Janet Jackson Allegedly Paid Her Ex Rene Elizondo Jr. Millions In Their Divorce

Janet Jackson's love life has generated nearly as many headlines as her legendary, four decade career. — and with good reason! In addition to her high-profile relationship with producer Jermaine Dupri, the music icon has been married on three different occasions. Jackson's first husband was fellow musician James DeBarge. The pair wed in secret in 1984 when Jackson was 18. Unfortunately, their union would be short-lived, as Jackson petitioned to have it annulled because of DeBarge's alleged drug use.

Jackson's third husband was billionaire Wissam Al Mana — a fashion mogul with whom she shares her only son.Jackson's marriage to Mana, which has largely been shrouded in secrecy, lasted from 2012-2017.Jackson's longest known relationship was her nine-year marriage to jer second husband, Rene Elizondo Jr., a photographer and filmmaker. Even though the relationship wasn't a secret, Jackson managed to keep their marital status away from the public eye for majority of their marriage. 

It was only when Elizondo filed to end the marriage in 2000, citing irreconcilable differences, that the public was brought up to speed. Naturally, Jackson's second divorce led to a media circus and unfortunately, a lengthy court battle with Elizondo that led to a large payout in his favor.

Despite her immense fame, Janet Jackson was able to keep her marriage to Rene Elizondo Jr. off the media's radar for nearly a decade. However, all bets were off once Elizondo filed for divorce in 2000. What followed was a media frenzy that covered Jackson's very nasty court battle with Elizondo. Elizondo sued Jackson for $10 million in 2001 for a combination property Jackson allegedly failed to divide and unpaid profits from her "Rhythm Nation" tour.  

Elizondo was a known creative collaborator of Jackson, who worked with her during the height of her career. For example, Elizondo directed several of Jackson's videos, such as "That's The Way Love Goes" and "Again" videos. Elizondo was also the faceless male model standing behind Jackson during her risky 1993 Rolling Stone cover shoot. Additionally, Elizondo also claimed to have worked on several of Jackson's hits and felt entitled to compensation. Although Jackson initially fought Elizondo's lawsuit, and tried to get the courts to uphold their prenuptial agreement, Elizondo claimed to have signed it "under duress." Ultimately, Jackson settled with Elizondo in 2003 for $10 million. 

Even though the end of Janet Jackson's marriage to Rene Elizondo Jr. played out in the press during the early '00s, her two-part documentary titled, Janet Jackson, which premiered in January 2022, provided fans with a deeper look into their relationship. Thanks to Elizondo's incessant need to make home videos, her documentary was populated with archive footage from the '80s and '90s, which likely would've never seen the light of day. Among the clips were intimate shots of Jackson and Elizondo, which prove that, though things ended bitterly, the former couple had a very sweet start.

And in the beginning, it's clear that Jackson thought Elizondo was the one. "I needed to just be free of being with somebody that did drugs and all of that," said Jackson during the documentary. "I needed a lift. René was funny, just always had fun together. He was very, very charming." Unfortunately, things weren't always roses and sunshine. Later on, Elizondo, who allegedly dealt with substance use issues, made Jackson feel self-conscious about her appearance. "The whole René situation started to get sour," said Jackson. "He was always constantly on me about the way I looked. 'You have to look like your video. 'When you go out, you have to look this way. You can't go to the movie, people are going to see you, you don't look like yourself.' And I believed that."