At first glance, gangsta rapper Ice-T and Coco might not seem like a likely couple. She’s known for her insane curves, and he’s known for his hard-hitting, abrasive lyrics. There’s a 21-year age difference between them. They even grew up on opposite sides of the country.
However, their love, commitment, and passion for one another have transcended their differences to unite them as the loving power couple they are today. Despite Ice’s rough and tough persona, Coco was able to bring out his gentler side to prove that love can truly overcome all odds.
Here’s the truth about Ice-T and Coco’s love story.
Ice-T was a teen parent
Though Ice-T has been known for his hardcore persona, he’s always seemed to have room for love in his heart. In 1976, 18-year-old Ice fathered baby girl LeTesha Marrow with his then-girlfriend Adrienne. Despite their youth, they continued to attend high school and raised their daughter together. While attending an event in Hollywood, Ice admitted he was too wild and was busy with establishing his rap career to be a present father.
Ice met his next serious girlfriend Darlene Ortiz while hanging at a Los Angeles club called Radiotron. In 1992, Darlene gave birth to their son, Tracy Morrow. Things eventually ended in the early 2000s.
Darlene told Complex she was disappointed with how things ended, but she wasn’t mad at him. She said, “I met him and supported him, and he is still my son’s dad. There’s no way it can ever really get ugly.”
In an interview with OkayPlayer, Darlene said after Ice left, she sold a bunch of the clothes he left behind. But she kept some of the more sentimental pieces for their son to have when he got older, including a floor-length red coat.
Coco’s failed marriage
While there aren’t a ton of details about Coco’s dating history, she married a man named Mike Williams in 1999. Things didn’t work out, but thankfully, a new love was waiting right around the corner.
The day Ice-T and Coco first met
Ice vividly remembers the day he met Coco in 2001. He told the Howard Stern show he was working on a movie and Coco was on set. He was feeling a bit grumpy that day, but his friends saw Coco and knew she could cheer him up.
While Ice admitted he normally doesn’t like to be hooked up by his friends because he prefers to do his own “fishing,” he made an exception for Coco. When he saw her for the first time, the first thing he thought was, “Wow.”
Although Coco has curves in all the right places, the first thing Ice noticed about her wasn’t what you would expect. He said he first noticed her teeth, followed by her chest, and then “that big butt.”
He was so thrown off by her beauty, he had to gather himself together before finally telling her she was “drop-dead gorgeous.” Never shy, Ice made his master move and asked her: “Have you ever considered dating a gangsta rapper?”
Not knowing exactly who he was, Coco asked if he was a “nice” gangsta rapper. Ice then delivered the line that more than likely sealed their fate. He said: “Well, baby, you take the ‘n’ off ‘nice’ and you get ‘Ice.’”
On her official website, Coco shared the actual photo of when the two first met. She described it as the day her life changed forever.
Their first date and beyond
Their first date occurred two weeks later when Coco went to NYC to visit Ice. She said the chemistry was there automatically. Knowing it was the real thing, Coco left behind some of her clothes and shoes on the side of his bed before she left for home to Arizona. She told Ice, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back.”
In perfect alignment, Coco returned two weeks later to see Ice again and to her surprise, her clothes were exactly where she left them. Why? Because Ice had missed her so much, he couldn’t bear to move them.
During subsequent trips, they went to concerts, out to dinner, and Coco even visited Ice on the set of Law & Order. She wrote on her blog, “He became my best friend, and this was instantly someone I didn’t want to live without.”
How he knew she was the one
He had fallen for her, but it wasn’t until he watched an episode of the reality show The Osbournes that he realized Coco was the one. Ice thought about where Ozzy Osbourne would be without the support of his wife Sharon. Ice told Howard Stern, “I was studying Sharon Osbourne at the time. Would Ozzy have a house if it wasn’t for Sharon?”
That’s when it hit Ice that having the right woman by his side was the perfect complement to his life and future, and Coco was the one.
A bedroom commitment ceremony
Not looking to take things slow, the two committed themselves to each other after only a few months of dating. According to Coco’s blog, while lying in bed one day, they looked into each other’s eyes and said their vows. She wrote: “We got married in our hearts and minds.”
Not too long after that, they went to Las Vegas and got married at Cesar’s Palace on New Year’s Eve, though they consider Jan. 1, 2001 to be their wedding day. Coco recalled how it was just them, a priest, and a pianist in the room. She said Ice got choked up while he spoke, which made her get emotional too. She added: “I saw the best in him and his soul. I was so happy I found the perfect guy for me.”
Proving that their love was unshakable, they renewed their vows in 2011 at the W Hotel in Hollywood. The actual footage was aired on their reality show Ice Loves Coco.
As they made their grand entry, Ice told US Weekly, “The curtain drops, the crowd gives us great applause and we were feeling the love right there.”
Rumors and criticism
Like any celebrity couple, the pair have faced their share of criticism. There were some nasty rumors in 2013 that Coco was cheating On Ice-T with an Oakland rapper. Hollywood Life reported that the rapper told Star magazine he and Coco allegedly engaged in an unprotected act of intimacy. The rapper told the gossip rag: ”I really hope she isn’t pregnant!”
To further prove his point, the rapper went so far as to post pics of the two together. This led Ice to tweet that he wasn’t happy about the situation at all. The rumors became so rampant that Coco had to deny that anything ever happened between the two. Then came the rumors that Ice was seeking to divorce Coco. The couple released a statement through their representative, stating the divorce rumors were untrue and the couple was happily moving forward.
And baby makes three
Almost 15 years into their marriage, they announced they were expecting a baby. The child would be Ice’s third and Coco’s first. In Nov. 2015, they welcomed their baby girl Chanel Nicole Marrow. Ice told Entertainment Tonight his daughter had “absolute control” over him. He added: “She’s so cute and she’s really smart.”
Ice-T and Coco are living happily ever after
Through all the ups and downs, Ice-T and Coco have proven they will always have each other’s back. In 2019, Coco received criticism after posting pictures of her breastfeeding her almost 4-year-old daughter. Not one to allow his wife to be criticized or disrespected, Ice told TMZ that every once in a while, their daughter just wants to get close to Coco and it was no big deal.
He told Celebuzz that breaking up is not part of their plan. And they’ve discovered the perfect way to make their love last. He said, “We talk a lot, we got great communication. You’re going to get what you give.”
Coco agreed in an interview with the Hollywood Life podcast. She stated, “If you’re not communicating every day, you’re going to grow away from each other.”
Constant communication isn’t the only thing that keeps their love alive. Coco told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she loves being submissive for her man. She stated, “I’m a slave to him. I don’t mind.”
In 2019, Ice-T and Coco celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. In a tweet, Ice revealed that after all these years, they’re still deeply in love with each other.
Ice-T and Coco follow a long list of celebrities who have beaten the odds and managed to stay together through all the ups and downs.
Magic Johnson and Cookie’s love story might not be conventional, but at least they have a happy ending. Read more here.
Kobe and Vanessa Bryant had the most beautiful relationship. Read more here.
Keyshia Ka’oir helped Gucci Mane in all areas of his life. Read more here.
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