Paris Jackson & Debbie Rowe: Inside Their ‘Complicated’ Mother & Daughter Relationship

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‘It took years’ for Paris Jackson to become close with her rarely seen mother, Debbie Rowe, as ‘life-changing’ events finally brought the two together. Here’s exactly what those pivotal experiences were.

Debbie Rowe, 60, is much closer to daughter Paris Jackson, 20, these days, even though Michael Jackson’s ex-wife gave up custody and parental rights of the model and her older brother Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., 22, when they were just toddlers in 2001. “Paris and her mother have a complicated relationship, but they also have a lot of love for each other too. It took years for Paris to become tight with her mom after Debbie surrendered any parental rights to her father shortly after Paris was born,” a source close to the family EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife. The once distant relationship gradually changed after Paris and Debbie’s reported reunion in 2013, as the two were recently snapped sharing a sweet kiss at Paris’ concert for The Soundflowers on March 31.

“Through a series of life-changing events, Paris’s first attempts at suicide and Debbie’s battle with cancer, the mother and daughter have grown tight and bonded over traumatic life experiences,” our source explains. “Paris supported her mom through health challenges in years past and her mom, a nurse, has also been there to support Paris whenever she faced health issues.” Paris had admitted that she tried to commit suicide “multiple times” as a teenager in a 2017 profile with Rolling Stone. Meanwhile, the singer and model celebrated her mom’s last round of chemotherapy in Jan. 2017.

That doesn’t mean Paris and Debbie have always seen eye-to-eye. Such disagreements have even caused bouts of silence between the two. “However, Like any teenage daughter and mom, they have had their ups and downs over the years,” our source continues. “They have disagreements and make up like any normal family. While they may go months or longer without talking, they always find their way back to each other and have been brought together over the years over their struggles.”

But Paris is more than cordial with her mom, as she depends on the nurse for counsel. “Paris is strong, fiercely independent and very defensive when she feels anyone attacks her, her late father or her family,” our source tells us. “But lately, when Paris needs help with a major life decision, she leans on her mom for advice and guidance. Besides her mom, Paris is most close to her brother Prince [Michael Jackson II], and her grandmother. She was never very tight or close with her aunts and uncles, her dad’s siblings.” Before Paris repaired her relationship with Debbie, she had lived with MJ’s mom, Katherine Jackson, after the pop icon passed away in 2009.