Burning love. Lisa Marie Presley has been married four times over the years — and each relationship sparked more interest in the public eye.
The daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley grew up in the spotlight, and it wasn’t long before her own personal life began to make headlines. Lisa Marie followed in her father’s footsteps, pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter — and she found love with many a fellow musician in the process.
In October 1988, the “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” artist tied the knot with Danny Keough. The twosome went on to welcome daughter Riley Keough and son Benjamin Keough in 1989 and 1992, respectively, before calling it quits in 1994. (Benjamin died by suicide at age 27 in June 2020.)
More than a decade after her first divorce, the Tennessee native told Marie Claire that she thought marrying young had an impact on the longevity of her relationship with Danny.
“I had been really sheltered,” she said in 2007. “I got married the first time very, very young and the marriage I was in, there was so much resentment about who I was, because I had more than he did, and it became a power struggle. … So in my mind I’m thinking, ‘I know, I’ll get with someone more compatible.’ I wasn’t thinking what everyone else was thinking, which was that I must have been out of my f–king mind.”
The “Sticks and Stones” singer added at the time: “Leaving my first marriage, for the person that I left it for — that was probably the biggest mistake of my life.”
Lisa Marie was referring to Michael Jackson, whom she secretly wed in the Dominican Republic in 1994 — less than three weeks after her divorce from Danny was finalized. “I am very much in love with Michael, I dedicate my life to being his wife,” the bride announced in a statement. “I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family.”
The pair attended the MTV Video Music Awards together that year, packing on the PDA to kick off the show. “I’m very happy to be here,” the “King of Pop” teased on stage. “Just think, nobody thought this would last.”
Two years later, Lisa Marie filed for divorce. When Jackson died in June 2009, she wrote in a lengthy blog post that she felt as though she “failed to help” her former spouse amid his struggles with substance abuse.
“Our relationship was not ‘a sham’ … I wanted to ‘save him,’” she wrote. “I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened. His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn’t know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then. … I was in over my head while trying.”
The “I Love You Because” artist was married twice more following her split from Jackson: to Nicolas Cage from 2002 to 2004 and to Michael Lockwood from 2006 to 2021. She shares twin daughters Harper Vivienne Ann and Finley Aaron Love, born in 2008, with Lockwood.
Scroll down for a look back at Lisa Marie’s marriages and more:
Credit: Laurent Rebours/AP/Shutterstock
Lisa Marie Presley’s Dating History, Marriages Through the Years: Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage and More
Burning love. Lisa Marie Presley has been married four times over the years — and each relationship sparked more interest in the public eye.
The daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley grew up in the spotlight, and it wasn’t long before her own personal life began to make headlines. Lisa Marie followed in her father’s footsteps, pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter — and she found love with many a fellow musician in the process.
In October 1988, the “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” artist tied the knot with Danny Keough. The twosome went on to welcome daughter Riley Keough and son Benjamin Keough in 1989 and 1992, respectively, before calling it quits in 1994. (Benjamin died by suicide at age 27 in June 2020.)
More than a decade after her first divorce, the Tennessee native told Marie Claire that she thought marrying young had an impact on the longevity of her relationship with Danny.
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“I had been really sheltered,” she said in 2007. “I got married the first time very, very young and the marriage I was in, there was so much resentment about who I was, because I had more than he did, and it became a power struggle. … So in my mind I’m thinking, ‘I know, I’ll get with someone more compatible.’ I wasn’t thinking what everyone else was thinking, which was that I must have been out of my f–king mind.”
The “Sticks and Stones” singer added at the time: “Leaving my first marriage, for the person that I left it for — that was probably the biggest mistake of my life.”
Lisa Marie was referring to Michael Jackson, whom she secretly wed in the Dominican Republic in 1994 — less than three weeks after her divorce from Danny was finalized. “I am very much in love with Michael, I dedicate my life to being his wife,” the bride announced in a statement. “I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family.”
The pair attended the MTV Video Music Awards together that year, packing on the PDA to kick off the show. “I’m very happy to be here,” the “King of Pop” teased on stage. “Just think, nobody thought this would last.”
Two years later, Lisa Marie filed for divorce. When Jackson died in June 2009, she wrote in a lengthy blog post that she felt as though she “failed to help” her former spouse amid his struggles with substance abuse.
“Our relationship was not ‘a sham’ … I wanted to ‘save him,'” she wrote. “I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened. His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn’t know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then. … I was in over my head while trying.”
The “I Love You Because” artist was married twice more following her split from Jackson: to Nicolas Cage from 2002 to 2004 and to Michael Lockwood from 2006 to 2021. She shares twin daughters Harper Vivienne Ann and Finley Aaron Love, born in 2008, with Lockwood.
Scroll down for a look back at Lisa Marie’s marriages and more:
Credit: Dave Lewis/Shutterstock
Danny Keough
The former couple, who remained close post-split, were married from October 1988 to May 1994. They welcomed daughter Riley and late son Benjamin in 1989 and 1992, respectively.
Credit: Laurent Rebours/AP/Shutterstock
Michael Jackson
Lisa Marie met the “Thriller” crooner in 1975, nearly two decades before they became romantically involved. The duo tied the knot in 1994, but she filed for divorce two years later citing “irreconcilable differences.”
Jackson died in June 2009 at age 50. “After the divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret,” his ex-wife wrote in an emotional essay following his death, which she called her “biggest failure to date.”
Credit: Bei/Shutterstock
John Oszajca
The “Now What” artist was briefly engaged to the Hawaiian musician from 1999 to 2001.
Credit: Hahn Lionel/ABACA/Shutterstock
Nicolas Cage
The songwriter reportedly broke off her engagement to Oszajca after meeting Cage at a party. At the time, the actor was still married to Patricia Arquette, but he confessed during an interview with the late Barbara Walters that he was “thunderstruck” by Lisa Marie.
They exchanged vows in August 2002 but called it quits just four months later. The pair finalized their divorce in 2004.
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Michael Lockwood
Lisa Marie’s fourth wedding took place in Japan in January 2006, and ex-husband Danny served as best man during the ceremony. The “Dirty Laundry” singer and Lockwood went on to welcome twins Harper and Finley in October 2008.
After 10 years of marriage, Lisa Marie filed for divorce from the music producer in 2016. The proceedings were finalized in 2021.