segment called "The Ice is Right," and a dog fashion show where Coco
lamented the difficulty in dressing a bulldog.
While irreverent, the show didn't last long, airing only three episodes in August of 2015.
It's not at all uncommon for one spous e to convince the other to try something new, but
typically that "something new" doesn't involve inviting a camera crew into your house and
broadcasting it to millions of people. This, at least, was the case for Ice-T, who initially
was hesitant to produce Ice Loves Coco, telling the Daily Mail -
"I've been offered this kind of [reality] show for a few years and I didn't really want
to do it, because I didn't want to ruin our relationship."
But Coco saw it differently, explaining -
"I was getting sick of hearing the negative stuff about me. I wanted them to see the other
side — my family side, my wifey side."
Coco ultimately talked Ice-T into filming a pilot for the show, and lo and behold Ice-T
was into it. As he told People -
"As long as we don't have to be mean and do dumb stuff, we'll do it!"
Ice-T and Coco Austin's daughter Chanel was born in November 2015, and they haven't been
shy about having her in the public eye.
Additionally, in March of 2020, Coco posted a picture of the almost 4-year-old Chanel
breastfeeding on Instagram. While it's certainly a highly personal decision to nurse at that
age, that didn't stop a deluge of comments and criticisms from flooding the internet,
according to TMZ.
Of course, Ice-T and Coco are also incredibly doting parents, as Coco admitted to Entertainment
Tonight that she enjoys dressing Chanel up in matching outfits. Ice-T told the same outlet
that Chanel quote, "has complete control over me, I can't lie."
It shouldn't come as a surprise that a guy who made his mark writing rap lyrics and a
model who carried a reality TV show would value communication. But as with so many couples,
it's also very much the secret to their success. Ice-T and Coco Austin have been married since
2005 and weathered TV stardom, parenthood, and other pitfalls. But, as the couple revealed
to Celebuzz, it all comes down to being on the same team, with Ice saying -
"We have great communication and I think that you gotta stay on the same team. A lot of
time [...] both people have careers and they kind of create two teams that potentially
work against each other, you gotta stay on the same team."
Ice-T went on to detail that he and Coco don't fight or raise their voices at each other.
It's important, he said, to show people that conflict can be dealt with in a functional
way, as opposed to the usual reality TV dysfunction.
Similarly, no one should be surprised that a man who once started a song with, quote,
"Sex in the morning, sex at night, sex in the afternoon's alright," would have a high
sex drive. Nor should it shock anyone he'd find it satiated by a full-figured, smart,
and savvy model. But how, exactly, do they do it?
"Whatever they - whatever turns that particular person on -
'Yes."
"Figure out what pushes their buttons -"
"Yes."
"and it'll help your sex life."
"That's a good idea!"
During an appearance on What Watch Happens Live, Ice-T and Coco told Andy Cohen she's
totally submissive to the Law & Order: SVU star, saying -
"I think all women should do it. I'm a slave to him."
Ice-T also dished on the couple's intimate life during an interview with Howard Stern,
crediting much of their longevity to:
"Taking it a little bit further, just having a little fun with the buildup."
Coco apparently falls into the category of obsessively clean, as Ice-T revealed during
an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, telling host Andy Cohen -
"Coco is also OCD. So when she gets mad, she cleans."
We can only guess, then, that Coco must have been in a delightful mood on this particular
afternoon in 2017, when she had a man with a portable vacuum cleaner cleaning the street
in front of her. We're not sure if it was a publicity stunt, or some real, live, next-level
stuff, but either way it certainly made plenty of people stop and capture whatever the heck
it was that was going on.
Ice-T and Coco Austin were married only a few months after first meeting on a music
video set, but that, of course, was long before they were a full-fledged A-List couple. So
in 2011, a more-befitting, star-studded vow renewal was in order, held at the swanky W
hotel in Hollywood.
Snoop gave a touching speech, expressing his emotional sentiments in an impromptu freestyle,
saying -
"I'm so happy that y'all doing your thing-thing in a real big way, especially in the city
of L.A. SO I love you Ice-T, I love you Coco."
Ice-T's son also took the mic, telling his step-mother he loved her and bringing her
to tears. No report on whether his speech rhymed.
The vow renewal ceremony was filmed as part filming for Ice Loves Coco, but we can deduce
from Ice-T's comments it was done for love as much as TV, as he gushed -
"The curtain drops, the crowd gives us great applause and we were feeling the love right
there."
The couple known for their matching outfits leave the cute couples costumes to the amateurs
on October 31. As Coco told InTouch -
"This is the one holiday we don't really like coordinating because we do it year-round,
and everybody else, couple wise, try to coordinate on this particular holiday."
Make no mistake, Coco clarified that they both still dress up, they just don't talk
about it ahead of time and have heavily coordinated outfits.
Perhaps nothing is more important in a relationship than the knowledge that your partner has your
back. And in Coco Austin's case, she's well aware that Ice-T will always be her first
supporter, as he's publicly stood up for her time and again. When Coco showed off her new
braided hairstyle on Instagram, many people took offense. BET accused her of culturally
appropriating a Black hairstyle, citing one commenter who called the look "Lemonade braids"
after Beyoncé's similar do. But Ice-T was quick to stand up for his wife, responding
on Twitter,
"Wrong for what? Braiding her hair?? You sound Dumb."
The Cop-Killer-singer-turned-TV-cop also defended his wife when some on Instagram took issue
with her breastfeeding Chanel when the child was nearly 4 years old. After the story broke,
Ice-T was asked by reporters outside the Paley Center in New York for his thoughts on the
suckling scandal. His response, as captured by TMZ, was vintage Ice-T, explaining that
Chanel only breastfed when she wanted to feel close to her mom, and telling the crowd,
"My baby eats f---ing cheeseburgers."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more List videos about your favorite
celebrity couples are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so
you don't miss a single one.