Nicole Richie seemingly dropped a major clue about her and husband Joel Madden’s daughter, hinting she no longer goes by Harlow.
“18 years of you ♥️🎂 @katemaddennn,” Richie, 44, wrote via Instagram on Monday, January 12, in a joint post with Madden, 46.
The upload, which featured memories with their eldest child, was in honor of her milestone birthday.
“That’s my girl ❤️✨,” Madden wrote in the comments section. He also reshared the series of photos via his Instagram Stories, tagging @katemaddenn as well.
Eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice that the couple tagged “Kate Madden” and not Harlow, their daughter’s birth name.
“Happy Birthday!? Did she change her name?,” one user asked in the comments section.
Other fans, however, pointed out that the teenager’s full name is Harlow Winter Kate Richie Madden, so it appears she is going by one of her middle names — at least on social media.
Richie and Joel welcomed their daughter in January 2008. They welcomed their second child, son Sparrow (full name Sparrow James Midnight Madden), the following year in September 2009.
The couple tied the knot in December 2010 after four years of dating. Both Richie and Joel have since kept their family life out of the public eye as much as possible.
“One of the biggest differences in the way I’m raising my kids versus the way I was raised is that I was on tour a lot. I don’t really do that with my kids,” Richie explained to DuJour Magazine in September 2012 of her approach to parenting. “It’s important to me that they have stability. I like them to be home. … I was taken out of school and had tutors. By the time my father [Lionel Richie] went onstage, I was asleep.”
Nicole, meanwhile, has shared throwback photos and given fans glimpses at their home life via Instagram on special occasions, including her daughter’s 13th birthday in January 2021.
“Here you are at three months old. Today you are 13,” the Simple Life alum captioned a birthday tribute at the time. “You light up my life with your presence and have no problem lighting up my bedroom with your bright phone screen. Nothing is better than watching you become the young woman you are. I am so lucky I get to be your mom. Happy Birthday to my favorite girl in the world.”
Later that year, Nicole revealed whether she’d be happy to see her kids become reality stars like she was a teenager.
“I think it would be a different thing going into it now,” the House of Harlow creator told Entertainment Tonight in August 2021. “It just depends on what it is. But if my kids said to me, ‘I want to try this new thing that hasn’t been done before.’ Well, obviously now they’re preteens, so I’m going to say no. But yeah, if they’re 18 and they want to go do whatever it is, as long as it feels good and authentic to them, I’m fine with it.”
As Nicole continued to shelter her and Joel’s kids from the limelight, the family did make a rare red carpet appearance in April 2024.
Nicole and Joel’s son and daughter posed alongside the pair at the Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead premiere in Los Angeles, which Lionel, 76, and his girlfriend, Lisa Parigi, also attended.
The red carpet crew was rounded out by Nicole’s mom and Lionel’s ex-wife Brenda Harvey-Richie. (The exes adopted Nicole when she was 9 years old.)
