Drug hell destroyed sad Janet's hush-hush marriage- SHOWBIZ EXCLUSIVE
Pop beauty Janet Jackson's secret marriage was destroyed by her husband's
hopeless addiction to prescription drugs.
And last night the 34-year old singer revealed her anguish-and thanked her
lucky stars that Rene Elizondo never made her pregnant.
Speaking for the first time about their marriage break-up, she told News Of
The World. "My mother always taught me that bo matter what happens with your
marriage you stick with it and you don't give up-and I stuck in there for a
long, long time."
But she added "Our marriage died off bit by bit until eventually there was
nothing left. Rene was always keen to start a family but something kept
telling me 'Not right now Janet, not right now.'
The pain I feel at the end of our marriage is nothing compared to how I'd feel
if a child had been involved. I've no doubt I'd still be there in the
relationship, deeply unhappy just because of that child."
Janet was Mrs Rene Elizondo for nine years. But her fans only discovered the
truth last month after divorce papers were filed.
According to a law suit filed in New Jersey, Rene, 38, used a false name to
get slimming pills and heroin substitues. A friend of Janet said: 'From what
we could tell, she managed to get him therapy, but he seemed to be slipping in
and out of it. Once I think she even found drugs on him but she couldn't take
them away because she was scared he'd go cold turkey.'
It was one problem too many. The marriage was cracking up on all fronts.
Janet added: "For Rene, showbiz was new and exciting and he was like a kid in
a candy store. Very early on I told Rene I wanted him to be my release from
the insane 'famous' life I lead-something normal to come home to. I also
wanted him to have his own independence, but he never made any real efforts to
carve out his own career."
The couple grew further apart and had their final argument in France where
Janet was performing in Lyon. Their row was so bad that she sent him back to
their Calfornia home. "I decided that the marriage had finally died," said
Janet, whose new single Doesn't Really Matter is out on August 7th.
"Rene later wanted to put out a press release explaining that the split was
amicable and that we'd reached a mutual decision," she said. "The truth is,
we hadn't at all. It was entirely my decision to end the marriage. It was
one of the most difficult moments of my life. Right now we aren't talking.
Lawyers are involved and there are some matters mostly financial which haven't
been resolved."
Janet has offered Rene a £6.8 million pay-off. Rene wants £15.5 million plus
their £3 million home - a beachfront estate in Malibu.
Janet, who has sold over 40 million albums, is thought to be worth more than
£100 million. In 1991, she signed up to Virgin records for £32 million. Four
years later, she thrashed out a £58 million deal-the highest deal ever.
"Basically Rene wants more than I am prepared to give him," she said simply.
"I've always felt if a relationship ends both people should walk away with
exactly what they contributed themselves. Rene always told me that he felt the
same way-but as it turns out he doesn't, which is very sad."
Janet met video director Rene in 1986 shortly after the end of her seven-month
marriage to singer James DeBarge. She was just 18 when she and James, then
21, eloped to escape her domineering father. Ironically, it was James's
drug-taking that helped destroy that marriage too.
While she and Rene were together, the couple always insisted they were simply
boyfriend and girlfriend.
"I thought our marriage stood a much better chance of survival if we kept it
private," she explained. "We did a pretty good job of keeping our marriage
secret but as it turned out the marriage itself wasn't that great."
Now, as a single girl again, Janet is going on dates. She smiled: "It sounds
ridiculous but I don't know how to. I may have married twice but I've never
dated. The men I'm attracted to are, of course, the ones who never ask me
out. Maybe they're too intimidated, or then again maybe they're just not
attracted to me and I'm the dumb one!"
"I've had two marriage proposals...unfortunately from men that I wouldn't
consider marrying. But I'm happy living on my own for the first time in my
life."
She's also delighted about a career going from strength to strength. She was
paid £2.5 million to star as Eddie Murphy's fiancee Denise Gaines in Nutty
Professor II: The Klumps, which is due out in Britain in October.
Her single Doesn't Really Matter is the film's theme song.
"I had to audition twice for the job and it was a role that I was desperate to
get," she confessed. "I was going to play Cuba Gooding Jnr's wife in Jerry
Maguire and it was so disappointing when I didn't get it. So when the part in
Nutty Professor was offered I didn't allow myself to get too enthusiastic.
But when the call finally came in I was thrilled."
Janet has also started work on a new album. "So much has happened in my life
that I'm not short of emotional material to draw on," she said, "but I won't
be laying my life bare. That wouldn't be fair on Rene. We became friends
long before we became lovers and I hope one day we can become friends again."
A Very Special Thanx To (((Popcorny2K))) For Typing Out The Article!