I’ve always been slightly fascinated with Lisa Marie Presley, particularly as a result of her heavy-duty public involvement with Scientology, which her father so famously described as “that s.o.b. group — all they want is my money.” Now of course, the cult is getting a lot of his money since both Lisa Marie and Priscilla are followers. Not that the CO$ and all of its glorious “tech” has helped Lisa Marie endure lasting, healthy marriages unless one considers “healthy” to mean “plentiful.” At this point, she’s in the midst of her fourth marriage to musician Michael Lockwood and was previously married to Danny Keough, Michael Jackson, and Nicolas Cage. According a story in this week’s edition of The Enquirer, Lisa Marie is well on her way to a fourth divorce:

Lisa Marie Presley is strugglng to keep her marriage to fourth husband Michael Lockwood from falling apart, sources tell The ENQUIRER.

Lisa Marie and Michael have been butting heads over her relentless determination to become a singing star, her role as sole heir to her father Elvis’ estate and how to best parent their 3-year-old twins as well as her adult children from her first marriage, say sources.

She married Michael in 2006 and gave birth to twin girls Harper and Finley in 2008. Although they’ve argued before, sources say their conflicts appear to have escalated over recent months as Lisa Marie prepares to promote her new CD and tour.

According to the friend, Lisa Marie has been working on her “do-or-die” third album for several years and has enlisted Grammy-winning producer T-Bone Burnett to guide her through the recording process. Meanwhile, she’s had husband Michael — her longtime guitarist and musical director — take a minimal role in the project.

“She’s made him more of a sideman, and it’s hurt his feelings,” the friend explained. “Right now she’s planning on relegating Michael to playing guitar on some songs, handling tour arrangements and taking care of their twins. Michael is an easy-going guy, but when she told him to like it or lump it, he brooded for days.”

But Lisa Marie’s career isn’t the couple’s only problem. The two can’t agree on how best to raise their daughters, or how involved they should be in the lives of Lisa’s older children, actress/model Riley, 22, and musician Benjamin, 29.

“Michael is much more of a ‘take it as it comes’ dad and stepfather, while Lisa Marie plays the overly concerned parent,” the source said.

“Sometimes during heated arguments with Michael, Lisa Marie has said she wants out,” the friend confided. “But divorce is out of the question. Lisa Marie doesn’t want to be a four-time loser and is committed to making her marrige to Michael work.”

[From Enquirer, print edition, February 6. 2012]

The article also mentions that Lisa Marie has upset Michael by leaving him out of plans for the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of Elvis’ death, and she also completely “keeps him completely removed from anything to do with the Presley finances.” On that end, I certainly can’t blame her because she’s the sole heir of the Elvis fortune. Then again, she’s turning so much of it over to Scientology, so if I were Michael, I’d probably feel slighted too. Unless he’s a member of the CO$ as well, which he probably is.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

Lisa Marie Presley’s interview with Oprah aired yesterday. The 42 year-old singer spoke for the first time since the death of her ex husband, Michael Jackson. Presley explained that she wanted to process the King of Pop’s death before granting an interview about it. On the day after MJ died, Presley posted a heartfelt entry on her blog explaining that she was “gutted” and defending their marriage. To Oprah, Presley repeated the claim that her marriage with Michael was a real one in every sense, and went on to say that she was very hurt by the end of their one and a half year marriage in 1996. I found her sincere and it was obvious that she was still upset about Michael’s death. He had a lot of people who cared about him and apart from his children he seems to have pushed so many people out of his life.

Popeater has a good overview of the interview, which I’m partially excerpting below. You can also watch the interview on YouTube. Part 1 is below, and here are links to Part 2 and Part 3.

On why she’s talking now
“Every time I’ve ever had an interview in the past, I tend to get very defensive because I was usually promoting something and it would always cross into my personal life.”

“I wanted to sit and really have a conversation about things that are more on a personal level, before I do have an album coming out,” she said.

On how their marriage was real
“I honestly can tell you, it was every sense a normal marriage.”

“One of the very highest points of my life was when things were going really well and he and I were united together and he and I had an understanding about some of the people and things that could go on around him and he was with me on those things and we were a unit and I could take care of him,” she told Oprah.

“For some reason, I don’t know what happens when someone passes away and this is what’s come of it. But I’ve come to have all this love again and understanding for him. I don’t know why it had to take all that to have this happen. That upsets me a bit,” Presley opined.

“Were you angry with him before?” Oprah questioned.

“I was very angry. I was so angry. I felt that we were so united and then at some point he pushed me out.”

