Steve Jobs may be one of the smartest, most aspirational business leaders in the modern world, but his home life was less than ideal. Its true that he found enormous success with Apple and leading the technology revolution. But his personal life was an absolute mess. He even had a daughter who he claimed wasnt his own, even though she clearly was.

What was it that made Steve Jobs claim he wasntthe father of Lisa Brennan-Jobs? Its complicated.

Jobs was adopted at a young age but even that process didntgo smoothly. Originally, he was placed with a Catholic, well-educated couplebut they changed their minds and decided they wanted a daughter instead. Whenhe was placed with another couple, neither of whom were educated, Jobs birthmother Joanne Scheible refusedto sign the papers.

But being placed with this family turned out to be a blessing. Steve Jobs adoptive father built him a workbench in the garage where he could tinker with projects. And Steve Jobs loved his family even if they didnt have fancy credentials. Later, Jobs referred to his birth parents as, my sperm and egg bank but maintained that his home life with the Jobs family was very special.

Steve Jobs met Chrisann Brennan at Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. The two dated on and off for five years before Brennan got pregnant in 1977. From the very first moments, Jobs denied that he was the father of the child. Perhaps uncoincidentally, Lisa Brennan was conceived the same year that Steve Jobs founded Apple. All of his efforts were focused on making his new company succeed and he didnt have time for fatherhood.

Lisa Nicole Brennan was born on May 17, 1978, at a commune outside of Portland, Oregon. Her father Steve Jobs was not present for the birth.

Only Steve Jobs himself could say for sure why he refused tobelieve reality that Lisa Brennan-Jobs was his real, biological daughter. Hispaternity denial led to a legal battle where a DNA test proved he was indeedthe father, though he refuted paternity even after that, claiming that 28% of the male population of the United Statescould be the father.

Despite his refusal to accept her, Jobs did name an early Apple computer Lisa. At the time, he claimed Lisa was simply an acronym for Local Integrated Systems Architecture. But later he admitted that it was obviously named after the daughter he refused to acknowledge.

Many years later, Steve Jobsrelented to the idea that he could be Lisas father. But by that point, thedamage to their relationship was so extreme that it took a long time to repairit.

All I wanted was closeness andsweetness and for him to relieve me. To let me be the star, probably. To belike, Well, how was your day? And to listen. And at such a young age, and soused to the spotlight, and to everybody fawning on him he didnt know how tobe with me, Brennan-Jobs said of their relationship.

Instead, Lisa and her father hadplenty of turmoil, angst, and uncertainty. But things got better before hepassed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011. The two spent years repairing theirrelationship and eventually, though he had been stingy with sharing his fortuneall along, Jobs left his daughter Lisa several million dollars as part of an inheritance.

Families are complicated, and no one is sure why Steve Jobs denied his daughter at first. But at least he made amends with her in the end. Lisa Brennan-Jobs published a memoir chronicling the long journey to forgiveness, Small Fry, in 2018.

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The Real Reason Steve Jobs Denied He Was Lisa Brennan's Real Father - Showbiz Cheat Sheet