The release of the highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic has reignited fascination with the King of Pop’s private life, and now, some of the most intimate and surprising comments ever made by his late ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley are now being resurfaced.
The film, Michael, which charts the meteoric rise of Michael Jackson from his early days with the Jackson 5 to global superstardom, has prompted fans to revisit the couple’s whirlwind romance, and the revelations are nothing short of extraordinary.
In her posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, completed by her daughter Riley Keough, Lisa Marie opened up like never before about her brief but intense marriage to the Thriller singer, whom she wed in 1994.
© Sygma via Getty ImagesAmong the most startling claims was her assertion that Michael told her he was "still a virgin" when they began dating, a confession she admitted left her deeply unsettled at the time.
"I was terrified because I didn’t want to make the wrong move," she wrote, recalling the early days of their relationship.
According to Lisa Marie, Michael, then 35, insisted that none of his previous relationships had been physically intimate. She claimed he told her he had only ever kissed Tatum O'Neal and Brooke Shields, and that an attempted connection with Madonna had never materialised.
Their love story, however, was anything but conventional. Lisa Marie revealed that Michael confessed his love for her while she was still married to her first husband, Danny Keough.
© Getty Images"Michael said, ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m completely in love with you. I want us to get married and for you to have my children,’" she wrote.
The declaration marked a turning point. Just 20 days after her divorce from Danny, Lisa Marie married Michael in a secret ceremony in May 1994, a move that stunned the world.
Behind the scenes, however, the relationship was far more complex than it appeared.
© Sygma via Getty ImagesLisa Marie described falling "madly in love" with the superstar and trying to build a normal life together, despite the intense global scrutiny that surrounded them. But she also hinted that darker issues were at play, strongly suggesting that Michael’s alleged struggles with prescription drugs contributed to the breakdown of their marriage.
As Michael faced mounting pressure from child abuse allegations in the mid-1990s, Lisa Marie stood by his side, even encouraging him to settle legal battles to bring some stability to his life.
But the strain proved too much. The couple divorced in January 1996, citing irreconcilable differences, though Lisa Marie later admitted she attempted to reunite with him several times in the years that followed.
Their relationship remains one of the most talked-about chapters in pop culture history, not least because of its intensity, secrecy and enduring mystery.
© Frank CarrollThe renewed spotlight comes as Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Graham King, brings his story back into public conversation. The film stars his nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role and has been described as a sweeping, family-approved portrait of the late icon’s life.
For many fans, however, it is Lisa Marie’s raw and revealing account that continues to captivate, offering a rare glimpse into the private world of one of music’s most enigmatic figures.
Lisa Marie, the daughter of Elvis Presley, died in January 2023 at the age of 54. She is survived by her daughters and leaves behind a legacy intertwined with two of the most legendary names in music history.
