Ja Rule Allegedly Dined and Dashed on First Date with Wife Aisha (Exclusive)
Ja Rule, a well-known rapper today, had some interesting moments in the early days of his romance with wife Aisha Atkins, including allegedly skipping out on a restaurant bill or two.
“It’s funny because I’ve known my wife since I was broke. Some of our best dates were back then. I used to take her to places like Red Lobster,” Ja Rule, 49, shared exclusively with Us Weekly on Thursday, July 10, after unveiling a new Frozen Honeycomb cocktail at Tender Crush, a New York-style crispy chicken venue in SoHo.
“I actually slipped out on the meal, and she had no idea. I set it up, we dined, and I told her, ‘Let me handle the payment while you go get in the cab,’” the artist behind “Mesmerize” (real name Jeffrey Atkins) recounted to Us. “The layout at Red Lobster was the culprit because the bathroom was right by the entrance next to a payphone, so people would pretend to use the payphone and sneak out to escape the bill. So, yes, I did that.”
Years later, the “Always on Time” rapper came clean to Aisha, now 47, who was taken aback by his youthful antics.
“[Aisha] exclaimed, ‘You really did that.’ And I replied, ‘Yeah, a couple of times,’” Ja Rule humorously confessed. “We used to enjoy some great meals. Those were memorable times, and we can still laugh about them now that we actually pay for our meals.”
Having celebrated 24 years of marriage this past April, the Queens-native and his wife, who have known each other since middle school, share three children: daughter Brittney, 29, and sons Jeffrey, 25, and Jordan, 22.
Ja Rule’s culinary preferences have certainly evolved since his early days of dining and dashing. He is now a co-founder of Amber & Opal, a rye whiskey brand, alongside Herb Rice, Kelvin Barton, and Sandy Sandiford.
His latest collaboration with Tender Crush features Amber & Opal whiskey in a slushie-style drink available at the restaurant’s SoHo location at 529 Broome Street in New York City. Tender Crush was founded by Chris Barish and Julie Mulligan, who also co-founded the renowned burger chain Black Tap, famous for its signature CrazyShake milkshakes.
Ja Rule is set to kick off the U.S. leg of the Where the Party at Tour with Nelly and other special guests, with dates running through mid-September.
