Inside Janet Jackson’s sham teen wedding and rumours of her ‘secret’ daughter

Janet Jackson’s romantic relationships have always been shrouded in mystery.

On September 7, 1984 Janet kept it quiet when she eloped with her first husband James DeBarge.

James was part of another famous singing family like Janet, the DeBarges, as the handsome seventh sibling of the 80s group.

At just 18 years old, Janet was swept off her feet by fellow R&B singer James, who was 21 at the time.

The elopement was the scandal of the year, with “Dadager” Joseph Jackson fiercely opposed to the union.

Just one year later, Joe had the marriage annulled after it surfaced that the “pretty boy” of R&B was also a cocaine addict.

Their teenage love affair was over and Janet and James went their separate ways.

But since their union ended, speculation has been rampant that Jackson gave birth to a baby girl 37 years ago.

DeBarge struggled after the split and went down a rocky path, along with several of his drug dependant siblings.

He worked as a songwriter while battling addiction after two of the arguably most stable members of the DeBarges, Bunny and El, left and disbanded the group.

The group’s demise lead James to struggle further with his addiction demons and he experienced run-ins with the law.

He served a three-year stint in prison for a drug-related and assault with a deadly weapon in 2012 before vowing to turn his life around.

The father-of-three handed his musical talents down to one of his children, Kristinia, from one of his later relationships.

Kristinia’s success after entering American Idol spin-off American Juniors age 12 saw her subsequently starred in reality show, “Growing Up Hip Hop,” where James made some shocking revelations.

James dropped a bombshell more than 30 years after his annulment from Janet.

During one Growing Up Hip Hop episode in 2016, James told his daughter that she has a step-sister, saying: “I’m tired of the truth not coming forward, and people being a coward when it comes to it.

“And I thought it was wise for me to speak out now because it needs to be addressed.”

“To be honest with you, I didn’t know,” he continued.

“I was under the impression that there was no baby, and I wanted to believe it’s not true. But it is.”

James claimed that when the couple’s marriage was annulled, Janet was pregnant and alleged she had given birth to their secret child, and given her up for adoption.

Adding fuel to the fire, James’ sister Bunny claimed she had seen Janet pregnant in 1985 and had firsthand knowledge of Jackson’s alleged teenage pregnancy.

“That has haunted the family a long time,” soul singer Bunny told Inside Edition of the speculation after it arose in 2016.

She said at the time: “When the marriage was annulled… Janet was pregnant and James believed that as well.”

Bunny’s mother, Etterlene DeBarge, stoked the flames further when she came forward to claim a woman from Philadelphia named Tiffany Whyte was Janet’s secret daughter.

Etterlene said that she became convinced after she and Tiffany took a DNA test.

Tiffany was among several women who came forward, claiming to be the long lost DeBarge-Jackson baby.

Tiffany presented herself as her granddaughter when she approached Etterlene, and said after the DNA test: “Now it’s time for me to tell my truth.

“Now that I got the DNA from my grandmother … it is for sure that they are my parents.”

Tiffany, who grew up in the foster care system, said she was convinced Janet was her mum, bitterly saying: “She has been denying me for many years.

“I’ve waited 31 years. I’ve been kept a secret for a very long time and I want people to know the truth.”

Janet has not commented on the allegations, which came out when she was pregnant with her first child at the age of 50.

She and her third husband Wissam Al Mana kept quiet over the bombshell James had dropped, and themselves announced their split shortly after their son Eissa was born.

Now, 36 years after Janet’s first wedding, the allegations are yet to be addressed.