Eminem tried to gain custody of his younger brother several times so he wouldn’t suffer what the rapper endured in his childhood.

Eminem gained custody of his younger brother, Nathan Mathers, and became his legal guardian.
He and his brother had a complicated relationship with their mother, Debbie Nelson.
Nate made a shocking post on social media after the confirmation of his mother’s tragic death.

Most people would not know that Eminem became a father figure to Nathan ‘Nate’ Mathers, his half-brother after he gained custody of him when the rapper was only 23. Both of them grew up in a troubled household, but it was a good thing that they had each other for support.

Credits: Eminem via Diffus / YouTube

When Eminem’s father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., abandoned him and his mother Debbie Nelson, the latter got into a relationship with Fred Samra. The rapper was 13 then when Nate was born. Nelson allegedly suffered from drug addiction, so her younger son was taken into foster care when he was only 8.

Eminem Served as His Half-Brother’s Father Figure

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, spoke about his struggle to gain custody of his younger brother. He was only 20 years old on his first attempt, but at the time, he had no means or a stable source of income.

When Nate turned 16, things fell into place and Eminem finally succeeded in taking his brother under his wing. The famed rapper opened up about this experience in his interview with Rolling Stone:

I watched him when he was in the foster home. He was so confused. I mean, I cried just going to see him at the foster home. The day he was taken away, I was the only one allowed to see him. They had come and got him out of school. He didn’t know what the f—k was going on.

The Mathers brothers did not have a great relationship with their mother Debbie Nelson. The musician has repeatedly accused her in his music of substance addiction, which was perhaps the reason she could not take care of her younger son.

Credits: Nathan Mathers via Just a Little Shady Podcast / YouTube

Seeing Nate being neglected and transferred into foster care stirred something inside the rapper. “The same thing that had happened in my life was happening in his,” he said, and this is why he did everything to make sure his brother wouldn’t suffer the same fate as him growing up without a father figure.

In his conversation with Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade Scott via podcast, Nate called his older brother “the best role model” he could ever have and the one who inspired him to become the father that he is today.

Nate Mathers’ Controversial Post About Debbie Nelson’s Death

Credits: Eminem in The Real Slim Shady MV / YouTube

Following the tragic death of Debbie Nelson, Nate made an intriguing remark on social media. He wrote, “Hatred and mixed emotions today,” just hours after his mother passed away. She died at age 69 due to lung cancer.

Eminem has yet to give his reaction, although he and his mother remained estranged for years. The rapper has allegedly written songs about her with scathing lyrics, but he seemingly apologized for it in his song Headlights.

In 2008, Nelson released a memoir telling her side of the story and in 2022, she celebrated her son’s success after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.