Editing Jackie Wilson (section)

=== Marriages and children ===
At the age of 17, Wilson married his pregnant girlfriend Freda Hood in 1951. They had four children:<ref name="history-of-rock.com" /> Jacqueline Denise (1951–1988), Sandra Kay (1953–1977), Jackie Jr (1954–1970), and Anthony Duane.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} Hood divorced Wilson in 1965 after 14 years of marriage, as she was frustrated with his notorious womanizing.<ref name="history-of-rock.com" />

In 1967, Wilson married his second wife, model Harlean Harris (1937–2019), at the urging of Nat Tarnopol, who thought the marriage would help repair Wilson's public image.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Gulla|first=Bob|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLgqFaYmgw8C&q=Harlean+Harris+jackie&pg=PA140|title=Icons of R & B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists who Revolutionized Rhythm|date=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-34044-4|pages=140|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=June 10, 1967|title=Meet the Wilsons|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Record-World/60s/67/RW-1967-06-10.pdf|journal=Record World|pages=26}}</ref> They had been dating since at least 1960 and their son John Dominick (known as Petey), was born in 1963.<ref name=":7" /> Wilson and Harris legally separated in 1969.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=March 27, 1969|title=Jackie Wilson and Wife Sign Separation Papers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DgDAAAAMBAJ&q=John+Dominick+harlean+jackie&pg=PA22|magazine=Jet|pages=22|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company}}</ref> They never officially divorced, but at the time he had his heart attack in 1975, he was in a relationship with a woman named Lynn Guidry, who was under the impression that she was his legal wife. Harris was the one who became his court-appointed guardian in 1978.<ref name=":5" />

In 1970, Wilson's 16-year-old son Jackie Jr. was shot and killed on a neighbor's porch near their Detroit home. Wilson sank into a period of depression, remaining a near-recluse for the next few years. He turned to drug abuse and continued to drink in an attempt to cope with the loss of his son.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Murder & Grief: Jackie Wilson's 3 Children Died YOUNG, What Went Wrong?|url=https://www.iloveoldschoolmusic.com/murder-grief-jackie-wilsons-3-children-died-young-what-went-wrong/|date=November 23, 2015|website=I Love Old School Music|language=en-US|access-date=May 12, 2020}}</ref> More tragedy hit when both of Wilson's daughters died young:<ref name="simmondwww.iloveoldschs">{{Cite book|last=Simmonds|first=Jeremy|title=The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches|publisher=Chicago Review Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-55652-754-8|page=188}}</ref> Sandra died in 1977 at age 24 of an apparent heart attack, and her older sister Jacqueline was killed in 1988 in what was initially thought to be a drug-related incident in [[Highland Park, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Singer Jackie Wilson's daughter shot dead|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3901112.html|date=August 25, 1988|work=Chicago Sun-Times|via=Highbeam.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035143/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3901112.html|archive-date=November 3, 2012|access-date=September 18, 2010}}</ref>

Wilson also fathered many out-of-wedlock children with different women, including singer Bobby Brooks Wilson, who performs his father's songs in tribute.<ref>[https://michiganrockandrolllegends.com/dr-js-blog/226-best-cds-of-2013-two-views Michigan Rock and Roll Legends: Incredible Story of Jackie Wilson's Lost Son]. Accessed February 1, 2022.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Fidgen |first1=Jo |last2=Azhar |first2=Mobeen |title=Outlook, A Family Affair: My uncanny resemblance to Jackie Wilson |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct4qh1 |website=BBC World Service |access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>