One Love: How Many Children & Wives Bob Marley Had In Real Life

Summary Although some of Bob Marley and his wife Rita's children are portrayed in Bob Marley: One Love, the film does not explicitly address the number of children he had nor does it indicate if he had any other wives.

Bob Marley's only wife was Rita Marley, but he cheated on her with numerous women.

Bob Marley had 11 children in total, six of whom he fathered via extramarital affairs.

The new biopic Bob Marley: One Love doesn't provide the fullest picture of the famous singer's family life, including how many wives and children he had in real life. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, Bob Marley: One Love explains the true story of the eponymous artist's rise to fame as a reggae pioneer and peace advocate, starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley. Also a part of the Bob Marley: One Love cast are Lashana Lynch as Bob's wife, Rita Marley, and James Norton as Chris Blackwell, owner and founder of Island Records and Marley's music producer.

While the musical biopic covers much of the reggae singer's music career and political efforts, Bob Marley: One Love leaves out certain true story details, like his offspring. Although some of Bob and Rita's children appear in the film, Bob Marley: One Love does not clarify how many kids he had. The movie also does not explicitly cover Marley's other relationships or affairs, although indirect references are made to his infidelity. Because of these omissions, many viewers will walk away from One Love without knowing how many wives and children Bob Marley had.

Related Where To Watch Bob Marley One Love The true story of Bob Marley's life is the focus of a new movie, and here is where to watch Bob Marley: One Love with showtimes or on streaming.

Rita Was Bob Marley's Only Wife (But He Cheated On Her Repeatedly)

Their Marriage Involved A Lot Of Infidelity

Rita Marley was Bob Marley's only wife, although he did not remain faithful to her during their marriage. They first met as teenagers when Bob became a vocal and recording coach for Rita's musical trio, the Soulettes, and got married in Kingston, Jamaica in 1966. As depicted in Bob Marley: One Love, in 1974, when Bob went solo, Rita became part of his backing vocal group, the I-Threes, along with Judy Mowatt, and Marcia Griffiths. The couple stayed together for the duration of Bob's short life and were still married when he died in 1981.

Though it is unknown how many different affairs he had throughout the course of their relationship, Bob cheated on Rita with at least six different women, each of whom he had a child with.

However, Bob Marley: One Love does not explore the full extent of Bob's serial infidelity. Though it is unknown how many different affairs he had throughout the course of their marriage, Bob cheated on Rita with at least six different women, each of whom he had a child with. The only one of his mistresses to make a brief appearance in Bob Marley: One Love is Cindy Breakspeare (Umi Myers). Rita also cheated on Bob with at least one man, Owen “Ital Tacky” Stewart, with whom she also had a child while she was still with Bob.

Related Bob Marley: One Love Ending Explained Bob Marley: One Love follows the legendary musician's life at the height of his career. We break down the biopic's ending, how accurate it is & more.

Bob Marley Had 11 Children From 7 Different Women

Six Of Bob Marley's Children Were From Extramarital Affairs

In total, Bob Marley had 11 children. Bob fathered three children with Rita Marley, Cedella (August 23, 1967), named after his mother, David aka "Ziggy" (October 17, 1968), and Stephen (April 20, 1972). Both Ziggy and Cedella are producers on Bob Marley: One Love. After they got married in 1966, Bob adopted Rita's daughter Sharon from a previous relationship, and changed her surname to Marley. Bob also adopted Rita's daughter with Stewart named Stephanie, who was born on August 17, 1974.

After Bob died, Rita had one more child, a daughter named Serita, with Owen Stewart in 1985.

Bob fathered six more children with six other women, with the first two born three days apart.

Bob's numerous extramarital affairs also produced several children as well. Between 1972 and 1978, Bob fathered six more children with six other women, with the first two born three days apart. Robert aka "Robbie" was born on May 16, 1972, to mother Pat Williams, followed by Rohan on May 19, 1972, to mother Janet Hunt. Next was Karen, born in 1973, whom Bob had with Janet Bowen, followed by Julian (June 4, 1975) with Lucy Pounder, Ky-Mani (February 26, 1976) with Anita Belnavis, and finally, Damian (July 21, 1978) with Breakspeare.

Bob Marley also has some famous grandchildren: Singer Skip Marley (Cedella's son), football player Nico Marley (Rohan's son). Model Selah Marley and singer YG Marley are also both Rohan's children with musician Lauryn Hill.

According to Meredith Dixon in her book, Lovers and Children of the Natural Mystic: The Story of Bob Marley, Women and their Children, Bob is alleged to have fathered at least two more children. The first is Imani Carole, born May 22, 1963, to Cheryl Murray, and the second is Makeda Jahnesta Marley, born May 30, 1981, to Yvette Crichton. However, neither of them are listed as Bob's children on his website.

Bob Marley's Children Mother's Name Child's Name Birth Date Relation Rita Marley Sharon November 23, 1964 Adoptive Father Cedella August 23, 1967 Biological Father David "Ziggy" October 17, 1968 Biological Father Stephen April 20, 1972 Biological Father Stephanie August 17, 1974 Adoptive Father Pat Williams Robert "Robbie" May 16, 1972 Biological Father Janet Hunt Rohan May 19, 1972 Biological Father Janet Bowen Karen 1973 Biological Father Lucy Pounder Julian June 4, 1975 Biological Father Anita Belnavis Ky-Mani February 26, 1976 Biological Father Cindy Breakspeare Damian July 21, 1978 Biological Father

What Bob Marley: One Love Changed From The Real Story

The Biopic Doesn't Paint The Full Picture Of Marley's Family Or His Fatal Illness

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While Bob Marley: One Love was a pretty faithful biopic, it focused on a short period of the singer's life, so the story needed to be altered. As with almost any biopic, things were left out, and details and events were changed to better help the filmmakers tell a more streamlined story on the big screen. The multiple affairs and the children Marley had away from Rita were just one aspect that changed in the movie.

It wasn't just his kids that the film left out; it also chose to ignore most of his family. Bob Marley's father died when he was 70, and Marley was only 10. The movie never mentions a father, which makes sense because the singer never really got to know him. However, it also omits his stepfather and three half-siblings, who lived in Delaware and remained mostly away from Marley since they were not near Jamaica. Their omission makes sense since they had little to do with this story.

There was also the need to condense some things, such as his Smily Jamaica concert, where he played 12 songs at the real concert, but the film made it seem like the setlist was very small. In fact, the two songs the movie showed were not played back-to-back, and there were 10 songs played in between the two.

Marley tried to stop the cancer by removing the nail and nail bed.

However, the biggest changes occur in his later life. For example, Marley wrote the Kaya album while he was in London, while the movie only showed him working on the Exodus album there. The film also changed how he responded to his toe injury and how he could have survived cancer if he had allowed the doctor to amputate it. In real life, Marley tried to stop the cancer by removing the nail and nail bed, while the film made it seem like he ignored it completely, which was not true.

It also ignored the final years of his life and made it seem like he died quickly after the One Love Peace Concert in 1978. However, he died a few years later and was still touring and performing in 1980. The film also didn't say how he died, which was from malignant melanoma. All of these changes remove important components of his life, but Bob Marley: One Love is a story about a man setting out to make a difference, and too much real-life info would detract from that message.

Source: Lovers and Children of the Natural Mystic: The Story of Bob Marley, Women and their Children by Meredith Dixon