These days, Kid Rock is actually Grandpa Rock. His son is all grown up with kids of his own
but he went through plenty of rough spots and tough times on the way there
From the moment of his conception, Bobby Jr. was the center of a domestic dispute
Kid Rock and his son's mother, a woman named Kelly South Russell, broke up just months after they welcomed Robert James Ritchie Jr. in 1993
Starting in the eighth grade, Kid Rock and Russell dated on and off for a decade
and even lived together for a while, but they weren't destined for wedded bliss
Drummer and engineer Bob Ebeling, who was Kid Rock's roommate for a while
recalled to the Detroit Free Press that there were some secrets going on in the household
He said, There were three kids. He thought two of them were his, and then he found out that one of them wasn't
Ebeling said that Kid Rock was all torn up and brokenhearted, and he and Russell broke up
Russell packed her bags and skipped out, leaving behind Bobby Jr., the one that had sprung from Kid
Rock. But this time, Papa Rock wasn't taking any chances. He launched a paternity suit in 1994
to confirm that Junior was indeed his biological son, after which he obtained full custody and
raised him as a single father. The problem was, Kid Rock was in his early 20s at the time
and was still working toward living his dream of bringing country rap rock to the world
That meant he was often away from home playing gigs. Since Kid Rock concerts are generally no
place for toddlers, he usually left Bobby Junior in the care of friends and family
I had a lot of help. I had a great support system. My mother, my sister, his godmother
people like that. He admitted that he wasn't always the most sober 20-something
but the responsibility of raising a child forced him to rein it in at least a little bit
These are people who are like, you know, I'm not gonna watch your kid if you think you're
gonna go out drinking with your friends and, you know, carrying on like you do. Before Kid Rock got his big break, he was just like any other regular Joe in a sea of rap rockers
struggling to make it in the cutthroat world of the 90s. In other words, he was broke
After his first label Jive Records dropped him in the early 1990s Kid Rock moved back in with his parents who weren exactly living in a shack to be fair Kid Rock later said But there was strife on that front too Around the time of Bobby Jr birth
Kid Rock was disenfranchised from his dad, as his pal Ebeling put it to the Detroit Free Press
That supposedly means he wasn't getting a stream of upper-middle-class cash to keep him and Bobby
Jr. afloat, and Continuum, the small record label that the rapper signed with after Jive
wasn't mailing big checks, either. It wasn't until Devil Without a Cause that the money
started flowing in, and from that point on, nothing was ever the same
That 1998 album eventually went on to sell 14 million copies and pretty much turned Kid Rock
into a superstar overnight. Bobby Jr. was about five years old when he landed in the lap of luxury
Nowadays, he appears to be living a life just as lavish as that of the kids of other successful
musicians. His Instagram is filled with photos of things like customized cyber trucks, a lavish home
private jet flights, and trips to places like Cancun, Hawaii, and Morocco. He's also grown up
hanging out with plenty of high-profile celebrities. There's nothing tragic about any of that, but
unfortunately, there were some side effects to suddenly becoming the son of a megastar
In 2000, Bobby Jr.'s parents became embroiled in a nasty 10-month-long custody battle that went to
court after his estranged mother attempted to regain custody. To recap briefly, Kid Rock had
had permanent custody of Junior since 1995 when an investigation discovered that Russell had
issues with alcohol abuse and once slashed Kid Rock's leg with a knife. However, Russell claimed
in her filing that she should have custody of their then seven-year-old son because Kid
Rock, being the famous superstar that he was, wasn't able to spend enough time with the
child due to his demanding career. She said that he had also rejected her request for
Bobby Jr. to spend part of his summer vacation with her. The battle concluded in October
2000 when Kid Rock agreed to let Russell have more time with their son However in exchange Russell had to pay him per week in child support and cover part of their son health insurance payments too If you thinking that a week is a fairly paltry sum for someone with
Kid Rock's wealth, you have the same suspicions that Russell's lawyer did at the time. She told
the Detroit Free Press, his position is that she needs to assume responsibility. My opinion is this
is punishment. But that wasn't the last time lawyers had to get involved. That very same year
Russell also sued Kid Rock for defamation, alleging he made false claims about her in his
song Black Chick, White Guy. The 1998 track is purportedly about their lengthy romance
and when you listen to the lyrics, well, they do seem a little on the nose. For example
And then there's this one. Or maybe Russell was talking about this line
Three different kids from three different men. It's unclear how that case ended, but being a bargaining chip as your parents take petty
shots at each other can't be a super positive experience for a seven-year-old
In July 2006, Kid Rock married Pamela Anderson. Bobby Jr. got a stepmother as well as two
stepbrothers and her sons, Brandon and Dylan, whom the Baywatch star shares with ex-Tommy Lee
The singer and actor dated on and off starting in 2001 before finally tying the knot on a yacht
in Saint-Tropez. However, Kid Rock and Anderson's marriage was short-lived, and the pair filed for
divorce less than four months after their wedding. According to Sacha Baron Cohen, Anderson claimed
that Kid Rock's jealousy over her appearance in his movie Borat led to the end of their marriage
Oh, well, will you marry me? Oh, nothing. I'm sorry. No, I agree with my best, sorry
However, that explanation is at odds with Kid Rock's version of events. He's always said that
the real cause was her actions toward Bobby Jr. As he revealed on Larry King Live in 2007
Kit Rock also briefly discussed his infamous altercation at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards when he punched Tommy Lee in the jaw
Afterwards, he realized that doing that might have affected his son's relationship with his
step-siblings, admitting, the only thing I was thinking about was my son and his two kids
and how does this affect them? They're the ones. My son is 14. He has to go to school. He's the
one that's got to deal with these antics, you know? Well, you know what they say. Hindsight is 20-20
Hopefully their dad's fighting didn't affect Bobby Jr.'s friendship with Dylan and Brandon
Are your kids friendly with each other? They don't speak anymore, no
Never mind. Being the child of a celebrity has many perks, but as history has shown, it can also be a pretty
hellish ordeal. Especially if that celebrity dad has a reputation for going over the edge
When it comes to typical rock star behavior, Kid Rock has done it all. He's been arrested
on four separate occasions, with an October 2007 skirmish at a Waffle House, earning him a year of
probation, alongside a $1,000 fine, 80 hours of community service, and six hours of anger
management counseling. Kid Rock acknowledged to Esquire that he'll probably never escape the
Waffle House backlash, but it was hardly the first time he got drunk and did dumb things
When Bobby Jr. was seven years old, he found Kid Rock unconscious on the floor
Instead of making up an excuse, Kid Rock told him the blunt truth, saying
Despite growing up finding his dad passed out in the bathroom and everything else that came
with the rock star lifestyle, Bobby Jr. leads a surprisingly normal life. He graduated with
a music business degree from Belmont University and founded an apparel brand. He also works as
a social media manager and is the brand ambassador for that Happy Dad Seltzer that started showing
up everywhere. While Bobby Jr. also released some music, he appears to be dedicating equal
or more time to his other ventures, his wife and their two children, Sky and Ryder. Not so tragic
after all