Priscilla Presley Exposed Major Red Flags In Daughter Lisa Marie's Failed Marriages

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The Presley women have both been in marriages that were public and volatile. Exposed to the true animosity and hardships that come with a high-profile relationship, Priscilla Presley — who had been married to, had a child with, and divorced Elvis Presley all before the age of 28 — has constructed an arsenal of experiences that have shaped her perspective on love. And, with a highly-publicized relationship to one of the most famous singers of all time, understands the world of Hollywood trysts better than most. It is with this wisdom that Priscilla has been blunt with her red flag observations of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley's many failed relationships.

The mother-daughter duo went through a period of estrangement following a strong accusation Lisa Marie made against her mother's then-boyfriend, Michael Edwards. Their relationship remained complicated, and Lisa Marie tragically passed away in January 2023. Despite their strained and complex dynamic, Priscilla placed her daughter's life under a microscope in her 2025 memoir, "Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis." Taking a look at Lisa Marie's tragic past of divorces from famous men in the pop culture scene, Priscilla lists the many red flags she saw both before and during Lisa Marie's relationships. She touched upon chaotic fights, suspicions of bad intentions, and other troubling issues. 

Priscilla Presley penned some scorching comments about Lisa Marie Presley's marriage to Michael Jackson. Their short-lived union, from 1994-1996, started off rocky in Priscilla's eyes, who didn't believe Jackson loved her daughter. "I knew in my bones that Michael wasn't marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty," the Presley matriarch wrote in her memoir (via New York Post). Much of her views on Jackson were fed by the growing rumors of the singer's alleged pedophilia, a concern she continued to voice, noting that Jackson met Lisa Marie when she was just six. "Michael was a manipulative man, and I think he had his sights set on her long before she realized it," Priscilla wrote (via NewsNation).

Far from done taking aim at Lisa Marie's marriages, Priscilla condemned her daughter's wedding to actor Nicolas Cage — an even more cursory relationship, lasting just four months. The "Naked Gun" actor noted that the pair had something in common, saying both Lisa Marie and Cage had bad tempers. "They screamed and yelled, they threw things, and sometimes they broke things," she wrote in her memoir (via People). The actor recounted one fight in particular where Lisa Marie threw her engagement ring at Cage while on a boat trip, and the actor subsequently threw the $65k ring overboard. Priscilla could hardly keep track of heir tumultuous relationship, noting, "Lisa and Nic broke up and made up so many times, it was dizzying."