Priscilla Presley has opened up about her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley’s marriage to pop icon Michael Jackson in her upcoming memoir, titled Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis. The memoir, scheduled for release on September 23, 2024, includes revelations about the relationship that has long intrigued fans and critics alike.
In an excerpt published by The Sun, the 80-year-old Priscilla reflects on her initial reaction to the marriage, which lasted from 1994 to 1996. “I was appalled by the marriage,” she writes, expressing her skepticism about the union. She recounts their conversation regarding the nature of Lisa Marie’s relationship with Jackson, stating, “I asked her if they had a physical relationship… She said yeah.”
Priscilla suggests that Jackson was more interested in the legacy of the Presley family than in a genuine partnership with her daughter. “I knew in my bones that Michael wasn’t marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty,” she notes. These insights shed light on the complexities of their relationship and Priscilla’s concerns as a mother.
The memoir also touches on the allegations against Michael Jackson during the 1990s, particularly the child molestation claims he faced. Priscilla claims that Jackson sought “good publicity” during a tumultuous period and that Lisa Marie believed in his innocence. “Michael was a manipulative man, and I think he had his sights set on her long before she realised it,” she asserts, characterizing Jackson’s public persona as a “childlike innocence” that masked darker tendencies.
As the relationship unfolded, Priscilla became increasingly uncomfortable. She describes Jackson’s avoidance of family gatherings, noting that he preferred to engage with children rather than adults. “The relationship was bizarre,” she writes, adding that she urged Lisa Marie to delay starting a family with Jackson.
When Lisa Marie ultimately filed for divorce in 1996, Priscilla felt a sense of relief, writing that she “could practically hear Elvis sigh with relief.”
The memoir parallels insights from Lisa Marie’s own memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which was compiled from tapes by her daughter, Riley Keough. In her memoir, Lisa Marie recounted Jackson’s claims of being a virgin when they began dating, detailing moments of intimacy that surprised her.
“Michael told me he was still a virgin,” she wrote, indicating that he had only kissed other well-known figures like Tatum O’Neal and Brooke Shields. She described her trepidation during their early physical encounters, highlighting the complexities of their relationship.
Following their divorce, Michael Jackson went on to have three children: Prince, 28, and Paris, 27, with his second wife, Debbie Rowe, and Bigi, 23, with a surrogate. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 50 from a Propofol overdose. On the other hand, Lisa Marie welcomed daughter Riley and son Benjamin, who tragically died at age 27 in 2020, with her ex-husband Danny Keough.
After her marriage to Keough ended in 1994, Lisa Marie briefly married Nicolas Cage before marrying Michael Lockwood in 2006, with whom she had twin daughters, Harper and Finley, now 16. Their divorce was finalized in 2021, just two years before Lisa Marie’s death at age 54 due to cardiac arrest.
In addition to her reflections on Jackson, Priscilla’s memoir reportedly includes personal memories of her daughter’s passing and her past romance with Robert Kardashian. As readers await the memoir’s release, it promises to provide deeper insights into the lives of two iconic figures of American pop culture.
