David Bowie's Daughter Clarifies Stance on Forced Treatment Intervention
Alexandria "Lexi" Jones, the 25-year-old daughter of music legend David Bowie and supermodel Iman, has issued a public defense of her parents following her recent revelations about being forcibly removed from her family home as a teenager and sent to controversial treatment facilities.
From Revelation to Clarification
Earlier this month, the musician shared a candid video describing how at age 14, while struggling with depression, an eating disorder, and substance misuse, she was taken from her home and placed in a series of treatment programs. Lexi described this period as the most fragile time of her life, which coincided with her father's 2014 liver cancer diagnosis that pushed her to what she called "breaking point."
She recalled her father reading from a letter he had written to her before her removal, with one line that has never left her: "I'm sorry we have to do this."
Defending Parental Intentions
In a statement posted to her Instagram account, Lexi has now clarified her position, writing: "I've seen a lot of interpretations of what I shared, and I want to clarify something important. My story was never meant to place blame on my parents. I love my parents deeply, and I don't hold resentment toward them."
She emphasized that her parents were "trying to help a child who was struggling in ways none of us fully understood at the time," and that her intention was to discuss "the experience of being a young person inside the teenage treatment system" rather than create a narrative of family conflict.
"Those feelings can exist at the same time as love for the people who were trying to help you," she wrote. "Both things can be true."
The Treatment Experience
Lexi described in detail the circumstances of her removal from home. Shortly after receiving her father's letter, two men entered the house and gave her the option to "do this the easy way or the hard way." She chose the hard way, clinging to a table leg and screaming as she was pulled away and placed into a black SUV without being told her destination.
She was taken to a wilderness therapy program, a controversial outdoor behavioral treatment used for adolescents in the United States. For 91 days, she lived outside in winter conditions, sleeping under tarps and learning survival skills. She described being strip-searched on arrival and given outdoor gear including a backpack "bigger than me."
"We made fires by stripping birch bark and striking flint and steel," she said. "I was a city girl. I didn't even know this kind of programme existed."
Further Treatment and Family Tragedy
After three months in wilderness therapy, Lexi was transferred to a residential treatment center in Utah, where she remained for more than a year. It was there that she learned her father had died in January 2016, just days after releasing his final album Blackstar.
"I had the luxury of speaking to him two days before, on his birthday," she said. "I told him I loved him and he said it back. We both knew."
When she saw announcements stating Bowie had died surrounded by his family, she said the wording made her feel physically sick. "Yes, the whole family was there. Except for me."
Early Struggles and Celebrity Pressure
Lexi revealed that her mental health struggles began long before her father's illness. Teachers noticed signs of anxiety when she was under 10, and she experienced her first panic attack around the same time. She developed bulimia at 12 and began self-harming at 11, while also coping with learning disabilities that left her feeling "stupid" and "unworthy."
Growing up with globally recognized parents intensified that pressure. "Adults would talk to me differently," she said. "Some weren't interested in me as a person at all, only as proximity to something else. I felt like I existed as an idea."
Return Home and Continued Challenges
After returning home shortly before turning 16, Lexi said she fell back into old patterns and was later sent away again. "This repetitive cycle made everything blur," she said. "It made me feel like a problem that was being passed off."
David Bowie and Iman married in 1992 and remained together until his death in 2016. Lexi also has a half-brother, filmmaker Duncan Jones, from Bowie's first marriage.
Lasting Impact and Artistic Expression
Lexi says she is still processing the emotional impact of those years, including flinching in environments that feel overly controlled and scanning rooms for rules she might have missed. She recently released her debut album Xandri, an independently created 12-track project written and produced by her.
Explaining why she chose to speak out, she said she wanted to address "the parts of yourself you lose in the process of being fixed."
"I know how lucky I am in many ways," she added. "But the mental and emotional manipulation I experienced is something I will not forget. I won't pretend it didn't happen because that is abuse too."
Lexi emphasized that her intention was to foster conversation and understanding about the treatment system rather than judgment of individuals. "I spoke about something that shaped me in hopes someone else might feel less alone in theirs," she concluded.
