Janet Jackson Ties the Knot

Janet Jackson

The cat’s out of the bag.. Last year in a quiet, private and “beautiful” ceremony, Jackson wed Wissam Al Mana, billionaire retail investor.

 

It's marriage number 3 for the pop singer/actress/entertainer extraordinaire. When Jackson was 18, she united in marriage with James DeBarge of the Motown family group DeBarge. Pressures from a number of different directions intervened- her record company, the demands of her schedule, her youth.  The marriage was annulled after 3 months. DeBarge’s drug habit was cited as the reason. In 1991, Jackson secretly married longtime friend Rene Elizondo, Jr. They separated in 1999.

Wissam Al Mana and Janet Jackson

Jackson (46) and her new husband (37) issued a joint statement to Entertainment Tonight confirming their union during last year. The couple has been dating since 2010.
As of 2012, Al Mana’s net worth was said to be an estimated at $1 billion. This makes him one of the richest retail investors in the Middle East.

Running the family business with his two brothers, Al Mana has made his fortune as the managing director of Middle-East-based Al Mana Retail Group, which represents Armani Exchange stores and other high-end retailers such as Giorgio Armani, Hermes, Balenciaga, and Roberto Cavalli.

Al Mana also owns stakes in the Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Dubai, Bahrain, and Kuwait, and is opening the flagship A/X Exchange in a Qatar shopping mall.

Best of luck to the happy couple.

What ever Happened to Ted "Golden Voice" Williams

One year ago, Ted "Golden Voice" Williams was living in a box and panhandling on a Columbus street corner. But he had a deep, soulful voice destined for greater things. And now he's found them. With a new, clean-cropped haircut, Williams is living with his longtime girlfriend in a comfortable condominium in Dublin, Ohio, with regular voice-work and an upcoming autobiography.

The past year has been a busy one; in addition to going to rehab twice, Williams has been working with Entertainment Tonight (whose producers also helped him with achieving sobriety), landed a voice over spot in a Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese commercial last year, and is set to release a book chronicling his story this May.

“What a difference a year makes,” he said. “It’s a ‘hallelujah’ moment every day I wake up.”

Related articles

• Whatever Happened to Ted Williams, the 'Golden-Voiced' Homeless Man? (newsfeed.time.com)
• A Year Later, the Man With the Golden Voice Has a Golden Life to Match (adweek.com)