Ice-T’s Wife Coco Austin Reveals She’s ‘Happy/Sad’ as Daughter Chanel Turns 8: ‘Do I Cry or Smile?’

Her baby is growing up! Rapper Ice-T’s wife, Coco Austin, shared a sweet birthday message for daughter Chanel as she turned 8 years old, revealing that she was “happy/sad” about celebrating the day.

“Do I cry or smile? I dont know.. I remember her moving around in my belly like it was yesterday.. Im so proud of what a beautiful sweet loving girl she’s become …,” Coco, 44, wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, November 28. “Happy Birthday to @babychanelnicole. I love you soooooooooooooooooooo much!! Its amazing how much love you can have for a little human being.”

Fans rushed to the comments to wish Chanel a happy birthday and relate to her mom’s feelings.

“Time sure flies by fast! Enjoy and cherish every minute. It looks like you have a great family full of love and support for one another,” one user wrote.

“Happy birthday pretty girl. I say do both lol. Cry and smile!” another commenter added.

Coco shares Chanel with Ice-T, 65, who married the TV personality in 2002. The couple welcomed their daughter in November 2015, with Coco announcing the news of her birth via Instagram.

“Surprise!!! Look who came early!! Welcome the new arrival of Chanel Nicole.. A beautiful healthy 5.7 pound and 18 inch baby girl. Ice and I are so proud!” she wrote alongside a photo of her newborn baby. “I cried while she was coming out I was so excited to meet her!”

Coco has shared her daughter on social media via her own page and Chanel’s page ever since, but the mom of one has been criticized for her parenting on more than one occasion. For example, her followers have slammed her for still using a stroller and for bathing Chanel in a sink. In August, the Ice Loves Coco star received hate for kissing her daughter on the lips in an underwater swimming video.

“Having fun with my Samsung phone, it actually takes great video underwater .. Chanel just loves kissing her mama doesn’t she? She is adorable ..She is my obsession,” Coco captioned the video on Instagram.

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Coco previously addressed the mom-shaming in an October 2022 interview.

“They’re like, on me. But the thing is, everybody’s a hypocrite I feel because they do certain weird things in their house,” she said. “I don’t think that bathing my daughter in the sink is weird. If I have a huge-ass sink, why not? It’s just easier for me. And if I have to carry her everywhere and it’s just easier to bring a stroller, why not? She’s petite, she’s super small, and it’s easier. I don’t understand. Why go after me over something so stupid? It’s a stroller. It’s our baby in a sink.”

She even predicted that people would call out their kisses, adding, “Like, come on people, next thing you’re going to say, ‘Oh, you’re kissing her wrong,’ you know?”