Priscilla Presley Alleges Michael Jackson's Motives Were About Elvis, Not Lisa Marie

Priscilla Presley is opening up about her daughter Lisa Marie Presley's short-lived marriage to Michael Jackson, claiming the King of Pop had his eyes on the Presley legacy rather than on Lisa Marie herself.

The revelation comes from her new memoir, "Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis," released Tuesday, where she reflects on her life after her marriage to Elvis Presley and the heartbreak of losing her only child in 2023.

According to Priscilla, she was alarmed when Lisa Marie married Jackson in 1994.

She writes that the pop superstar was "a manipulative man" who wanted to align himself with Elvis Presley's dynasty at a time when Jackson's public image was under fire due to allegations of child molestation, Rolling Stone reported.

"I knew in my bones that Michael wasn't marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty," she explains.

The couple's union lasted less than two years, and Priscilla suggests Lisa Marie eventually realized the marriage was not built on genuine love. "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," Priscilla recalls. She adds that she could "practically hear Elvis sigh with relief" when the marriage ended in 1996.

Priscilla Presley Says Michael Jackson Wanted Elvis's Grandchild

Priscilla also details how Jackson allegedly pressured Lisa Marie about having a child. During a conversation on a Hawaiian beach, Lisa Marie confided that Jackson wanted to start a family quickly.

Priscilla says she discouraged the idea, believing his motive was to father Elvis's grandchild as a way of cementing his connection to the Presley name.

Lisa Marie ultimately chose not to have a child with Jackson, though he later had three children with Debbie Rowe and a surrogate.

The marriage between Lisa Marie and Jackson made international headlines in the mid-1990s, with the couple sharing a now-infamous kiss onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Yet behind the public display, Priscilla insists that Jackson was absent for much of the relationship. Lisa Marie wrote that she "hardly saw her new husband."

According to the NY Post, Lisa Marie's divorce from Jackson marked the second of her four marriages. She later wed Nicolas Cage and musician Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twin daughters.

Her first marriage, to musician Danny Keough, produced daughter Riley and son Benjamin, who tragically died in 2020. Lisa Marie was killed in January 2023 at age 54.

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Priscilla Presley, Michael Jackson