David Bowie’s daughter Lexi, 25, says she was ‘forcibly removed’ from family home and sent to ‘abusive’ teen treatment centre which resulted in her missing her father’s final days
David Bowie's daughter Alexandria 'Lexi' Jones has revealed the harrowing details of being forcibly removed from her family home in the US and sent to multiple treatment centres
Alexandria ‘Lexi’ Jones has opened up about the traumatic experience of being forcibly removed from her family home as a teenager and placed in multiple treatment programmes — a period that kept her away from her father, David Bowie, during his final illness.
Now 25, Lexi shared a video on Instagram describing her long struggle with depression, an eating disorder and substance misuse, and how her family decided she needed intensive treatment after she reached a “breaking point” following Bowie’s 2014 liver cancer diagnosis.
The singer died in January 2016 at age 69, two days after releasing his final album Blackstar.
Lexi, whose mother is supermodel Iman, said she was just 14 when two men arrived to take her to a treatment facility. She recalled her father reading a letter explaining the decision, ending with the words: “I’m sorry we have to do this.”
Early struggles and pressure of growing up famous
Reflecting on her childhood, Lexi said she felt people often saw her as an extension of her famous parents rather than as her own person.
She described experiencing anxiety and depression before age 10, struggling academically due to learning disabilities, and developing bulimia at 12. She also said she began self-harming at 11 and felt she could never live up to her parents’ success.
After Bowie’s cancer diagnosis, she turned increasingly to alcohol and drugs to cope. “Everyone around me was experimenting,” she said. “But for me, it wasn’t about fun — I was escaping.”
Forcibly taken to wilderness therapy
Lexi said an intervention followed that she experienced as deeply traumatic. She described resisting as the two men removed her from her home and drove her to a wilderness therapy programme.
She spent 91 days living outdoors in harsh winter conditions, with minimal privacy and constant monitoring. Participants dug outdoor latrines, slept under tarps, cooked over fires and were required to count aloud while using the bathroom so staff could track them.
Wilderness therapy — also called outdoor behavioural healthcare — is a controversial US treatment model combining outdoor survival activities with counselling for teens with behavioural or mental health issues.
Hotel heiress and media personality Paris Hilton has campaigned against such facilities, alleging abuse at a Utah boarding school she attended as a teenager. Her advocacy helped lead to the US Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, passed in 2024.
Learning of Bowie’s death in treatment
After three months, Lexi was transferred to a residential treatment centre in Utah, where she remained for 13 months. It was there she learned her father had died.
She said she had spoken to him two days earlier on his birthday. “I told him I loved him, and he said it back — and we both knew,” she recalled. Seeing public reports that he died surrounded by family was devastating: “The whole family was there. Except for me.”
Staff created a structured “grief and loss” phase within her programme to process his death — something she later questioned.
Repeated placements and lasting effects
Lexi returned home shortly before turning 16 but said she soon relapsed into old behaviours and was sent to another programme. The repeated removals left her feeling like “a problem that was being passed off.”
She credits the experience with making her introspective and emotionally aware but says it also left lasting impacts. “I still flinch when things feel too controlled,” she said.
Music career and speaking out
In April 2025, Lexi released her independently produced debut album Xandri, which she wrote and recorded herself.
Bowie and Iman married in 1992 and remained together until his death. Lexi also has a half-brother, film director Duncan Jones, from Bowie’s first marriage.
Lexi said she shared her story publicly to acknowledge the emotional harm she believes she experienced and to highlight similar experiences of other teens in treatment programmes.
While she said she was not physically abused after the initial escorting, she described enduring psychological and emotional manipulation she considers abusive. “This happened to me and to a lot of other kids that deserve better,” she said.
Supportive messages poured in after her post, including from model Cara Delevingne and many fans praising her openness and resilience.
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