Lisa Marie Presley Addressed Rumors That Her Romance With Michael Jackson Was a ‘Publicity Stunt’
Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson married in 1994. Their marriage lasted less than two years and was plagued by rumors that it was a publicity stunt. Even Priscilla Presley didn’t think Jackson truly wanted to be with her daughter. Lisa Marie cleared up the rumors that the marriage wasn’t real.
Lisa Marie Presley once pushed back at rumors her relationship was a publicity stunt
Jackson married Lisa Marie shortly after he was accused of child sexual abuse. Because of this, people doubted the legitimacy of the relationship. In a 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lisa Marie said that it was a “real marriage.” Still, she said that Jackson tended to manipulate the media.
“He was brought up that way,” she said. “He was conditioned to get himself where he needed to go for his career, and he became very good at making and creating and puppeteering.”
She admitted that this made her question his feelings for her. This ultimately led to the end of their relationship.
“I always confused that manipulation thinking that it meant he didn’t love me,” she said. “But I understand it better now. The manipulation was a survival tactic for him.”
Priscilla Presley doesn’t think Michael Jackson loved Lisa Marie Presley
Priscilla also believed that the romance was fake, at least on Jackson’s end.
“I was appalled by the marriage,” Priscilla wrote in her book Softly, As I Leave You. “I knew in my bones that Michael wasn’t marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty. The King of Pop was allying himself with the King of Rock and Roll.”
She also said that he wanted to make himself seem like a straight man amid the allegations.
“He married her at a time when he desperately needed good publicity that depicted him as a desirable heterosexual man,” Priscilla wrote. “It was one thing to legally fight the child molestation charges against him. There was no way to come out of that looking good. But photos of him with Elvis’s daughter wearing the huge diamond engagement ring he’d had made for her? That image was pure gold.”
She eventually began to agree with her mother
Priscilla never approved of the relationship. Luckily for her, it wasn’t long before Lisa Marie had doubts about the relationship.
“It was a very strange relationship,” Priscilla wrote. “Lisa was very unhappy. Michael was never around. She knew that sometimes when he was gone, he was at his ranch with the kids. It bothered her that he would rather be with them than with her. I think that eventually, the allegations ate away at her.”
According to Priscilla, Lisa Marie began to agree that Jackson was using her.
“She called to tell me she wanted a divorce,” Priscilla wrote. “She had begun to feel like the marriage was a setup. He didn’t want to be with her; he wanted to be with Elvis Presley’s daughter. If he’d wanted to be with her, he wouldn’t have been gone for most of their marriage.”
They divorced in 1996.
