I was 21 when I wrote this article back in 1996 for The Elvis Beat #14, my official Elvis Presley Fan Club newsletter.

Citing irreconcilable differences, Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson filed for divorce from Michael Jackson on January 18 in a Los Angeles court. Her petition also asks for the restoration of her maiden name, Presley.

The divorce is expected to be finalized in June, attorneys said. Representatives for both sides have indicated that the split will be amicable.

In a television interview last year in which the couple appeared together, Jackson spoke about prenuptial agreements. “We’ve worked out things, and we’ve signed certain things, but, of course, that’s very confidential,” he said.

The marriage seemed to be haunted by controversy from the start when they were secretly wed on May 26, 1994, in the Dominican Republic. The media soon had word of the event, although it was not announced formally until August of that year.

Some even speculated that the entire marriage was only a shrewd publicity ploy, which Lisa Marie and Jackson both continue to deny. “I’m not going to marry somebody for any reason other than the fact that I fall in love with them,” Lisa Marie said last year.

This was the second marriage for Lisa Marie, 28. She has two children from her previous marriage to musician Danny Keough. Jackson, 37, had never been married before.