The three husbands
encourage her daughter to stay with Wissam for the sake of their son.
Her plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
A source said: “Katherine wanted to act as a mediator in the final weeks, discussing with the couple how staying together was the right thing for the baby’s sake and their long-term happiness.
“The Jackson family is littered with divorces and she was keen for Janet’s marriage to work.”
Insiders say the hope was that the baby, believed to have been conceived with assistance from fertility doctors, would help bring the couple closer.
But it seems Janet struggled to resolve the clash between her sexy showbiz image and new expectations of modesty.
She has never confirmed or denied that she had become a Muslim – yet she took to frequently ending concerts with the blessing “Inshallah” (if God wills).
Around the time of her reported conversion, one insider claimed: “Janet feels like she has found a home with her new religion and has told members of her family about it. They all completely respect her choice.
“She’s spent a great deal of time studying the religion and its followers.”
At her most recent concerts, she abandoned revealing costumes and her X-rated references to sex.
An insider said: “Wissam did not go to see Janet when she finally went on tour last year. He prefers her by his side.
“He had hoped she had started a new chapter of her life, leaving the raunchy outfits behind her. But performing is very much part of Janet’s identity.”
The tour, to promote her No1 Unbreakable album, had been postponed while she and Wissam focused on “planning their family”.
Wissam, 42, is CEO of the multinational Al Mana business conglomerate. His net worth is believed to be four times Janet’s own wealth.
As well as their London house, the couple have homes in Manhattan’s Trump Tower and Qatari capital Doha.
According to unconfirmed reports in the New York Post, some in Janet’s camp believe that Wissam’s attitude was bordering on controlling.
“She thought he had become too controlling during the pregnancy and she had allowed him to dictate her appearance and even the way she performed at concerts,” the US newspaper reported from an alleged source who works closely with the couple.
Whatever the truth, the Nasty singer’s love life has not been plain sailing, with two failed marriages under her belt.
Her first, to her childhood sweetheart, American soul singer James DeBarge, lasted only a few months. Her second, to songwriter Rene Elizondo, lasted nine years, ending in divorce in 2000.
Janet once revealed the pressure she endured to have children thoughout her adult life. Speaking a decade ago, she said: “I get so much pressure from people I don’t even know and I think, ‘My God, am I missing my moment?’”
But while everlasting love might have escaped her, that “missed moment” for motherhood arrived in January.
She has described it as “the icing on the cake”. Janet may no longer be the devoted wife, but it seems likely she will be the devoted mother.
And that, in the words of her 1993 hit, is the way love goes. 1984-1985: Janet was just 18 when she eloped with her childhood sweetheart, soul singer James DeBarge. It was annulled after a year. 1991-2000: Janet’s marriage to Rene Elizondo lasted nine years. She is said to have paid him a £8million divorce settlement. 2012-2017: Janet married Wissam Al Mana but two months after giving birth to son Eissa, the couple have reportedly separated. 2002: After Janet met film star Matthew McConnaughey, above left, at the Grammy Awards, the pair clicked and are said to have enjoyed a casual relationship that burned itself out within a few weeks.
Singer and Celebrity Big Brother housemate Lee Ryan, above right, reportedly romanced Janet in 2004 while his boyband Blue were in their heyday.
Sources claim the US basketball legend Michael Jordan tried to woo Janet in late 2007 but nothing came of the romance.
Janet dated Boyz to Men singer Jermaine Dupri for many years on and off, but they eventually split for good in 2009.