Debbie Rowe, the former wife of the late pop star Michael Jackson, has announced that she is engaged to long-time friend Marc Schaffel. Rowe had two children with the late King of Pop, Paris, 16, and Michael Jr., 17, who were born before she and Jackson divorced in 1999.

Debbie Rowe
Debbie Rowe Has Confirmed That She Is Engaged To Marc Schaffel.

Schaffel reportedly asked Rowe to marry him three weeks ago with a 3.55 carat diamond ring but the 55 year-old former nurse was reluctant because she thought that she had cancer. However, she was told on Wednesday by her doctors that she has sarcoidosis, an auto-immune disease that causes patches of swollen tissue to appear throughout the body. There is no known cure for the condition but unlike cancer it is not terribly life threatening.


Post by Debbie Rowe.

"I had gone into the hospital before and they were worried about cancer. And I didn't feel that I could say "yes" knowing that," she said, via The Daily Mail, adding "The doctor said, "You're good to go." I drove up to the house and I said "OK I'm here, and I'm going to be here for a while, so I'm going to marry you."'

Debbie decided to say yes to her lover's proposal, telling TMZ "He loves me, knows my kids, loves my kids and we'll see where this goes." She said that she didn't foresee any problems with her children accepting her new fiancé, explaining "The kids have known him since they were little and they like him a lot."

Debbie Rowe Horses
Rowe Now Wants Guardianship Of Her Children, Paris & Michael Jr.

Schaffel was the late pop star's business manager and became close to Rowe after her divorce from Jackson. "We just remained friends. He's helped me with a lot of things and friendship sometimes turns into relationships and that's what happened," Debbie revealed.

Rowe says a date has not been set for their wedding.

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