Inside Lisa Marie Presley And Michael Jackson's Marriage As Priscilla Slams 'Manipulative' Pop Icon

When Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, tied the knot with Michael Jackson in 1994, it became a much-talked-about romance in the industry. Some also dubbed it a royal musical union between the King of Rock’s daughter and the King of Pop, their chemistry grabbing the headlines for one reason or another. However, the 20 months that followed the union became one of the most scrutinised celebrity marriages in history, riddled by scandal and controversy.

Lisa Marie and Michael’s marriage ended in less than two years, but their whirlwind romance remains a subject of speculation even decades later. Now, in her upcoming memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, Elvis Presley’s wife, Priscilla Presley, makes some explosive claims about her daughter’s marriage to the Billy Jean singer. 

As Priscilla finally reveals what she really thought of her daughter’s controversial marriage, here’s a look inside the brief union that fuelled decades of speculation.

Priscilla Presley was ‘appalled’ by the wedding, says MJ was a ‘manipulative man’

Priscilla Presley’s second memoir is all set for release on September 23, 2025, and some of its revelations are already stirring some buzz, one of them being her remarks on Lisa Marie Presley’s marriage to Michael Jackson. According to excerpts obtained by The U.S. Sun, Priscilla did not mince words about the union. She wrote:

"I was appalled by the marriage. I knew in my bones that. Michael wasn’t marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty."

Her remarks did not stop there. The 80-year-old went on to describe her daughter’s turbulent romance with Michael, even describing him as a ‘manipulative man’. Priscilla claims the late pop icon sought Lisa Marie out during the lowest point of his career, when he was facing child molestation accusations in 1993. While Jackson denied the allegations and was later acquitted at trial, Priscilla alleges he used Lisa Marie for ‘good publicity’ and for the Presley name. She wrote:

"Michael was a manipulative man, and I think he had his sights set on her long before she realised it. The childlike innocence he projected was part of his public mask."

Inside Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson’s scandalous marriage

Lisa Marie and Michael were just kids when they first met in the 1970s, but reconnected in the early 90s. Lisa, then married to her first husband, Danny Keough, was struggling in the marriage when she reconnected with Michael. Only six years into the marriage, Presley and Keough parted ways, and their divorce was finalised in 1994.

The pop king had allegedly confessed his love to Presley during a trip to Las Vegas, which had prompted her to split from Keough. Only 20 days into the divorce, Lisa and Michael secretly tied the knot. In her memoir From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie recalled MJ’s words:

“Michael said, ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m completely in love with you. I want us to get married and for you to have my children.’ I didn’t say anything immediately, but then I said, ‘I’m really flattered, I can’t even talk.’ By then, I felt I was in love with him too.”

Presley and Jackson’s secret Caribbean wedding immediately drew suspicion, with critics labelling it as a publicity stunt to steer the limelight away from Michael’s ongoing legal troubles. However, the couple countered those claims, roaming down the streets hand-in-hand and making high-profile public appearances. Their infamous kiss at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards was followed by Michael’s declaration:

 “Nobody thought this would last.”

What went wrong in Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson’s marriage?

Behind all those PDA moments and multiple joint appearances, cracks were already starting to form. Although contrary to popular belief, their relationship was indeed true; issues began when Michael’s erratic lifestyle started to take a toll on the marriage.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lisa Marie opened up on her turbulent marriage with the late pop star, admitting that she also did some hurtful things that sabotaged their relationship. One of the issues involved Presley’s involvement with her ex-husband, Danny Keough, who was also the father of her two older kids. 

Michael found it uncomfortable that Keough was still in her life. During his vulnerable moments, he would disappear for days and push her away, something that she later realised was his coping mechanism. Presley acknowledged how hard the Smooth Criminal singer tried to make the marriage work. She told Oprah:

"He honestly tried so hard and went through so much with me. He's never done that with any other female. ... I didn't appreciate it then, and I wish I did."

Lisa Marie wanted to grow a family with Michael

The couple’s dynamic was complicated. Lisa Marie described loving the chance to care for Michael, be it staying up late with him during sleepless nights, having vulnerable conversations, or, at one point, even seriously considering starting a family with him.

Presley later admitted that she was alarmed by the pop legend’s lifestyle, especially his increasing dependence on prescription drugs. Being a first-hand witness to her father Elvis’s drug addiction, she struggled to see Jackson going down the same path. Things ended when Michael pushed her away after she asked him to choose between her and the drugs. In Lisa Marie’s words:

“When we were together, we were really in love, and then we had the rough patches. And I had to make a decision to walk because I saw the drugs and the doctors coming in, and they scared me. They put me right back into what I went through with my father. That ended it.”

Life after the split

Only 20 months into the marriage, Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson in January 1996. By August, the split was finalised, and Michael quickly moved on with Debbie Row, welcoming their son Prince just months later. Lisa Marie would later claim that Rowe had long offered to bear Michael’s children if she refused.

Despite the separation, the love was still there. Lisa Marie and Michael had an on-and-off connection for several years, with Presley once describing him as her ‘drug’, given the pop icon’s enduring influence on her.

Michael Jackson was only 50 when he died from acute propofol intoxication in 2009. For Lisa Marie, his tragic end bore haunting parallels to Elvis’ passing in 1997, given the devastating similarities. The day after the pop icon’s death, she wrote on her blog how she felt ‘gutted’ that she ‘failed to help’ him. Lisa Marie wrote:

"The person I failed to help is being transferred right now to the L.A. County Coroner's office for his autopsy. All my indifference and detachment that I worked so hard to achieve over the years has just gone into the bowels of hell, and right now, I am gutted."

What happened to Lisa Marie Presley?

After her split from Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley went on to marry Nicolas Cage in 2002, only to split up in 2004. She later married her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, in 2006, with whom she had twin daughters, Harper and Finley, in October 2008. After a long marriage, the couple split in 2021, two years before Lisa Marie died of bowel obstruction in 2023, at 54.

Nearly three decades after Lisa Marie and Michael Jackson said ‘I do’, their marriage remains one of pop culture’s strangest unions. And now, Priscilla’s new memoir promises to reignite old debates.

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