Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson surprised most of the world when they announced they were married on August 1, 1994. Lisa Marie shared the news via a short press release:
"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. 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."
While many people didn't see the union coming, in a lot of ways it actually made sense. On top of that, Lisa Marie has always insisted that the pair genuinely loved one another. So let's look back on their two-year-long marriage — and everything people questioned, wondered, and speculated about.
Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson met as children.
As the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie was born into luxury and fame. She actually met Michael Jackson at a Jackson 5 concert when she was only 7 years old. Michael was 10 years older than Lisa Marie, and the two had little in common at the time.
Despite that age difference, a former employee of Michael Jackson's told People that the two did keep in contact over the years. The employee explained that Lisa Marie "has known Michael almost all of her life. Elvis brought her around to meet the Jackson Five when she was a little kid, and they stayed in touch."
They reconnected in 1992.
Fast-forward several decades to 1992, and Lisa Marie was still married to her first husband, Danny Keough. While the marriage wasn't going well at the time, the pair shared two children, and it's unlikely Lisa Marie wanted to rush into anything with Michael, who was battling charges of child molestation during the same time period.
However, something clearly worked. While many people wondered what exactly drew the two together, Lisa Marie later told Oprah Winfrey that they shared a very real love and bond. Or, at least, they shared as much of a bond as Lisa Marie thinks Michael could have. When asked if she believed Michael loved her as much as he could, Lisa Marie told Oprah, "Yes, as much as he was capable of loving somebody."
Lisa Marie didn't need Michael Jackson's money.
Many friends and family members of Michael Jackson's have commented on his worry that women would only be interested in him for his money. With Lisa Marie, he didn't have to worry about that. She inherited a vast sum from her father's estate, which meant they could just be together.
A person described as a long-time friend of Michael's explained, "Michael always said that he never knew if a girl was going to like him for himself or his money. She's not after him for money."
The pair got married 18 days after her divorce.
In 1994, Lisa Marie filed for an uncontested divorce from Danny Keough. Then she and Michael traveled to the Dominican Republic only 18 days later and got married. The escape was probably much needed; in addition to celebrating their recent union, Michael was also coming off some of the most trying years of his life.
Accusations of child molestation plagued Michael Jackson.
In 1993, a young boy named Jordan Chandler accused Michael Jackson of sexual abuse, but the allegations date further back. In 1986, a boy who appeared in a Pepsi commercial alongside Michael later accused him of inappropriate behavior, and the LAPD finally launched a formal investigation after Jordan's accusation in 1993.
The 1993 accusations had a huge impact on Michael Jackson's life. He canceled his international tour, he went with Elizabeth Taylor to a rehab facility in London, and Pepsi refused to renew his contract. His time in rehab was meant to help him recover from painkiller addiction, but it seems that it didn't really work as intended.
Lisa Marie soon learned a lot about Michael Jackson's addiction.
Michael Jackson collapsed onstage in 1995, and Lisa Marie told Oprah later that she wasn't sure what the cause was. When pressed further, Lisa Marie admitted that her instincts told her it was drugs. On top of that, the pair were also plagued by rumors and stories about their marriage, with many of them seemingly sourced from the very people who worked and lived in their home.
The couple also fought rumors from the inside.
Sandy Domz, a former assistant at the Neverland Ranch, later said she was skeptical of the entire relationship, explaining that she thought "it didn’t seem to be a natural relationship or a friendship." She added, "Michael would get a hold of some underwear and throw them on the floor. They were also sprayed with perfume and it was to make it look like Lisa Marie had been in the bedroom."
Sandy also believes Lisa Marie never spent time in the bedroom.
"But to my knowledge, she was never in there. She was either in the Rose Room or had slept on the guest beds."
She isn't the only one who thought the pair were faking it.
Adrian McManus, a former maid, agreed that things between the two felt fake. "It all seemed so set up because that had never happened before. Sure, there were his underpants, shirts and trousers discarded, but nothing belonging to women ever were there. I thought that he was trying to make me think that something was going on between him and her. I knew they were dating, but he was trying to make me believe they were sexually close. I always had my doubts."
Ultimately, drugs and other choices are what did the pair in.
Unfortunately, Lisa Marie Presley later explained that the marriage was likely doomed from the start. She and Michael Jackson fought about having kids, something she wanted but also was unsure about. Lisa Marie explained, "I was looking into the future and thinking, 'I don't ever want to get into a custody battle with him.'"
In the end, Michael had to decide between Lisa Marie and his lifestyle, and he made a choice. "He had to make a decision. Was it the drugs and the vampires or me? And he pushed me away."
The pair divorced in January 1996.
