The global release of the Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has prompted a renewed focus on the late singer’s private life, specifically the intimate claims made by his former wife, Lisa Marie Presley, per hellomagazine.com.
In her posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, Presley detailed the unconventional nature of their 1994 marriage, including Jackson’s assertions regarding his lack of prior physical intimacy.
Presley, who died in January 2023, revealed in the book that Jackson confessed his love for her while she was still married to her first husband, Danny Keough. Following a rapid divorce, the pair married in a secret ceremony in May 1994.
According to Presley’s account, Jackson, then 35, claimed he was a virgin at the start of their relationship, stating his previous romantic experiences were limited to non-physical connections with figures such as Brooke Shields and Tatum O’Neal.
The marriage was characterised by Presley as an intense period of being “madly in love,” though it was overshadowed by significant external and internal pressures. Presley noted that she supported Jackson throughout the mid-1990s as he faced child abuse allegations, advising him to settle legal disputes to achieve personal stability. However, she also indicated that Jackson’s suspected struggles with prescription drugs played a primary role in the eventual collapse of the union.
The couple divorced in January 1996, citing irreconcilable differences, less than two years after their wedding. Despite the legal separation, Presley admitted to attempting several reconciliations in the years that followed. Her reflections, completed and published by her daughter Riley Keough, offer a rare perspective on the King of Pop’s domestic life during the height of his global fame.
The cinematic dramatisation of these years, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, has returned these personal accounts to the forefront of public discourse. As the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie’s legacy remains uniquely tied to two of the most significant figures in 20th-century music history.
The biopic Michael is a high-profile production from Graham King, the producer behind the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody. While the film provides a family-approved narrative of Jackson’s career, Presley’s memoir serves as a critical, independent primary source regarding the singer’s complex personal conduct and health during the 1990s.
•Featured image: Lisa Marie Presley/Getty
