From proposal over call to bitter end: Inside Lisa Marie Presley's tumultous marriage to Michael Jackson
CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA: The King of Pop Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley married in 1994 at a time when Jackson was going through a turbulent phase in his life. The pop star was facing serious child molestation allegations and was at center of a media firestorm. The couple married secretly and lived together during those scandal-ridden years, but eventually divorced.
Presley first saw Jackson at a concert in 1975, when she was only seven years old. Their adult friendship began in 1992, and they married two years later. During a phone conversation, Jackson asked Presley if she would marry him if he asked her to. "Michael valued Lisa's settling effect on him, so much so that during his phone conversation, he posed a question that surprised both of them," biographer J Randy Taraborrelli wrote, according to the Daily Mail. "'If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?' … Without missing a beat, she replied, 'I would do it'."
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The two kept their marriage a secret until Presley finally opened up about it days later. "My married name is Mrs Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson. My marriage to Michael Jackson took place in a private ceremony outside the United States weeks ago," she said in a statement at the time. "I am very much in love with Michael. I dedicate my life to being his wife. I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family."
Jackson was accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in 1993, but Presley believed he was innocent. She reportedly advised him to settle the charges out of court and also urged him to go to rehab for his drug addiction. However, she later denied that she knew about Jackson's drug use during their marriage.
Jackson and Presley divorced in 1996, citing "irreconcilable differences" Presley later claimed the two had been together on and off for four years after their separation. Before their divorce, they made a joint appearance at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. "Welcome to the MTV Video Music Awards," he said, "I'm very happy to be here. Just think, nobody thought this would last." He then kissed Presley, in what has been remembered as a very awkward kiss, and walked off stage.
After Jackson's death in 2009, Presley said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that she had felt manipulated while she was married. "When we were together, we were really in love," she said at the time. "And then we had the rough patches." She admitted that despite the hardships, all her bitter feelings towards Jackson had died with him.
Over the decades, Presley was married four times. With her first husband Danny Keough, she had children Riley and Benjamin, but they separated in 1994. After that, Presley was married to Michael Jackson and Nicholas Cage for two years each before settling down with Michael Lockwood in 2006. Presley and Lockwood divorced in 2021. Their separation was accompanied by a turbulent custody battle over their twin girls Finley and Vivienne.
Presley died on January 12 after suffering a cardiac arrest. She had been taken to a hospital earlier after becoming unresponsive at her home in Calabasas, California. Presley's mother, Priscilla Presley, confirmed the tragedy at the time.