CountrysingerGaryAllan sums up how tough life can be in one of his songs, “Life ain’t always beautiful.” No better words were spoken when he sings “Sometimes it's just plain hard Life can knock you down, it can break your heart.”
Celebrities’ lives can be difficult. Especially dealing with all the stress that comes with constantly being in the public eye. For a child who grew up in the spotlight, the stress can multiply by 1,000 percent.
Lisa Marie Presley passed away on January 12, 2023, from cardiac arrest at the age of 54. She was born rock royalty. As the only child of the late Elvis Presley, she was constantly in the public eye.
Unfortunately, this between the stress from being a public figure from a young age, and all of the tragedy she experienced, Lisa Marie did not live an easy life.
In August 2022, Lisa Marie took to Instagram to try and allay some of the grief and heartache she has endured.
“I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of nine years old,” she wrote.
Tragedy began plaguing Lisa Marie’s life at the tender age of nine. She was only nine yearsoldwhenherfather,the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll passed away.
Not only was she a child, but she was also the one who found her father unresponsive by the toilet. According to Lisa Marie’s memoirs, officials didn’t immediately remove his body.
“'His body was in the house for three days and there was something very oddly comforting about that, whichmadeitnotnecessarily real to me,' she said.”
Lisa Marie was also plagued in the love department. She was married four times in her 54 years on the earth. She married Danny Keough when she was 20 years old. The couple welcomed two children during their six-year marriage: Danielle and Benjamin. The divorced in 1994 but remained close friends and coparented their children.
Lisa Marie married a second time a mere 20 days after finalizing her divorce from Keough. Ironically, she married the King of Pop Michael Jackson. The marriage was doomed from the start. Jackson was facing allegations of sexually abusing children.
The couple faced criticism on a regular basis with many dubbing the nuptials a publicity stunt. Even though their marriage only lasted for two years, the couple remained close friends up until Jackson’s untimely death in 2009.
Lisa Marie entered her third marriage to Nicolas Cage in August 2002, the twenty-fifth anniversary of her dad’s death. Many people said Cage married her because of his obsession with her father. The couple stood strong and claimed their love for each other. However, they divorced only three months later. After Lisa Marie’s death, Cage issued a statement saying he was “heartbroken” by the “devastating news,” and that he always loved her.
Lisa Marie’s longest marriage was to her latest husband, Michael Lockwood. The couple married in 2006 and divorced in 2021. They welcomed twins, Vivienne and Harper, during their nuptial. When the two married, Lisa Marie brought her $62 million dollar fortune to the table, but Lockwood only brought $3000.
Eventhoughthemarriage lasted 15 years, the relationship only lasted a decade. Lisa Marie filed for divorce in 2016, but the divorce was nasty and drug on for years.
Lisa Marie had a strong prenuptial agreement, but that didn’t stop Lockwood from trying to milk her for money. He claimed that he was badly advised by his lawyers and didn’t read the agreement properly. There were also custody issues where Lockwood blocked Lisa Marie from bringing the twins to Memphis for their grandfather’s eighty-fifth birthday celebration.
The divorce drug on for years and was finalized in May 2021. The suit was settled in Lisa Marie’s favor and her fortune remained protected while Lockwood only left the marriage with the mere belongings with which he entered the relationship.
While Lisa Marie was fighting Lockwood for a divorce, tragedy struck. Ben Keough, her 27-year-old son died by a “self-inflicted gunshot wound”. There was speculation that Ben could not handle “living in his grandfather’s shadow.” Even though he never knew The King, Ben felt pressure to liveup tohislegendarystatus because he held an uncanny resemblancetoElvis.Sources close to Lisa Marie said the loss of her son was worse than any pain she had ever endured. They said she lived in seclusion.
Lisa Marie may have been born into the life of luxury; her life was everything but luxurious. Just like Allan sings in his song, “live ain’t always beautiful, but it’s a beautiful ride.”