Details about the demise of Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson's short-lived marriage have resurfaced in the wake of the former's sudden January 12 death.
The twosome tied the knot in May of 1994, and things seemed to be going strong, as Presley even pushed Jackson to enter rehab. However, their relationship allegedly began to crack due to Presley's Scientology ties and the child molestation accusations against Jackson — though Elvis' daughter always believed he was innocent.
The two began to endure daily troubles, prompting divorce talk, but in court docs related to his wrongful death lawsuit, his former makeup artist Karen Faye claimed Presley blindsided him in January 1996.
"Lisa Marie Presley was calling Michael, begging him not to divorce her," Faye reportedly testified, via Radar. "They weren't getting along. She said, 'Let's try to work this out.' Michael kept saying, 'No, I don't think it's going to work.' She begged and begged, 'Please don't file, please don't file.' So he promised her he wouldn't file for divorce."
However, the day after their chat, the late songstress filed divorce papers. "He was devastated," Faye insisted. "He had decided to really try again with her. Then she turned around and did that."
The sudden decision appeared to send the father-of-three on a downward spiral.
"Michael trusted Lisa Marie more than anyone else in his life," a Jackson family confidante once told an outlet. "When she betrayed him, he was consumed with sadness and used drugs as an emotional escape."
Ian Halperin, the author of Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, agreed with that sentiment, claiming Presley's behavior was a manipulative "well-planned strategy that left him emotionally and physically wounded."
Since Jackson was such a "fragile person," he found prescription medication to be the only solace, with Halperin explaining, "That's why Lisa Marie's divorce betrayal was such a damaging turning point in his life."
The ex-spouses never had any children together and each went on to remarry other people. AsOK! reported, Presley was 54 when she passed after going into cardiac arrest, with new reports disclosing she started using opioids again.
The pop icon died at age 50 in 2009 due to acute propofol intoxication.
