18-year-old Rebbie's announcement that she wanted to marry her childhood love, Nathaniel Brown, in May 1968 created a division in the Jackson family. Jackson expressed her feelings for the man and proclaimed that she wanted to move with him to Kentucky. Katherine encouraged her daughter to proceed with the union; she felt that being a wife and mother were important roles for all of her daughters to play. Joseph, however, was against the marriage; he wanted Rebbie to follow in the footsteps of her brothers and become a singer. Her father felt that married life would stop her from becoming a success in the entertainment business. Though Rebbie had taken clarinet, piano and dance lessons in her childhood, she had no interest in a music career. This despite the fact that according to brother Jermaine she had won several singing contests, duetting with brother Jackie. The teenager thought a happy home was more comforting and secure than the instability of show business. She also wanted to leave her family's drama filled home on Jackson Street. Arguments ensued for several weeks before her father relented and allowed Rebbie to wed Brown. Having the last word on the matter, Joseph refused to walk his daughter down the aisle.
Brown and Jackson have three children, daughters Stacee (born May 5, 1971) and Yashi (born October 5, 1977), and son Austin (born November 22, 1985). Rebbie's husband, Nathaniel Brown, died of cancer on January 6, 2013.
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