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Priscilla Presley and her daughter, Lisa Marie, had a strained relationship for years. While Lisa Marie adored her late father, Elvis, her feelings towards her mother, with whom she spent far more time, were complicated. While they reunited before Lisa Marie’s death, they went through a period of estrangement. Priscilla revealed the argument that temporarily ended their relationship.
Priscilla Presley shared what led to her estrangement from Lisa Marie Presley
In 2006, Lisa Marie married guitarist Michael Lockwood, her fourth husband. They welcomed two daughters before separating in 2016. A bitter custody battle ensued. In 2017, Priscilla took temporary custody of her two granddaughters after Lisa Marie made allegations of child abuse and neglect against Lockwood. Police investigated claims that he had inappropriate pictures of minors on his computer. However, after a search of over 80 electronic devices, they found no evidence of a crime.
According to Priscilla, Lisa Marie asked her to sign a deposition in support of her allegations against Lockwood. Priscilla refused, saying that she had never witnessed inappropriate behavior from her son-in-law.
“I told her I couldn’t sign it, for I had never seen Michael behave in the harmful ways she was alleging,” she wrote in her book Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis (via Rolling Stone). “Signing it would be perjury.”
She said Lisa Marie viewed this as a major betrayal.
“In Lisa’s mind, I was the last hope to prove her charges,” she wrote. “The court’s investigations of Michael had failed to reveal any wrongdoing or neglect on his part, so she had exhausted her legal options. Now I was refusing to back her up in court. To her, it was a betrayal.”
Their relationship remained fractured for years. Eventually, though, they grew closer while working together on the 2022 film Elvis.
Lisa Marie spoke about Priscilla’s maternal instincts
According to Lisa Marie, her relationship with Priscilla had problems long before her custody battle.
“My mother told me that she’d thought about trying to fall off her horse to cause a miscarriage,” Lisa Marie wrote in her book From Here to the Great Unknown. “She didn’t want to gain pregnancy weight. She thought that wouldn’t be a good look for her as Elvis’ wife. There were so many women after him, all of them beautiful. She wanted his undivided attention. She was so upset that she was pregnant that initially she’d only eat apples and eggs and never gained much weight.”
According to Priscilla, Elvis believed women used pregnancy as an excuse to gain weight. She worried he would view her differently if her body changed. Lisa Marie said her mother’s pregnancy concerns impacted their relationship.
“I was a pain in her a** immediately, and I always felt she didn’t want me,” she wrote. “I believe in energy in utero, so maybe I already felt her vibe of trying to get rid of me. Eventually, she just kind of decided to keep me, but at the time, she didn’t have great maternal instincts. That might be what’s wrong with me.”
They were together shortly before Lisa Marie’s death
In 2023, Lisa Marie unexpectedly died of a small bowel obstruction. Just days before this, she spent time with Priscilla. They’d attended the Golden Globes together and got a drink at Chateau Marmont afterward.
“We both had our high heels on, and we tripped on the staircase, and we started laughing and giggling,” Priscilla told Piers Morgan, per The Sun. “We sat down, and she said, ‘Mom, I have to go; my stomach really hurts.’”
They hugged and parted ways. Two days later, Lisa Marie died.
“It was unbearable,” she said. “It’s like a large part of your life is taken away.”
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