I was 20 when I wrote this article back in 1995 for The Elvis Beat #12, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

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A national audience of sixty million people tuned in to see Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson and Michael Jackson in their first televised interview together. Hosted by Diane Sawyer, the ABC PrimeTime Live special easily beat out the final game of the NBA basketball championship to win the time slot and also was the highest rated program of the week.

Lisa Marie, 27, rarely grants interviews, and this was her first to be televised. She and Jackson, 36, were secretly married outside the United States on May 26, 1994. Although rumors soon spread through the press, the news was not confirmed until August of that year.

On June 14, at the Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, the couple fielded a variety of questions on their controversial marriage and Jackson’s controversial life.

“When we first met, she was 7 years old, and I was 17,” said Jackson. “This was in Las Vegas. She used to come and see my show all the time. We had the only family show on the Strip, the Jackson 5. She used to come, as a little girl, and sit right up front, and she came quite often. She came with a lot of bodyguards. Then she’d come backstage, and I’d talk and say, ‘hi,’ and then she’d come again, and I thought she was sweet and loving. And I always hoped I’d see her again,” he said. [. . . .]

“We didn’t stay in touch after that,” said Lisa Marie.

Jackson continued the story: “When she was 18, I used to tell my lawyer . . . ‘Do you know Lisa Marie Presley?’ He’d go, ‘Well, I represent her mother.’ I’d go, ‘Can you get me in touch with her, because I think she’s really cute.’ And he’d laugh every time. He’d go, ‘I’ll do my best.’ . . . . Then, he’d come back, and I’d say, ‘Well, did you find out?’ He said, ‘No, there’s nothing.’ So I would worry him about this all the time. And the next thing I noticed there was a picture on a magazine cover where she’s married, which really tore me to pieces because I felt that was supposed to be me.”

This is the second marriage for Lisa Marie. She has two children from her marriage to musician Danny Keough, Danielle, who is now six, and Benjamin, who will be three in October.

Lisa Marie spoke about Jackson’s marriage proposal. “On the telephone, he first asked me. We were dating now for four months,” she said. “We were spending a lot of time together. I don’t know how it didn’t manage to get in the press, because we weren’t hiding it. I was separated for four months, and he said, ‘What would you do if I asked you to marry me?’ And I said, ‘I would.'”

Lisa Marie appeared hesitant to answer some of the questions, and when she did, she often immediately apologized, as if she was speaking out of turn. Although she was understandably nervous, she maintained her composure all evening. It was obvious that she was serious about setting the record straight, but at times she could not help but laugh at some of Sawyer’s oddly-styled questions. [. . . .]

Sawyer asked for information about any prenuptial arrangements involving the Presley and Jackson fortunes. Jackson replied, “We’ve worked out things, and we’ve signed certain things, but, of course, that’s very confidential.”

Lisa Marie added, “We made (prior) agreements.”

Lisa Marie is a member of the Church of Scientology, which follows ideals established in the book Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard. Some members of the media speculated that the church ordered her to marry Jackson, in an attempt to lure him and his money into their organization.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Lisa Marie. “First of all, you can’t get influenced by anything like that. Under the terms of a marriage, I’m not going to marry somebody for any reason other than the fact that I fall in love with them, period. Period. And they can eat it if they want to think anything different.”

“I believe in spirituality, and I believe in a higher source, such as God,” said Jackson. “But I’m not a Scientologist. I read everything, and I like to read. I love to study.”

Lisa Marie also spoke about other controversial aspects of their marriage. “We don’t live in separate houses. That’s ridiculous. Where are the cameras?” she said, and later added, “No, we don’t sleep in separate bedrooms. Thank you very much.”

In 1993, there were reports that Lisa Marie was pursuing a singing career, with her then-husband Keough as her songwriting partner. People magazine even likened her voice to Bonnie Raitt.

There were plans for Lisa Marie and Jackson to sing a duet in the Elvis: The Tribute concert they attended in Memphis last year, but they eventually decided not to perform.

“I did sing,” said Lisa Marie, “but that’s not why I married Michael. I don’t need that. If I wanted it, I’m not going to marry someone for a recording career – just to clear that up as well.” [. . . .]

Recently, Jackson’s new album, HIStory, was released. The 2-CD set contains a disc of greatest hits and a disc of new songs.

Jackson said, “I don’t care to stay in America anymore. I will always have Neverland because I love (it). . . . (However,) I’d like to go abroad. As a matter of fact, I am. I haven’t decided the exact place yet. Probably South Africa, maybe Switzerland.” [. . . .]

Sawyer asked Lisa Marie her feelings about possibly moving overseas, and she replied, “I think it’s a nice place to visit. I would like to have a house over there. We would be completely and utterly harassed beyond belief, but–”

And then, as she did frequently during the hour, Sawyer interrupted Lisa Marie to ask another question. Many of Sawyer’s questions were halting, and she seemed to be self-consciously trying to project the image of a tough, investigative journalist. Oprah Winfrey, who interviewed Jackson two years ago, would have done a much better job.

Lisa Marie’s closing remarks were, “I just want people to know what they’re dealing with before, and understand that . . . the jokes, the degrading comments, and that kind of stuff, it’s really irritating.”