Music legend Michael Jackson privately married rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, during the summer of 1994. The marriage, which was not announced until August of that year, shook the public and became a mass media sensation.

Jackson and Presley were only married until 1996, yet their unexpected marriage is still discussed today. Not often does a music legend marry the child of another icon. Often, fans wonder if they ever talked about having children. Surely, if Jackson and Presley ever did raise a family together, their children would have been entertainment royalty. While they never actually had any children, it is interesting to wonder.

Did Michael Jackson And Lisa Marie Presley Want Children Together?
According to Biography, Lisa Marie Presley announced her marriage to Michael Jackson in a public statement on August 1st, 1994. In the statement, Presley wrote:

“My married name is Mrs. Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson. My marriage to Michael Jackson took place in a private ceremony outside the United States weeks ago. I am very much in love with Michael. I dedicate my life to being his wife… We both look forward to raising a family.”

At the time of Presley and Jackson’s marriage, Presley already had two children from her marriage to Danny Keough:

Danielle Riley Keough (May 29, 1989 – Present)
Benjamin Storm Keough (October 21, 1992 – July 12, 2020)
According to Nicki Swift, Jackson wanted to have children with Presley as soon as they got married. Presley was open to having children with Jackson, but wanted to wait to ensure their marriage was long-lasting and reliable.

In a 2010 candid interview with Oprah Winfrey, Presley explained her hesitancy and her main fear was a future custody battle with the pop superstar. “I had children and I knew bringing in children into certain circumstances, you have to make sure everything was safe and secure and OK. I wanted to make sure he and I were really, really united. Because we were going to be up against so much.” Presley said.

While Presley had her reasons to wait, she admitted in the same interview that she “did want” to have children with Jackson, according to Music Times. When Jackson learned of his wife’s initial reluctance, he allegedly told her that he knew someone, Debbie Rowe, who would give him a child as a threat tactic.

Unfortunately, Presley and Jackson eventually divorced in 1996, without ever having any children together. Presley was correct in her fears that the marriage might become unstable. While the marriage was short-lasting, Presley and Jackson surely left a lasting impression as an entertainment power couple.

Rowe is reportedly the mother of two of Jackson’s children, Michael Joseph “Prince” Jackson Jr. and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. Michael Jackson welcomed a third child, Prince Michael Jackson II, in 2002. His mother was a surrogate, according to Biography. It cannot be confirmed or denied if Jackson was the biological father of his three children.

Did Michael Jackson And Lisa Marie Presley Truly Love Each Other?

According to Nicki Swift, Lisa Marie Presley, at times, spoke positively about her marriage to Michael Jackson. In her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Presley called her marriage to Jackson “a very profound time in my life.” She elaborated by saying, “It was one of the highest points in my life when things were going well.”

Presley and Jackson definitely loved each other and bonded for a period of time, according to Presley. In a private conversation, Jackson told Presley that he was afraid that his life might end similarly to her father’s. Jackson eerily knew his destiny and did indeed pass away similarly to that of Elvis Presley. Lisa Marie Presley later publicly discussed her regret about trying to help her former husband in a MySpace blog post after Jackson’s untimely passing in 2009.

“The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow. After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret.”

While Jackson loved Lisa Marie Presley, some individuals, including her mother, Priscilla Presley, feared that Jackson had married Presley due to a passion for her father, Elvis Presley. According to Business Insider, Priscilla Presley was “very concerned” about the marriage. In an interview, Priscilla Presley shared that Jackson “loved or respected Elvis, so I always felt that having the name, associating with the name of his daughter…I was concerned.”

There is also a rumor that the Church of Scientology played a role in Presley and Jackson’s marriage. In a posthumously-released interview after Lisa Marie Presley’s passing, Presley admittedly alleged that the Church of Scientology was trying to recruit Jackson to join the Church.

Both Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, who lived very public lives since they were children, passed away at young ages. Jackson was only 50 when he succumbed to cardiac arrest in June 2009. Presley tragically passed away in January 2023 at 54, in a similar fashion to her iconic father.

While imagining if Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley had children is a fun “what if” for fans, it was simply not meant to be. Both Presley and Jackson had deep personal struggles, and their union was not meant to be long-lasting. Presley would later go on to marry actor Nicholas Cage, and then Michael Lockwood, who gave her twin daughters, Harper and Finley, in 2008. Riley Keough, Presley’s eldest child, was named the sole trustee of her estate and Graceland in August 2023.

Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson’s marriage was truly remarkable in every sense of the world. Their legacies continue to this day, and they are forever etched into American culture.