Despite her many accomplishments in music and humanitarian work over the course of her life,
for many, Lisa Marie Presley's biggest moment in the spotlight was the brief time she was
married to Michael Jackson. Here's how this unlikely couple came together.
Two royal families of pop music combined in 1994 when Elvis Presley's daughter,
Lisa Marie Presley, announced she had married Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. The couple's
hasty union came as a shock to the public at large, and many speculated at the time that it
was little more than a publicity stunt meant to divert attention from Jackson's legal troubles.
Jackson was arguably the biggest music star in the world at the time,
but over the years he had come to be known as, at best, an eccentric person. In August 1993,
things became very serious when allegations of child sexual abuse emerged. Police
searched Jackson's home, and the singer gave a public statement denying the allegations.
"At every opportunity, the media has dissected
and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions."
For her part, Presley, also a musician,
was known as the troubled daughter of Elvis Presley. A year before the marriage,
Presley took control of her legendary father's estate. For these reasons and more, what proved
a hasty union between Jackson and Presley surprised many in the media and the public.
In her announcement of her marriage to Jackson, Presley gave no indication that
anything other than genuine affection was behind the marriage, stating,
"I am very much in love with Michael. [...] I
understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family."
Presley and Jackson had known each other for a quite a while before
they got married. The two met for the first time in the 1970s in Las Vegas,
but their relationship reportedly didn't take off until they spent time face-to-face at a Los
Angeles dinner party. At that point, Presley was married to rocker Danny Keough, with whom
she had two children. Presley and Keough split in 1994, a short-time before she wed Jackson.
Jackson reportedly proposed to Presley over the phone, and they had a private wedding ceremony in
the Dominican Republic. It was just a few short weeks after Presley and Keough's quick divorce.
After their surprise marriage, Presley and Jackson would quickly make several
high-profile appearances together. Among the places they were seen were a children's
hospital in Budapest the Palace of Versailles in France. They also famously kissed on screen
at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. At that time, Jackson seemed intent on putting all
speculation to rest about the true nature of their relationship, saying just before the kiss,
"Nobody thought this would last."
People notes that the pair even hung out at now-former President
Donald Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago,
during which time Trump said they were seen kissing, holding hands, and cuddling.
The couple also appeared together in the video
for Jackson's song "You Are Not Alone," laughing and snuggling.
However, Jackson and Presley's marriage ended quickly. The couple split in 1995,
and their divorce was finalized one year later. Notably, prosecutors decided in September
1994 not to charge Jackson in relation to the allegations against him, citing lack of evidence.
In a 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey just after Jackson's 2009 death,
Presley maintained her relationship with Jackson was not a publicity stunt.
She contended that what drove the couple apart were the pressures of stardom and addiction. She said,
referring to Jackson's long suspected drug use and the "Thriller" superstar's handlers,
"In the marriage when he had to make a decision. Was it the drugs and the
sort of vampires or me? And he pushed me away."
Presley told Oprah that her marriage to Jackson was one of the high points of her life, adding,
"I loved taking care of him."
Presley recalled staying up late to talk with Jackson whenever he
had trouble sleeping, which was often. She added,
"When things were going really well, and he and I were united, it was a very profound time."
Presley told Winfrey that one of the reasons for
the divorce was her hesitation about having Jackson's children. She said,
"I was looking into the future and thinking,
'I don't ever want to get into a custody battle with him."
After his divorce from Presley, Jackson married
Debbie Rowe in 1996. Rowe had two children with Jackson before their divorce in 2000.
Jackson also had issues with Presley's relationship with Keough, the father of
her children. Even so, Presley reportedly still loved Jackson even after they split
and wanted to patch things up a few times after their divorce was final.