October 8, 1999
Michael Jackson Getting Divorced
King of pop Michael Jackson is getting divorced from his second wife, Debbie Rowe. The couple, who have been married three years, have two children.
Jackson and Rowe "mutually agreed to end their marriage," says Jackson's spokes
man, New York publicist Howard Rubenstein. "Michael and Debbie remain friends,
and they ask that the public respect their desire not to further comment or spe
culate upon the reasons for their decision." Neither Jackson nor Rowe are expec
ted to make statements regarding the divorce, which was filed Friday (Oct. 8) b
y Rowe in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple has been separated since July 15.
Jackson, who was previously married to Lisa Marie Presley, married Rowe, his fo
rmer nurse, in November 1996 in Australia, when she was seven months pregnant.
Their first child, Prince, was born in February 1997, and their daughter, Paris
Michael Katherine, was born in April of the following year. There has been no word as to who will receive custody of the children.
Press reports have painted the marriage as one of the oddest in show business,
with the 41-year-old singer living with his children at his heavily guarded Nev
erland ranch in Santa Barbara, California, and his 40-year-old wife residing 15
0 miles south in Los Angeles with little involvement in the children's upbringing.
The youngsters' home life has also been described as unusual in Neverland, whic
h is home to Jackson's personal theme park. Press reports said the children wer
e kept cloistered, with the air they breathe routinely checked for germs and playthings discarded as soon as they touched the ground.
The wedding, which came just 10 days after the singer announced that Rowe was p
regnant, surprised the world. Jackson had just kicked off the Australian leg of
his "World HIStory Tour." He strongly denied press reports at the time that he paid Rowe $500,000 to carry his child.
Shortly before that marriage, Jackson was embroiled in a legal battle over alle
gations that he sexually molested a young boy. Jackson vehemently denied the cl
aims, but agreed to pay the boy a multimillion-dollar settlement in return for
dropping a civil lawsuit against him. Prosecutors did not press criminal charges.
Rowe reportedly had been divorced for eight years from her first husband when s
he wed Jackson. She is said to have met the pop star while working as a nurse for a doctor who treated Jackson for the rare skin disorder, vitiligo.
Jackson's family made headlines in June when opera star Luciano Pavarotti said
during a charity concert in Italy that Jackson had failed to appear for the eve
nt because his son "may be dying." Rowe issued a statement later in the day fro
m Los Angeles denying that the boy was near death and saying the child was merely ill with a viral infection and was "going to be fine."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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