Wacko Jacko marries nurse

Los Angeles (AP) - Divorced rock legend Michael Jackson married the woman carrying his baby on Thursday, but details of the ceremony between the pop star and his plastic surgeon's nurse were secret.

"They did it," said Jackson's Los Angeles publicist Christine Holevas. That was it, no other details.

The singer announced hours earlier that he was marrying six-months pregnant Debbie Rowe during a private ceremony that followed Jackson's "HIStory" concert in Australia. It was the second marriage for both.

"Please respect our privacy and let us enjoy this wonderful and exciting time," Jackson said in a statement.

Holevas said there would be no confirmation the marriage took place, but later relented, saying: "They are married."

There was disbelief in southern California, where the reclusive pop star lives. "I think he's as likely to find happiness in this marriage as he is to find work as a baritone," said John Wilson, a Los Angeles entertainment promoter.

Calls placed to MJJ Productions Vice President Bob Jones, who was travelling with Jackson weren't returned.

In Australia, fans and a pack of reporters staked out the expensive hotel where the couple began their new married life on Friday, but got no glimpse of the newlyweds.

A media pack camped outside the Sheraton on the Park hotel in Elizabeth Bay, an upmarket harbourside suburb of Sydney, hoping to get a glimpse of the couple on their way to or from the hotel's presidential suite.

The private wedding ceremony apparently followed Jackson's show on Thursday evening at the Sydney cricket ground, after a hot day on which he relaxed in the hotel.

"He's basically been staying in the hotel, watching videos, reading, that kind of thing," Dainty Consolidated Entertainment spokesman Brett Hlywa said. "He's just been taking it easy. Because the weather's been so hot, he's decided to stay inside."

Jackson is 38 and Rowe, who met Jackson 15 years ago at the offices of the pop star's plastic surgeon, is 37. In January, Jackson's first wife Lisa Marie Presley cited irreconcilable differences in a divorce petition to end her 20-month marriage to the pop star.