The reclusive life of Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe, 67, as more details emerge over who really fathered the singer’s children

Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe has largely stayed out of the spotlight since her highly publicized divorce more than two decades ago.

Debbie looked completely unrecognizable when she went on a rare outing in April last year, nine years after her battle with breast cancer.

The 67-year-old former nurse is the mother of Michael’s two alleged children, Paris, 27, and Prince, 28. The late singer is also the father of his 23-year-old son Bigi Jackson, who was born via a surrogate mother in 2002 and whose mother has never been identified.

However, there have long been rumors that the singer may not be the biological father of any of her three children.

Debbie previously stated that her ex-husband Michael artificially impregnated her with his own sperm.

However, even Paris, the King of Pop’s daughter, has previously admitted that she sees her mother as “more of a friend” and that she remained in her father’s custody following their divorce.

Debbie has largely stayed out of the spotlight since their highly publicized divorce more than two decades ago (pictured together in 2006)

Michael met Debbie while working as an assistant to his dermatologist Arnold Klein, shortly after his divorce from Lisa Marie.

Debbie, a devoted fan of the singer, suggested she could give birth to his children; This statement was later confirmed by Lisa; Lisa told Playboy in 2003 that even during their marriage, Michael was aware that a bewildered Debbie was ‘in love with him’ and wanted to have children.

Debbie was the same age as Michael and became his second wife in a secret ceremony in Sydney in 1996, but the couple divorced four years later in 2000.

Debbie has taken a step back from the spotlight since her split from the star, but in 2022 she appeared in a TMZ documentary and admitted she felt ‘partly guilty’ for Michael’s death.

In the TMZ investigation titled Who Really Killed Michael Jackson, Debbie cried as she admitted she regretted not doing more to help Jackson, who became addicted to painkillers.

Michael died at the age of 50 after a drug-induced heart attack at his home in Los Angeles in June 2009, and his then-personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray was jailed for manslaughter.

Rowe said: ‘I was just as bad as him [Klein] and I’m so sorry I took part in it.’

Debbie’s comments were said to have ‘stunned’ Michael’s family at the time; sources claimed he had ‘not at all’ spoken to some of the Jackson family about the star since his death.

Debbie has taken a step back from the spotlight since her split from the star, but in 2022 she appeared in a TMZ documentary and admitted she felt “partly guilty” for his death.

Debbie is the mother of Michael’s two alleged children, Paris, 27, and Prince, 28. He is also father to 23-year-old son Bigi Jackson, who was born via a surrogate (pictured together).

Debbie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and had her last round of chemotherapy in 2017; This diagnosis helped him rebuild bridges with his then-estranged daughter, Paris.

Paris previously admitted that she sees her mother, who remains in her father’s custody following their divorce, as ‘more of a friend’ (image 2019)

Paris regularly takes to social media to share glimpses of their relationship, saying they are very “similar” (taken in 2020)

Paris (pictured with family) had been estranged from Debbie for over a year, but her cancer diagnosis led to them reconnecting

Aside from her public appearance in April, Debbie has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, although she has been featured temporarily on Paris’s social media.

Michael met Debbie while working as an assistant to dermatologist Arnold Klein, shortly after his divorce from Lisa Marie (pictured in 1997)

In 2016, Debbie revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, which led her to build bridges with her daughter Paris after being separated for over a year.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the time, Debbie shared what an incredible support her daughter was.

‘He’s my rock, he’s amazing,’ he said. ‘He was with me the whole time.’

‘He was there. First phone call [it] took 30 seconds [to reach out] When you found out,’ Debbie admitted.

TMZ reported that years after Paris cut Debbie out of her life and refused to return her calls, a cancer diagnosis pushed the two women to make amends.

But in 2017, Paris celebrated her mother Debbie receiving her final chemotherapy treatment, proving that bridges between them had finally been rebuilt.

During her marriage to Michael, Debbie was a surrogate mother to her two eldest children, Paris and Prince, but new rumors began to circulate about the paternity of her youngest son.

Friends of the late musician’s family believe that The Godfather actor Marlon Brando may have donated the sperm used to conceive his third child, Bigi, formerly known as Blanket.

‘It all started recently at the larger Jackson estate. [siblings] A source said Paris and Prince were notified of this development.

‘It’s all very strange, but the pieces of the puzzle seem to be coming together. Everybody’s trying to confuse him.’

On Wednesday, explosive new details emerged that suggest another person connected to Marlon may actually be the father. You can find more here.

Although Debbie was white, their light skin and Caucasian appearance (Prince’s hair was originally blond, while Paris’s eyes were blue) soon led to speculation that he was not their biological father.

This idea was reinforced by Michael’s shenanigans in public to hide their faces behind masks or blankets.

However, despite reportedly whitening her skin with whitening cream, the singer, who was born black, insisted Martin Bashir was their biological father in an infamous interview in 2003.

But there have long been rumors that the singer may not be the biological father of any of her three children (Michael and Debbie were photographed with their son Prince in 1997).

Michael met Apocalypse Now actor Marlon Brando in the early 1980s and it is now claimed he may be the biological father of the singer’s two eldest children.

‘I used a surrogate mother’ [for Blanket] and my own sperm cells. “My other two children also had my own sperm cells,” he said. ‘They are all my children.’

However, that same year, biologists and geneticists began telling the media that although it was theoretically possible for Debbie and Michael to give birth to light-skinned children, the likelihood was low.

Reports began to circulate that Michael was suffering from low sperm count and was turning to other men (friends he trusted and admired) to provide him with children. Speculation began to turn into a frenzy.

After splitting from the singer in 1999, Debbie agreed to give Michael full custody of their children, but they reconnected when they were 15.

In 2021, Paris opened up about her relationship with Debbie, who she admitted was more like a ‘friend’ to her.

The entertainer sat down with Willow Smith on her family’s Red Table Talk show and talked about their “very chill” bond and opened up about how her mega-famous father’s death affected her.

“It’s great to have him as a friend,” Paris said of their relationship. ‘It’s so chill – I love it – it’s the perfect word to describe it.’

While talking about rebuilding her relationship with her mother when she was a teenager, she said she now realizes how “similar” they are and often reflects on her in her music.

‘Cool. So getting to know him, seeing how similar we are, finding out what kind of music he likes, like he really likes country and folk.

‘I’m sending him some of the stuff I’ve been working on that includes a banjo,’ he shared.