Don’t lie – we’ve all been thinking it. The few pictures I’ve seen of Prince Michael, 12 and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, they don’t look anything like either Michael Jackson or Debbie Rowe. So is it really so shocking to learn that Debbie Rowe was just the surrogate womb, but not the egg? Well, it’s a little shocking. TMZ is reporting just that – Michael Jackson paid Debbie to carry Prince and Paris, but they are not technically her biological children. TMZ does not know if Michael chose the egg and sperm donors, or if he just… I don’t know, went to an egg and sperm bank and played matchmaker? This will most likely change any custodial claim Debbie might have had to the two older kids, but it’s looking like Jackson’s mother Katherine has the best shot at custody anyway:

We’ve learned Michael Jackson was not the biological father of any of his children. And Debbie Rowe is not the biological mother of the two kids she bore for Michael. All three children were conceived in vitro — outside the womb.

Multiple sources deeply connected to the births tell us Michael was not the sperm donor for any of his kids. Debbie’s eggs were not used. She was merely the surrogate, and paid well for her services in the births of Michael Jr. and Paris.

In the case of Prince Michael II (the youngest), we’re told the surrogate was never told of the identity of the “receiving parent” — Michael Jackson. Three days after Prince was born at Grossmont Hospital in San Diego County, Jackson’s lawyer came to the hospital to pick the baby up and deliver him to Michael.

We do not know if Jackson chose the sperm or egg donors or if he even knew who they were.

Although Rowe is not the biological mother, it’s not a slam dunk that she would lose a custody battle. This type of case has never been litigated in California courts. Since Rowe was married to Jackson when Michael Jr. and Paris were born, there’s a presumption that she’s the biological parent. That presumption can be rebutted by other evidence.

We know there are documents outlining the whole arrangement for the birth of all three kids. Nonetheless, it’s still an open issue with the courts.

[From TMZ]

What hasn’t even come up is who provided the sperm, egg and womb for Prince Michael II, age 7. Not that I really need to know, but I have a feeling the surrogate will be coming forward at some point.

So, does this piece of information really change anything in the long run? Do you think Katherine and Joe Jackson were going to ever give up custody of those kids? The answer is “no” – and they will probably spend millions of Michael’s dollars to ensure they remain not only guardians of Michael’s kids, but his estate.

Michael Jackson and his masked kids are shown on 4/26/09. Credit: Fame Pictures. Paris and Prince areshown with their nanny, Grace Rwarmba, in 2005. Credit: Bauergriffinonline.

News of the World ran an explosive supposed interview with Michael Jackson’s first second wife, Debbie Rowe, this weekend. Rowe allegedly told the British tabloid that she intended to relinquish all custody rights to her two children with Michael, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 11, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 10. The interview also had Rowe claiming that she was inseminated like one of the horses on her farm, and that she didn’t want to see that at all. “I don’t want these children in my life. My children are my animals now.”

The entire interview was fabricated, though, claims Rowe’s attorney, and News of the World has completely removed the article from their website, suggesting that they may fear a lawsuit over it:

Headlines abound suggest a British tabloid claimed that Debbie Rowe, surrogate mother to Michael Jackson’s two children, said the singer wasn’t the father of his proposed children–and that she had no interest in obtaining custody of the kids.

Rowe’s attorney, Marta Almli. exclusively tells RadarOnline.com, “The interview did not occur. The article is a complete fabrication.”

Rowe was married to Michael and had two children with the pop star. She reportedly has never had a relationship with the children.

Almli said she was unable, at this point, to answer any further questions about actions Rowe would be taking in regards to the children.

[From Radar Online thanks to Oxa for the tip]

So does this mean that Rowe might fight for custody of her two older children by Michael? She did try to give up all legal rights to them, but due to a technicality she’s still legally their mother and could potentially gain custody and all of the hefty child support that would come from Jackson’s estate. In February, 2008 she gave a supposedly legitimate interview to the Daily Mail in which she claimed that her animals were her “babies” and cried over the fact that she couldn’t have more children with Michael. It’s likely that News of the World made up all of their quotes based on that older interview, and it did bear a certain resemblance to it – with some dramatic language and more salacious details thrown in for effect. It was all too revealing to be true, though, and now Jackson’s two older children may be involved in a custody battle between their grandparents and their biological mother, who they’ve never known. A lot of people are waiting to see if Rowe issues a statement regarding custody and what her next move might be.

US Magazine reports that the Jacksons will go to court next Monday to “protect their rights to custody of Michael Jackson’s three children.”

Debbie Rowe has issued a statement through her attorney that reads, in part, that her “only thoughts at this time have been regarding the devastating loss Michael’s family has suffered.” Her attorney had no idea whether she would seek custody and asked that the family “be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation and that they be able to say goodbye to their loved one in peace.”

News of The World scored an exclusive interview with Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson’s first second wife and the biological mother of his two oldest children. Despite still having legal rights to her two children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 11, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 10, Rowe told NOTW that she doesn’t want custody. She tried to give up all rights to the children in 2005, but due to a technicality they’re still legally hers and she could claim custody along with the huge child support that is likely to come out of the Jackson estate. That’s not Rowe’s intention, though, and she said that she is content to care for the animals on her farm, calling them her “children.” She was just platonic friends with Jackson, and said they never had sex or lived together. Many have speculated that Jackson’s children are too light-skinned to be biologically his, and Rowe confirms that they’re not his and that she was inseminated with an anonymous donor’s sperm:

Speaking exclusively at her home Debbie said: “Michael was divorced, lonely and wanted children. I was the one who said to him, ‘I will have your babies’.

“I offered him my womb – it was a gift. It was something I did to keep him happy.”

After second birth he wanted no more to do with me

Debbie said she was “impregnated” like one of the thoroughbred mares she now keeps on her property, adding: “I was just the vessel. It wasn’t Michael’s sperm.

“I got paid for it, and I’ve moved on. I know I will never see my children again.”

Blonde Debbie, now 50, spoke out at the ranch in California where she lives as a virtual recluse surrounded by dozens of animals.

And she revealed the strange true story behind her relationship with the Thriller icon, who she married in 1996 and divorced three years later. It included details of how:

JACKSON never had sex with her throughout their marriage and parenthood;

SHE offered to have babies for him after he told her that his first wife Lisa Marie Presley had refused to bear him any;

THE star arranged for a sham marriage to make them appear like a family;

HE cruelly ditched her when the painful second birth left her “all torn up inside” and unable to give him any more kids.

“I was never a good mother, I never felt any attachment to them. It was a better feeling giving them to him than it was keeping them as my own.

“I know I will never see them again. I was never cut out to be a mother – I was no good. I don’t want these children in my life. My children are my animals now.”

[From News of The World]

The mother of Jackson’s youngest child, Prince Michael Jackson II, 6, is an anonymous surrogate from Europe and his parentage remains unknown. Michael Jackson’s children are with their grandmother, Katherine, and are likely to stay with her. Grandfather Joe Jackson was asked by BBC News at the BET Awards last night about the children, and he answered simply “they are with us.”

Update: According to Debbie Rowe’s lawyer, this interview was completely fabricated.

Photo credit: Bauergriffinonline