David Bowie's Daughter Opens Up About Forced Teenage Rehabilitation
In a deeply personal revelation, Alexandria "Lexi" Zahra Jones, the 25-year-old daughter of late rock icon David Bowie and supermodel Iman, has shared the harrowing details of being forcibly removed from her home and sent to a treatment program as a teenager. This occurred concurrently with her father's private battle against liver cancer, a period she describes as her "breaking point."
A Childhood Shadowed by Fame and Struggle
Contrary to the glamorous perception of growing up with globally renowned parents, Lexi Jones's adolescence was marked by significant mental health challenges. She disclosed that by the age of 10, she was already in therapy after her parents and a teacher observed that something was "off." Her struggles intensified rapidly; she began self-harming at 11 and developed bulimia by age 12.
"I don't know why I felt the way I felt," Jones admitted in her account. "I just knew I was miserable. I felt stupid, incompetent, like unworthy, useless, unlovable. And having successful parents kind of only made it worse."
The Crisis Point: Bowie's Cancer Diagnosis
The situation reached a critical juncture in 2014 when David Bowie was diagnosed with liver cancer. At 14 years old, Jones was grappling with severe depression, an eating disorder, and substance abuse issues. She turned to drugs and alcohol not for recreation, but as a means of escape.
"For me, it wasn't about fun," she explained. "I wasn't experimenting, I was escaping … When the party ended for everyone else, I kept going. And I drank and got high alone."
The Forcible Intervention
Jones claims that following her father's diagnosis, an intervention was staged. She recalls Bowie reading her a letter, with the final line haunting her: "I'm sorry we have to do this." Subsequently, two men entered the family home and presented her with the option to go "the easy way or the hard way." She chose resistance.
"I resisted. I screamed. I held onto the table leg. They grabbed me. They put their hands on me. They pulled me away from everything I knew," Jones recounted. She noted that her parents were in tears during the incident but did not intervene.
Wilderness Therapy and Controlled Communication
Jones was sent to a wilderness therapy program for 91 days, an experience far removed from her life as a "city girl." She lived outdoors in winter conditions, slept under tarps, and learned survival skills. Upon arrival, she was strip-searched and issued cold-weather gear and a large backpack.
Communication was severely restricted; she could only send letters once a week to a pre-approved list of individuals. After three months, she was transferred to a residential treatment center—a boarding school in Utah—where she remained for over a year.
Learning of Her Father's Death in Treatment
It was at this facility that Jones learned of her father's death in January 2016. She had the "luxury of speaking to him two days before, on his birthday," exchanging "I love you" sentiments, with both aware of the gravity of the moment.
However, media reports stating Bowie died "surrounded by his whole family" left her feeling "physically sick." "Yeah, the whole family was there. Except for me," she expressed, highlighting the profound isolation of her experience.
Through her Instagram video posted on February 18, Jones aims to shed light on the complexities of adolescent mental health and the lasting impact of traumatic interventions, even within the context of a legendary family's private struggles.
