Gaye's personal life, mainly documented in the biography, Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, included his faith; child abuse by his father; personal relationships with his two wives, friends, and girlfriends; and bouts of depression and drug abuse.
[2] The House of God labels itself a "Hebrew Pentecostal" denomination, advocates strict conduct, and claims to adhere to both the Old and New Testaments.
[3][4] Gaye remembered the family having to observe an extended Sabbath starting from "Friday night at sundown" into Saturday—similar to Shabbat in mainstream Judaism.
According to his sister, Jeanne, Gaye suffered at the hands of his father, who would strike him for any shortcoming, including putting his hairbrush in the wrong place or coming home from school a minute late.
[8] Although Gaye would later describe living with his father as "like living with a king, a very peculiar, changeable, cruel and all-powerful king", he embraced the love of his mother, explaining, "If it wasn't for Mother, who was always there to console me and praise me for my singing, I think I would have been one of those child suicide cases you read about in the papers".
[11] Sent to bases in states such as Kansas, Texas, and Wyoming, Gaye quickly grew tired of having to do menial tasks and began rebelling against the sergeant's strict orders.
[12] Eventually, Gaye told officers he had a mental illness and was honorably discharged shortly afterward in early 1957.
[13] Gaye noted he saw "a world of pure sex where people turned off their minds and fed their lusts, no questions asked.
[16] During Gaye's early years in Motown, he was inspired by his relationship with his wife, often writing songs dedicated to her, including his 1963 top ten hit, "Pride and Joy".
Of that song, Gaye later told David Ritz, "When I composed 'Pride and Joy', I was head over heels in love with Anna.
"[17] The marriage was reportedly volatile and according to Gaye's biographer David Ritz, Anna was physically and verbally abusive to her younger husband.
Rumors of infidelity also deeply soured the marriage and later influenced Gaye's later recordings, including his 1968 number one hit, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".
[18] Though admittedly not much of a songwriter or composer, unlike her younger sister Gwen Gordy, Gordy did provide ideas to some of her husband's compositions, most notably the songs later made successful by The Originals, including the hits "Baby I'm for Real" and "The Bells".
[23] Although it's not been confirmed whether or not Gaye was the biological father, Denise Gordy admitted in 1998 that she was the mother of Marvin III.
[24] Gaye met 17-year-old Janis Hunter (January 5, 1956 - December 3, 2022) in March 1973, while working on his Let's Get It On album with producer Ed Townsend.
Hunter first received public notice when she was featured with Marvin on a November 1974 issue of Ebony.
[28] Son Frankie Christian followed a year later on November 16, 1975, a day between Marvin III's and his namesake uncle's birthday.
Author Michael Eric Dyson stated that their relationship in inspiration to the creation of I Want You was "nearly palpable in the sensual textures that are the album's aural and lyrical signature".
[31] Their open marriage, domestic abuse and drug dependence became disastrous and Hunter filed for legal separation in 1979.
At one point, according to author Bernard J. Taylor, Foxwell explained that her and Gaye's relationship became serious enough to consider marriage by 1982.
[39] At first, Marvin had issues snorting, so he would use it by either rubbing it on his gums or eating it,[39] but by the late 1970s, he had developed a serious dependence and addiction to the drug and would later begin freebasing while in London.
During the promotion of his Sexual Healing Tour, he wore a bullet-proof vest and brought along bodyguards with loaded pistols because he feared for his life, as he was convinced that someone was plotting to kill him.
Judge Ronald George believed that PCP, or angel dust, was present in Marvin's system, but this was due to a misreading of the coroner's report.
"[43] Four days before his death, according to his sister Jeanne, Marvin again attempted suicide by jumping out of a speeding sports car, only to suffer minor bruises.