Lexi Jones is sharing a traumatizing experience during what was an incredibly difficult time for her family. The daughter of late singer David Bowie recalls struggling with substance abuse years ago. She shared how she turned to alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism following her father’s liver cancer diagnosis.
Things got so bad that Lexi shared that an intervention took place, though it was rather unconventional. She says she was “dragged” away by “two strange men.” She spent over three months in an outdoor therapy program. The program is highly controversial and a style of mental health treatment for young people.
Lexi said her father David Bowie’s cancer diagnosis led to her hitting a “breaking point”
David’s cancer diagnosis sent Lexi down a very dark path. The singer-songwriter said on Instagram that the news was her “breaking point.” At the time, she says she was depressed, struggling at school, while admitting to self-harming at the age of 11.
She admits that when the controversial intervention took place, she felt “completely horrified and silent,” waiting in the SUV before entering the wilderness. The therapy she went through involves intense outdoor activities with counselling. This is done as a means of addressing behavioral, emotional and substance abuse issues.
After that therapy, Lexi went to a residential treatment centre in Utah for 13 months. While getting further treatment at that facility, David lost his battle with cancer in 2016. She says that she spoke with him two days before his death. “I told him I loved him,” said Lexi. Not being there for him in his final moments, however, is something that hurt her deeply. In October singer Janelle Monáe said that she time travelled to visit Lexi’s father in the 1970s.
That loss led Lexi to undergo another program for grief. Upon returning home, she backslid and had to return for another treatment program. While she’s gone through some horrific experiences, Lexi believes it’s made her a strong person today. She believes it’s enabled her to develop plenty of emotional intelligence.
Lexi’s first album, Xandri, was released in April 2025.
TELL US – DO YOU BELIEVE OUTDOOR THERAPY IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO HELP PEOPLE DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?
