Originally appeared on E! Online
Joel Madden isn’t throwing his hands up at his Harlow Winter Kate Madden’s new moniker.
After Nicole Richie referred to her and the Good Charlotte frontman’s eldest daughter by her middle name in a social media post marking her 18th birthday, Joel shared why it wasn’t a surprising decision for her to publicly go by Kate.
“That’s a narrative everybody ran away with because it gets clicks,” he explained on the March 16 episode of Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast. “She’s been going by her middle name since she was in, like, first grade. She chose it.”
He recalled first learning of her decision during an open house at her school.
“The teacher was like, ‘Kate’s doing great. She’s so nice,'” Joel—who also shares 16-year-old son Sparrow James Midnight Madden with Nicole—shared. “We’re like, ‘Who’s Kate?’ And they’re like, ‘Your daughter, Kate. That’s what she said her name was.'”
“We went home. We’re like, ‘You go by Kate at school?'” he continued. “She goes, ‘Yeah, I like it.’ And we were like, ‘OK, great.'”
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“We went home. We’re like, ‘You go by Kate at school?'” he continued. “She goes, ‘Yeah, I like it.’ And we were like, ‘OK, great.'”
So, for more than a decade, their daughter has been going by her middle name.
“Everyone who knows her calls her Kate,” he said. “If you’ve known her since she was 7, she’s been Kate.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” he emphasized. “It was her middle name. It was just like, ‘Oh, cool. That’s cute. You’re going by your middle name now. That’s sweet.’ Then, there was no discussion.”
And now, her name has even become an unexpected litmus test.
Nicole Richie/Instagram
“If you know her, you know she’s Kate. People that don’t know her would call her Harlow,” the 47-year-old noted. “It’s kind of smart, actually. She knows if someone called her Harlow, they don’t really know her.”
Joel knows how important it is to support his kids’ identity. In fact, when it comes to fatherhood, Nicole knows that her husband of 15 years could write the anthem.
“I would say that Joel is a very shy introvert, who loves life, who enjoys life, who loves music, has such a deep passion for music, and anybody who shares that same passion, he will go above and beyond for,” she reflected in a 2013 interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes. “He is a loyal person, who has the most incredible family values of anybody that I’ve ever met.”
Now, for a closer look at Nicole and Joel’s simply adorable moments together, keep reading.
Good Date Night
The 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar party was the ideal occasion to dress to the nines.
Tennis Pros
The couple that plays together, stays together. Couples bonding is the perfect secret to a long lasting relationship.
Nothing But Support
Nicole showed a little of her shy side while hiding behind her man during a simple date night.
Pretty in Purple
Joel posted this throwback photo on his Instagram, showcasing the couple in all of their early 00’s glory.
Sun Day Fun Day
Nicole and Joel basked in the sun during a beach day.
Rock the Vote
The parents of 2 showed off their “I Voted” stickers after performing their civic duty.
Feeling Catty
Nicole and Joel took a moment for a photo at a party in 2017.
Love Fur You
The Simple Life star and musician smiled at each other at the G’Day Los Angeles Gala in January 2016.
An Early Selfie
The happy couple smiled for a sweet selfie that Richie snapped when they were 27 and 25.
A Night Out
The couple dressed to the nines in 2013.
Staying Cool
Nicole and Joel showed some PDA on a warm day in 2013.
White Hot
The Good Charlotte singer donned an all-black suit while she opted for a white outfit at Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Party in 2011. Nicole’s large engagement ring was on full display, too.
Best in Show
Nicole and Joel stopped and posed on the red carpet at the 2010 Oscars.
Slam Dunk for Love
The two of them snuggled up at a New York Knicks basketball game in 2010.
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