lionel richie and nicole richieLionel Richie has joked that it was harder raising daughter Nicole Richie than it was surviving at the top of the music business.

The singer received the “Icon” award at the TV Land Awards filmed on Sunday night and said: “Forget about surviving 40 years in the music business. Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie has been a struggle-and-a-half, I want to tell you.

“I stand here as a survivor, I want you to know, for all the parents out there.”

Nicole spent time in rehab to beat a heroin addiction in 2003 and last year spent 82 minutes in jail after being convicted of driving under the influence of drugs. However, she turned over a new leaf after finding out she was pregnant with her first child last summer.

Lionel said she’s turned into a “full-fledged mom” within weeks of the arrival of daughter Harlow in January this year.