{"id":52865,"date":"2026-10-06T16:55:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T20:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=52865"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:55:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T20:55:30","slug":"david-bowies-widow-iman-reveals-why-she-put-her-grief-aside-for-their-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/10\/david-bowies-widow-iman-reveals-why-she-put-her-grief-aside-for-their-daughter.html","title":{"rendered":"David Bowie\u2019s Widow Iman Reveals Why She Put Her Grief Aside For Their Daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Everett Collection \/ Shutterstock.com | Inset: @the_real_iman \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nearly 11 years after David Bowie\u2019s death, his widow, Iman, is opening up about a part of grief that often goes unseen \u2014 putting her own heartbreak aside to help their teenage daughter cope with losing her father.<\/p>\n

Bowie died from liver cancer on Jan. 10, 2016, at age 69. While millions of fans around the world mourned the legendary musician, Iman and their daughter, Alexandria \u201cLexi\u201d Zahra Jones, were grieving a husband and father.<\/p>\n

Lexi was just 15 when Bowie died, and Iman recently revealed that caring for her daughter became her immediate focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning, I had a teenager \u2014 my daughter,\u201d Iman told People. \u201cI was so busy trying to get her through that, so I didn\u2019t pay attention to my own grief. So actually, my grief came later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over time, Iman said she has learned to remember Bowie in a way that brings joy instead of only sadness.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come to a point [where] you don\u2019t want every time you think about somebody you love who passed away, that it brings you [to] tears,\u201d she explained. \u201cBecause that\u2019s what they [wouldn\u2019t] want. So, it\u2019s trying to keep the memory alive that is joyful, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Iman and Bowie\u2019s love story began after they met on a blind date in Los Angeles in 1990. They married two years later in Florence, Italy, and welcomed Lexi in August 2000.<\/p>\n

Looking back on their meeting, Iman has described it as something that seemed destined to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy destiny was calling me to get there so I could meet David,\u201d she told People in 2021.<\/p>\n

Bowie apparently knew much sooner that he had found the woman he wanted to marry.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid said it was love at first sight,\u201d Iman recalled. \u201cIt took me a few months, but I got there.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Iman, it wasn\u2019t Bowie\u2019s fame that made her fall in love with him. She knew the man behind the rock star persona and was particularly drawn to his kindness. She once recalled walking with Bowie when her shoelace came undone and he immediately knelt to tie it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he\u2019s the one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Iman has never remarried and continues to honor her late husband publicly. On an anniversary this year, she shared throwback photos of the couple along with a moving message: \u201cAnd I\u2019d still choose you again and again and again for eternity.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also got a tattoo honoring Bowie and marked his birthday in January with another heartfelt tribute.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy Heavenly Birthday,\u201d Iman wrote. \u201cYour light burns so bright in all our hearts! We love and miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lexi has also kept her father\u2019s memory alive. On what would have been Bowie\u2019s 79th birthday, she shared a childhood photo with him and wrote, \u201cHappy birthday pops, miss ya!\u201d<\/p>\n

For Iman, nearly 11 years without Bowie have not erased the grief. Instead, she has found a way to carry it differently \u2014 remembering the husband and father her family loved while holding on to the joy of the life they shared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly 11 years after David Bowie\u2019s death, his widow, Iman, is opening up about a part of grief that often goes unseen \u2014 putting her own heartbreak aside to help their teenage daughter cope with losing her father. Bowie died from liver cancer on Jan. 10, 2016, at age 69. While millions of fans around…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":52868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nDavid Bowie\u2019s Widow Iman Reveals Why She Put Her Grief Aside For Their Daughter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Iman says she put her grief aside after husband David Bowie\u2019s 2016 death to focus on raising their teenage daughter, Lexi.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/10\/david-bowies-widow-iman-reveals-why-she-put-her-grief-aside-for-their-daughter.html\" \/>\n<meta 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