Grace Rwaramba was reportedly Jacko's secret loverFormer nanny Grace Rwaramba has been revealed as Michael Jackson's secret girlfriend.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Jacko had been in a long-term relationship with the Ugandan-born nanny and his children even called her "mom".

His personal photographer Ian Barkley, who spent three years travelling the world with the star, says their romance was no secret amongst other staff.

Barkley told the Mirror: "Grace loved Michael and he loved her. The kids called her 'Mom'."

Matt Fiddes, Jackson's former head of security, last week revealed that there was a secret lover but had refused to name names, saying: "The family were aware that there was someone special in his life who he loved and adored and had his ups and downs with."

However, another of Jacko's bodyguards confirms that it was Grace, telling the Mirror: "Matt was referring to Grace. They were more like a married couple than employer and employee.

"Grace was the closest person to Michael and the kids. She will be broken-hearted. The children were always their joint priority and like any couple they'd row if they disagreed about how they were being brought up.

"But the difference between Grace and other women in Michael's life was the she had absolutely no interest in fame. It was something she actively avoided and Michael was determined to keep her and their relationship out of the public gaze."

And Barkley believes that it should be Grace who takes custody of the children. "Though I love Michael's mum Katherine, she is 79 and if she passes on, the best place for the kids to go would be to Grace. She really raised them. She was with them day in and day out. She really loved them and they adored her as they would a mother."

Rwaramba has stayed quiet about life with Jacko but broke her silence last week to reveal that a family member, reportedly Katherine, called her in the wake of his death to ask where his money was hidden.