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David Bowie Wanted to ‘Be a Father and Live a Normal Life’ With Iman, Daughter Lexi in Final Decade of His Life

In what would be the final 10 years of his life, David Bowie said that he wanted to “be a father and live a normal life” with his wife, Iman, and their daughter, Alexandria, his longtime friend and keyboardist Mike Garson says in a new Rolling Stone cover story.

Garson recalled one poignant conversation with the late music legend from 2004. At the time, Bowie was wrapping up his Reality tour, which was marred by several dark events including a staff death and an unsettling onstage incident.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars We’ve Lost

David Bowie and Iman
David Bowie and Iman

“Three-quarters through the Reality tour, he said, ‘You know, Mike, after this tour, I’m just going to be a father and live a normal life,'” Garson recalled of their conversation. “‘And I’m going to be there for Lexi while she grows up. I missed it the first time.'” (That “first time” was with his son, Duncan Jones, whom he shared with ex-wife Angie Bowie. Jones, 44, ultimately found success as a director, and maintained a close relationship with his father over the decades.)

Bowie died at the age of 69, on January 10, following an 18-month battle with liver cancer. He released his final album, Blackstar, two days before his death.

David Bowie
David Bowie on the cover of Rolling Stone

Related: PHOTOS: Stars Gone Too Soon

One day before the British rocker passed away, his wife posted a telling message on Instagram about loss. “Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory,” the modeling icon, 60, wrote. “Rise #imandaily.”

The world-famous musician and Iman married in 1992, and sources close to the couple previously told Us Weekly that their love story was a real-life fairy tale.

“What he loved most about Iman was how brave she is,” the model’s close friend, stylist June Ambrose, told Us earlier this month. Another pal said that the star is “torn apart” by her husband’s death, but “staying strong for Lexi.”

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