"He Pushed Me Away" — Lisa Marie Presley Explains Her Divorce From Michael Jackson

There's no mortal figure in recent history more enigmatic, successful, and globally idolized than Michael Jackson. Renowned for his tireless work ethic, keen musical acumen, trained high-pitched voice, and ability to blend performance art, showmanship, and filmmaking with chart-topping records, MJ was an inimitable talent.

Being such a high-profile celebrity also means that the public will watch every move you make, and Michael's life was no different.

Unsurprisingly, his marriage to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, made headlines, as did their divorce. But why did they split?

The pair were married in 1994 in an announcement that shocked the world, and less than two years later, they were officially divorced.

Their union and separation drew a slew of media reactions, including fodder for comedy bits. Like when Norm Macdonald said in a Saturday Night Live weekend update bit:

"The nation is still reeling from Thursday's bombshell announcement that Lisa Marie Presley has filed for divorce from Michael Jackson. According to friends, the two were never a good match: she's more of a 'stay at home' type, and he's more of a homosexual pedophile."

Yahoo! published a December 3, 2025, article that attributes the final straw that precipitated Lisa Marie's decision to file for divorce from Michael was his decision to go to Disneyland in France with two young brothers: Frank and Eddie Cascio, who were 14 and 11 years old at the time.

Lisa Marie, who was 27 years old at the time, purportedly called a lawyer after seeing a picture of him on a balcony with the youngsters.

During the phone call, she asked for a divorce. The outlet added that she spoke to a "close friend at the time" and told them, "This marriage was a crazy mistake. It's over."

Their marriage was often criticized as a publicity stunt on Michael's behalf as a means of repairing his public image in the wake of the child molestation accusations leveled against him.

These claims seem consistent with reports that Lisa Marie was purportedly angry with Michael after he kissed her on stage during the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards.

Prior to kissing her, Michael said, "Just think, nobody thought this would last," which, as this Medium article states, was a move decried by Lisa Marie, who thought that Michael was using their marriage to portray a hetero normative image.

In Lisa Marie's own words during an interview with Oprah, Lisa Marie attributed drug use as a reason for her decision to part ways with the singer, Biography writes.

At the time, she did say the two had a legitimate connection to one another. "I loved taking care of him. It was one of the highest points in my life when things were going really well, and he and I were united. It was a very profound time of my life."

However, she did say that she worried about having kids with him.

"I did want to, but I just wanted to make sure. I was looking into the future and thinking, 'I don't ever want to get into a custody battle with him,'" she said.

Lisa Marie went on to say that she posed an ultimatum to Michael: "He had to make a decision. Was it the drugs and the vampires or me? And he pushed me away."

She defined "vampires" as "sycophants" who latched onto everything MJ said and did. The last time the two spoke was in 2005, and Lisa Marie delineated the particulars of their conversation in 2010.

During the call, she said that MJ asked if she still loved him, to which she replied that she felt indifferent.

That would have prompted Michael to cry, his former spouse stated.

"He didn't like that word, he cried," she said. In the same Biography piece, Lisa Marie said that Michael expressed concerns over his well-being, and that there were people plotting to murder him and steal his music discography.

"He felt that someone was going to try to kill him and get a hold of his catalog and his estate ... but he expressed to me his concern over his life."

Michael Jackson died in 2009. His official cause of death: a propofol overdose. Lisa Marie Presley passed away on January 2023 after suffering a heart attack which was linked to a weight loss surgery.