David Bowie’s daughter has opened up about the lasting trauma she says she endured after being “forcibly removed” from the family home years before his death in 2016—an experience she says ultimately meant she wasn’t able to be with him at the end.
Alexandra “Lexi” Jones, now 25, explained that as a teenager she was taken from the family’s New York home and sent away to address an eating disorder and other mental health struggles. She described two men “well over six feet tall” arriving to escort her out, saying the incident has stayed with her ever since.
She was then placed in a “wilderness therapy” program aimed at troubled teens—an industry that has faced severe criticism in recent years, with some former attendees describing such camps as harmful or abusive. These programs often involve strict outdoor living and limited contact with the outside world, conditions Lexi suggested left her isolated at a critical time for her family.
Lexi said the moment began with her father reading something he’d written aloud.
“My dad read a letter he had written. I don’t really remember what it said, but I do remember the last line and it said, ‘I’m sorry we have to do this’.”
She then described resisting as she was removed from the home.
“They told me I could do this the easy way or the hard way. I chose the hard way. I resisted. I screamed. I held onto the table leg.
“They grabbed me, they put their hands on me, they pulled me away from everything I knew and I was screaming bloody murder. I was screaming for someone to help me, but no one did…”
In a detailed post on Instagram, she said the effects of that experience followed her for years, and that the 91 days she spent at the wilderness program still weigh heavily on her.
Lexi, who described herself as a “city girl,” said she was made to dig her own toilet area and count out loud while using it so staff could monitor her. She also said she slept outdoors with minimal shelter—just a tarp on the ground and a sleeping bag.
According to Lexi, she didn’t learn of her father’s death until later, after being transferred to another facility—this time a residential center for teens.
She said she was able to speak with her father shortly before his death, and recalled what she considers her final meaningful exchange with him.
“I had the luxury of speaking to him two days before, on his birthday.
“I told him I loved him, and he said it back, and we both knew.
David Bowie's daughter Lexi, 25, says she was 'forcibly removed' from family home and sent to 'abusive' teen treatment centre which resulted in her missing her father's final days ahead of his tragic death from cancer pic.twitter.com/Re2uTi9EHr
— G R I F T Y (@GriftReport) February 23, 2026
“Then I saw the post, the one that said something like, David Bowie passed away, surrounded by his whole family.”
Lexi said reading that message made her feel sick, because she believes it erased her absence from a moment that shaped her grief.
“It made me physically ill because, yeah, the whole family was there. Except for me.”
She also suggested this wasn’t an isolated incident, claiming she was repeatedly sent away as a child after dangerous situations involving drugs and other risky episodes. Reflecting on how that changed her, she wrote that it forced her to confront intense emotional issues early in life.
“I was forced to look inward before I even had a chance to look outward. I
“I had to understand emotions before I understood algebra. I had to become fluent in the language of healing before I even knew who I was.”
Her post drew supportive responses from followers, including public figures, as people reacted to her account of growing up under unusual scrutiny and feeling treated differently because of who her father was.
Elsewhere, some commenters argued that sending her away may have been intended as a protective intervention, especially given Bowie’s own history with addiction.
“Her father is dying of cancer and one of his final acts is to have an intervention of sorts before his death.
“Bowie was a recovered addict himself. She should look at this as an act of love and consider what part she played in this.”