Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe made the decision to take a step back from the spotlight since the couple split up in 2000 after they had been married for four years
Since splitting from Michael Jackson, Debbie Rowe became a recluse. The American nurse, who was the second wife of the controversial pop star, stepped back from the limelight and has maintained a peaceful life in the years since Jackson’s death.
Debbie is the mother of Michael’s children, Prince, 28, and Paris, 27. The musician was also the father of Bigi ‘Blanket’, 23, who was born via a surrogate – although his mother was never publicly identified.
Jackson, who died in 2009 from cardiac arrest, caused by a fatal drug overdose, has been surrounded by rumours that he’s not actually the father of any of his three children.
Debbie, who met Jackson while working at the dermatology office where he was being treated for vitiligo, has always insisted her ex-husband impregnated her artificially with his sperm.
When they first met, Debbie suggested she could give Michael children, which was later confirmed by his first ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley. In 2003, Lisa told Playboy that Debbie “had a crush on him” and wanted to give birth to his children.
The pair married in 1996 during a secret ceremony in Sydney before splitting four years later. After the two parted ways, Debbie retreated from life in public and lives a very different lifestyle from Paris and Prince who have embraced their fame.
However, in 2022, Debbie returned to the limelight, taking part in the TMZ investigative documentary, Who Really Killed Michael Jackson, and said she felt “partly to blame” for his death. Debbie became emotional as she opened up about her regret for not doing more to help the musician through his addiction to painkillers.
Michael died at his home in Los Angeles with his doctor Conrad Murray jailed for involuntary manslaughter after giving him medication. Debbie said in the documentary: “I was basically as bad as him, and I am so sorry I participated in it.” The admission left Jackson’s relatives “dumbfounded”, with sources claiming that she had “never” spoken with members of the family about Michael since he died. In 2016, Debbie announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. And while the diagnosis may have been devastating, it helped her rebuild her relationship with estranged daughter Paris after their bond had deteriorated over the course of a year.
“She’s my rock, she’s been amazing,” Debbie said on Entertainment Tonight about Paris. She added: “She’s been with me the whole time. She was there. First phone call, [it] took her 30 seconds [to reach out] when she found out.”
Debbie had allegedly been sidelined by Paris, who refused to answer her mother’s calls. But in 2017, Paris was on hand to help her mum through her chemotherapy treatment.
In recent weeks, Michael Jackson has once again hit the headlines following rumours that he is not the father of his third child, Bigi – previously known as Blanket.
Instead, friends of the singer believe that legendary actor Marlon Brando may have donated sperm to conceive Bigi, leaving Michael to raise him.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a source said: “It has all kicked off within the wider Jackson estate quite recently, with [siblings] Paris and Prince being told of this development.
“It is all very strange, but the pieces of the puzzle seem to all add up. Everyone is trying to get their heads around it.” And while there had been speculation that Michael might not be Prince or Paris’ father, due to the children having fair skin like their mother.
Addressing the paternity row in 2003, Jackson said: “I used a surrogate mother [for Blanket] and my own sperm cells. I had my own sperm cells in my other two children. They are all my children.”
