‘Late Blooming Daddy’s Girl’: D.L. Hughley’s Daughter Pens Heartfelt Message About Comedian, Encourages Fans Not to Give Up on ‘Difficult’ Relationships with Parents

D.L. Hughley‘s daughter, Ryan Shepard, shared a heartfelt message about her father on Instagram on March 11.

The message also includes an adorable video of the comedian and his granddaughter Nola.

D.L. Hughley
D.L Hughley spends quality time with granddaughter Nola. @brownsugarandbourbon / Instagram

Shepard noted in the post that she had a “tumultuous relationship” with her father until recently, but that the two bonded over her daughter and eventually forged a closer relationship.

Shepard shared an adorable video of the comedian with Nola set to the song “She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones.

“I’ve never publicly spoken about the fact that until very recently, my dad and I had a fairly tumultuous relationship. I thought I’d gotten myself to a place where I decided that I’d stop getting my hopes up that things would ever get better and just accepted what was,” she wrote.

“And then, everything changed. Initially, we forged a deeper connection over Nola. But then, my dad stopped calling just to see her and started calling to check on me. We began having the most amazing conversations about anything, everything really.”

Shepard went on to say that watching her father’s relationship with her daughter is healing and encouraged others not to give up on difficult relationships they may be having with a parent.

“I’ve found myself in a space I thought I’d made peace with not being in. But now that we’re here, my heart is so full. I’m a late blooming daddy’s girl and watching the relationship grow between Him (lol) and Nola keeps healing parts of the little girl in me that I thought I’d given up on.

She continued, “If you’ve found yourself in a difficult relationship with a parent, know that even if you can’t see it, it can get better. It happened to me. As the saying goes, you can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find you get what you need.”

Fans absolutely loved the post and responded in the comment section.

One fan replied, “Grandchildren bring out a part of us that we had never been able to tap into while parenting. Parenting is work…. Grand parenting is JOY.”

“Good for you! The baby’s smile at the end says it all. Bless you,” noted another.

The video was first shared by Hughley on his Instagram page with the caption, “Ok Ok i never thought i’d be one of those people, but damn it this little girl got me!! #NolaAndHim  #TeamDl.” He added the same video on Twitter.

One fan replied to the video, “So, how long does it take your doctor to get you untwisted from around Nola’s little finger? She got you wrapped 3 times.”

While the father and daughter may have had a tumultuous relationship in the past, it didn’t stop Shepard from defending her father and family against comedian Mo’Nique during her feud with Hughley last summer over a booking disagreement at a Detroit venue.

Mo’Nique was offended that she wasn’t headlining the show and went off on Hughley during her set. She also brought his family into it and attacked a discussion Hughley had about his younger daughter being sexually assaulted. 

“Hi @therealmoworldwide, I’m Ryan Nicole Shepard,” she wrote. “You’ve now publicly disrespected my mother -who I love and care for very much- and my baby sister -who I love and care for very much to get back at my father- who I love, respect, and care for very much. At this point, I feel like you are asking my family and myself to act out of character.”

Shepard went on to call out Mo’Nique for her lack of mental stability, dignity, and respect in defense of her father.


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