Jackson and mother had unbreakable bond

Michael Jackson had a complicated relationship with Joe Jackson. He had described his father as physically and emotionally abusive. Even the sight of Joe Jackson would sometimes make Michael so nervous he would vomit, the son had said.

Joe Jackson was the parental figure who spent the most time with Jackson during his formative years. Katherine Jackson didn't go out on the road with the Jackson 5, staying at home to raise LaToya, Janet and Randy.

But the mild-mannered mother would stand up to her husband and defend their children when she thought things were getting out of control, Taraborrelli said.

"She's very strong, and a very powerful woman who would stand up to Joe," he said. "That's the only reason why it worked. ... She had the tenacity to defy him when it really mattered."

Though the pair do not live together, their lives are still intertwined. Ten years ago, they filed for bankruptcy, listing nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. Court records show the only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000.

Now that Katherine Jackson has been granted temporary guardianship of her grandchildren, some wonder what influence Joe Jackson might play in the grandchildren's lives. A person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified because the person was not authorized to talk about the relationship, said the children have a loving relationship with their grandfather, but said that Katherine Jackson would be their primary caregiver.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said she has already assumed that role, shopping for clothes for her grandchildren over the weekend.

"She's doing very well," he said Sunday. "She is the matriarch of this family. She is so deep in her religion. She has a real insulation, not an isolation, kind of a spiritual, so she sees her family in the broader sense and all of them kind of gravitating a certain way to mom as they were."

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