Michael Jackson was just 10 years old when he met Diana Ross. He was the smallest kid in a Motown lineup, and she was already the label’s biggest star. Berry Gordy paired them up on purpose, with Diana introducing the Jackson 5 to the world and Michael told she’d be his mentor, the one who’d teach him how to move and carry himself like a star.
What started as a mentorship turned into something fans still debate. Michael admitted more than once that he had a crush on her growing up, and people close to him say he wrote songs with her in mind.
Diana always kept things at arm’s length. She once simply said she was older and that he idolized her and wanted to sing like her.
No mention of romance. Just a teacher describing a student.
Diana Called Michael Up On Stage During Her Own Show
Here’s where it gets harder to explain away. In his will, Michael named Diana Ross to raise his three children if his mother couldn’t. Not a sibling, not a longtime friend in the industry. That kind of trust is usually reserved for family.
AND YET WHEN MICHAEL DIED IN 2009, DIANA ROSS DIDN’T SHOW UP.
Not at the Staples Center memorial, not publicly anywhere near it. She released a brief statement instead, saying she needed to find closure and that she was there in her heart even without being there in person.
They Shared A Complex Relationship
Fans never fully accepted that. The man who trusted her with his children couldn’t get her in the room when he died.
Maybe it really was mentorship on her end the whole time. Maybe Michael’s feelings were always one-sided. Or maybe there’s a version of this relationship neither of them ever said out loud. Either way, the will and the funeral don’t match up, and that gap is still unresolved.