Tragic Details About Kid Rock's Son, Robbie Ritchie

Those who aren't fans of Kid Rock's music likely only know him as one of Donald Trump's staunchest celebrity supporters. Since Trump's initial presidential campaign, Kid Rock — whose real name is Robert James Ritchie — has repeatedly made headlines for his friendship with and fervent support of the controversial politician, including when Kid Rock played a video message from Trump at his concert and when he claimed that the president sought his advice on pressing political issues. But there's another side to the rock star that he advertises less often: Being a dad.

Kid Rock's life was forever changed in 1993 when he welcomed his first and only child, Robert James Ritchie Jr., with his ex-girlfriend Kelley South Russell. While it didn't exactly make the "All Summer Long" hitmaker curb his crazy on- and off-stage antics, fatherhood did give him another priority in life besides chasing fame. "Bob was deadly serious about two things: Raising Junior, and his career," friend David Lee confirmed to the Detroit Free Press. The man himself made it clear that being a father was as important to him as his lifelong dream of becoming a famous rock star, writing in Esquire, "Make no mistake: Bob Ritchie's up early in the morning taking pictures of his son on the first day of his senior year. Kid Rock is passed out in a hotel room somewhere with four scantily clad women."

While they rarely talk or post about each other publicly, Kid Rock appears to have maintained a close relationship with his son, whom he calls Bobby Jr. or Junior. Based on social media, the Grammy nominee's son also seems to be living a happy life with his own wife and children. However, Bobby Jr. experienced several tragedies during his childhood and teenage years.

Kid Rock and his son's mother, Kelley South Russell, broke up just months after they welcomed Robert James Ritchie Jr. in 1993 following a heartbreaking discovery. Starting from the eighth grade, Kid Rock and Russell dated on and off for a decade and even lived together for a while. Drummer and engineer Bob Ebeling, who moved in with Kid Rock after his relationship with Russell ended, recalled to the Detroit Free Press that the musician had been raising three children with his girlfriend before they parted ways. 

"[Kid Rock] thought two of them were his, and then he found out that one of them wasn't. He was really emotionally torn up, going through that deep heartbreak stuff," Ebeling disclosed. Following the breakup, Russell allegedly left a 6-month-old Bobby Jr. on his father's doorstep. After a 1994 paternity suit confirmed that Bobby Jr. was indeed his biological son, Kid Rock obtained full custody and raised him as a single father. 

However, the "Born Free" hitmaker, who was in his early 20s at the time, was still working toward making his dreams come true and was often away from home playing gigs. Fortunately, Bobby Jr. had plenty of loved ones to stay with whenever his dad wasn't around. "I had a lot of help. I had a great support system: my mother, my sister, [my son's] godmother. [...] They kept me in line quite a bit," Kid Rock proudly told AXS TV.

Before Kid Rock got his big break with 1998 album "Devil Without a Cause," which sold an incredible 14 million copies, he was just like any other musician struggling to make it in a notoriously cutthroat industry. Kid Rock admitted to AXS TV that he became "broke again and moved back in with [his] parents" after being dropped by Jive Records in the early 1990s. Around the time of Robert Ritchie Jr.'s birth, Kid Rock was "disenfranchised from his dad," as his pal Bob Ebeling put it to theDetroit Free Press. "There wasn't a lot of financial support coming from the family" or Continuum, the small record label that the rapper signed with after Jive either. 

It wasn't until Kid Rock signed with Atlantic Records in 1997 that he started making big money. "I got a check for $150,000. I knew with that check, they were making an investment in me. And I had a real shot. I finally had a real shot," he shared with Cowboys & Indians. Nowadays, Bobby Jr. appears to be living a life just as lavish as that of the kids of other successful musicians like Madonna.

His Instagram is filled with photos of the proud papa not only showing off his beautiful family but also Bobby Jr.'s Tesla Cybertruck, his lavish home, enjoying private jet flights with his kids, and even trips to Cancun, Hawaii, and Morocco. He's also notably hung out with plenty of high-profile celebrities such as Mike Tyson, UFC president Dana White, and of course President Donald Trump.

In 2000, Robert Ritchie Jr.'s parents became embroiled in a nasty 10-month-long custody battle that went to court after his estranged mother Kelley South Russell attempted to regain custody. Bobby Jr.'s father Kid Rock had permanent custody of him since 1995 when an investigation discovered that Russell had issues with alcohol abuse and once injured the musician with a knife. However, Russell claimed in her filing that she should have custody of their then-7-year-old son because Kid Rock, who had shot to superstardom in 1998, wasn't able to spend enough time with the child due to his demanding career and 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 $25 per week in child support and cover part of their son's health insurance payments too. "His position is that she needs to assume responsibility," Russell's attorney Kathy Vogt told the Detroit Free Press at the time (via ABC News). "My opinion is this is punishment." That very same year, Russell also sued the "Cowboy" hitmaker for defamation, alleging he made false claims about her in his song "Black Chick, White Guy." The 1998 track, which was purportedly about their lengthy romance, featured lyrics such as, "Three different kids from three different men" and "And now from her he's got a little boy," (via Genius). It's unclear how the case ended, but by 2007, it was all water under the bridge since the exes had grown to be amicable co-parents.

In July 2006, Kid Rock's son Robert Ritchie Jr. gained a stepmother in Pamela Anderson and stepsiblings in her gorgeous 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 St. Tropez, France, in 2006. However, Kid Rock and Anderson's marriage was short-lived, and the pair filed for divorce less than four months after their wedding. While, according to director Sacha Baron Cohen, Anderson claimed that Kid Rock's jealousy over her appearance in his movie "Borat" led to the end of their marriage, the rock star clarified that the real cause was her actions toward Bobby Jr. 

"When I saw it starting to affect my son, when — when she would talk down about my mother and about my sister — two people who were very instrumental in raising my son with me," the "Don't Tell Me How To Live" hitmaker divulged on "Larry King Live" in 2007 (via CNN). "When I saw it starting to affect him, that's when I stepped back and I was like, un-nnh. That's it. And that's the morning I filed for divorce." 

Kid Rock also briefly discussed his infamous altercation with Tommy at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards and his subsequent concern about how it would affect his son's close relationship with his stepsiblings, admitting, "[My son] has to go to school. He's the one that's got to deal with these antics." It's unclear if he and Tommy ever patched things up and if the fight drove a wedge between Bobby Jr. and his stepbrothers.

Being the child of a celebrity has many perks, but as history has shown, it can also be a pretty hellish ordeal, especially for those who struggle to cope with their parents' fame and the media and public scrutiny it brings them. When it comes to typical rock star behavior, Kid Rock has done it all: Hard partying, sex, drugs, alcohol, and fights. The latter two even got him 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 "the Waffle House will be a cloud hanging over me forever," along with the many parenting mistakes he's made because of the "American Bad A**" hitmaker's vices. A then-7-year-old Robert Ritchie Jr., once found him unconscious on the floor and instead of making up an excuse, Kid Rock told his son the truth: "Big concert, party afterward, I drank too much and passed out. I'm not proud of it, but that's what happens when you do that."

Despite witnessing his dad's rock star lifestyle, arrests, and controversies over the years, however, Bobby Jr. leads a surprisingly normal life. Per his LinkedIn, Bobby Jr. 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 the seltzer company Happy Dad. While Bobby Jr. also released some music, he appears to be dedicating equal or more time to his other ventures, his wife (and high school sweetheart) Marisa Trovato, and their two children, Skye and Ryder.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).