Janet Jackson on Saturday debuted her son, Eisa, on social media, the first-ever public photo of the three-month-old.
“My baby and me after nap time,” the 50-year-old singer captioned the heart-warming shot, which shows her son yawning, while she gives him a kiss on the forehead.
The post comes a week after reports suggested the pop star had split from her husband, the Qatari tycoon Wissam Al Mana.
Jackson has kept a low profile before and after giving birth in January to son Eisa, her first child. She had repeatedly postponed dates on her Unbreakable world tour before stunning fans in April by announcing the late-age pregnancy. She did however perform at the Dubai World Cup on March 26 last year.
While there has been no confirmation of the couple’s split, reports gave different accounts on the circumstances of the separation.
British tabloid The Mail on Sunday said the split was amicable and that Jackson would live in London with their son.
But The New York Post’s Page Six said that Al Mana had exercised too much — in the words of one of Jackson’s signature songs — control.
Page Six quoted an anonymous source saying Al Mana insisted that Jackson dress modestly and tone down provocative dance moves.
Jackson — notorious for her “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl half-time show, in which she bared a breast — was upset by the pressure and feared losing her fan base, Page Six said.
Jackson has been discreet about her relationship with Al Mana, whose company sells luxury fashion brands across the GCC and who is estimated to be worth $1 billion (Dh3.6 billion).
The two married in a private ceremony in 2012 but did not immediately publicise it.
Jackson won a major fan base in the late 1980s with her albums Control and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 as she brought pop music and funk together with the emerging genre of hip-hop.
Jackson lyrically identified with women’s empowerment and staged elaborately choreographed live shows.
