Ice-T Explains How ‘The Osbournes’ Inspired His Relationship With Coco

Ice T Coco Austin

‘Shark Tank’ star Daymond John spoke with the Body Count leader.

Hip Hop legend Ice-T married Nicole “Coco” Austin in 2002. The couple has one daughter together, 7-year-old Chanel. But why did the rapper/actor decide Coco was the woman to be his wife?

Ice-T appeared on a recent episode of the That Moment with Daymond John podcast. The iHeartMedia-backed show included a conversation about the 65-year-old entertainer’s love life.

“When I was going after Coco, I was watching a lot of The Osbournes,” said Ice-T, referring to MTV’s 2000s-era reality show starring Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. “And I was looking like, would Ozzie have a mansion if it wasn’t for Sharon Osbourne?”

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit cast member continued, “This woman is running all the tours, running all his businesses. It doesn’t even seem like Ozzie would know how to pay a phone bill. Ozzy is something different. But he’s wealthy because he got a woman to hold it together.” 

Ice-T then went on to recall his early encounters with his now-spouse. Apparently, Coco Austin, a former swimsuit and lingerie model, was enamored with the Rhyme Pays album creator’s fashion sense and overall swagger.

“When I met Coco, she was fine, I told her, I said, ‘Yo, I mean I’m not really trying to get just another number in my phone. I’m really trying to find someone that wants to ride.’ She dug the flyness of me. When I met her I had on a red snakeskin suit, so she was like, ‘Ooh, that’s fly,’” recalled Ice-T.

Previously, Shark Tank star Daymond John spoke with Ethiopian-born celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson for the May 2 episode of his podcast. That Moment with Daymond John is part of iHeartMedia and Charlamagne Tha God’s The Black Effect Podcast Network.