On not figuring out that MJ was addicted to drugs until the end of their marriage
“I didn’t really suspect and catch on until just before I filed for divorce. There was just an occasion, an incident where he had collapsed and he was in the hospital,” she described of the scene in 1995 when Jackson collapsed while rehearsing for an HBO concert and doctors blamed it on a viral infection.

“It was very confusing what was wrong. Every day there was a different report. And I couldn’t tell what was happening,” she added. “I couldn’t really get a straight answer about what was happening with him and I think we were all a little bit in the dark. At that point, I think I got from various indications that that was going on then.”

“There were times that I would pick him up from certain doctors’ offices and he would not be coherent,” Presley remembered.

On why her marriage with MJ ended
“There was a very profound point in the marriage when he had to make a decision — was it the drugs and the sort of vampires or me? And he pushed me away.”

[From Popeater, subheaders added]

One thing that Lisa mentioned that is not in Popeater’s recap is that she was crying all day before she even heard that Michael had passed. She said it in a very matter-of-fact way, as if it was factual and she wasn’t attributing anything supernatural to it. It’s clear that her experience with Michael really affected her and that she’s still dealing with it 15 years later. There are very strong parallels between Presley’s father Elvis’ life and Michael’s life and she realizes that. She said “[The comparison] really blows me away to be honest with you. I still try to figure out, what is it that I had to go through it twice where these two incredible people… who had the same fate. What is it about me? I went through it once, that was painful, and I went through it again. I don’t quite understand it, you know?” She’s much more well spoken and self aware than I would have assumed. I believe her, and I think she helps clarify that Michael was in throes of addiction for well over a decade before it ultimately took his life.

Lisa Marie Presley on Oprah Part 1

Gah! I’ve just spent way too long looking for new photos of Lisa Marie Presley, but we don’t have access to anything from the last few months, and I can’t find a good image of this week’s Enquirer cover! I’m sorry, people, we’ll have to make do with these slightly older images (circa October 2009). Lisa Marie still looks heavy in them, but the whole Enquirer story is really mean. According to them, her weight has “ballooned to 165 pounds”. Um… not to be rude, but she’s a lot heavier than 165 pounds.

Lisa Marie Presley’s weight has recently ballooned to 165 pounds, friends believe, and they fear new binge eating could be endangering her health.

The chunky mother of four needs to lose at least 40 pounds, medical experts say, or put herself at risk of a fatal heart attack.

Lisa Marie’s bloated body is a chilling echo of her father Elvis Presley, who packed on weight near the end of his life – and at 42, she’s the SAME AGE as The King when he died.

Shocking new photos in the print edition clearly show Lisa Marie’s dramatic weight gain, especially her paunchy midsection, and The ENQUIRER can now reveal the secret heartaches behind her potentially deadly health crisis.

Close sources say she may be traumatized by the sudden death of her ex-husband Michael Jackson, frustrated by her stalled music career and battling to shed the baby weight she never lost after giving birth to twins.

For the FULL STORY with all the exclusive details you won’t find anywhere else – pick up the new ENQUIRER — on sale now! PLUS: shocking before and after pix of the once proud beauty who now bears an eerily resemblance to her father, Elvis, at the time of his bloated death!

[From The National Enquirer]

When CB and I were talking about this story, she mentioned that these “she’s gained weight” covers must sell really well, because they keep doing them about Kirstie Alley. Then she theorized that maybe it had something to do with Xenu. Which I thought she meant “Xenu commands you to eat donuts, fried chicken and gravy.” But she meant something else, so nevermind!

Also, the first thing I thought when I saw these photos is that she may be pregnant again? Discuss.

Lisa Marie Presley in London on October 13, 2009. Credit: INFphoto.com

Lisa Marie Presley has a new interview with UK’s Hello! Magazine in which she shows off her adorable one year-old twin daughters, Finley and Harper. (We can’t publish the photos here but The Daily Mail has the main one.) She seems pretty jaded, which is how she usually sounds I guess. Presley says that she loves the UK where she’s temporarily living and would like to make her move to England permanent. She also talks about her love for her daughters and her pain after the death of her ex husband, Michael Jackson. I was going to type the interview in, but then I found that The Daily Mail has most of it, save for a few quotes I added, particularly one about how LA is shallow and so temperate that Presley just doesn’t trust it.

On her one year-old twin daughters
‘They both have such a sweetness about them that it breaks our heart.
‘We want desperately to preserve their purity, love and trust for as long as we can before people and life cause the inevitable souring and contamination.
‘It is incredible that we all start out so pure, so genuine, happy and trusting.

On how LA is too sunny and superficial
‘Ah yes, my dislike for L.A. The city has really gotten dramatically worse in the last five or six years, even more shallow, if that’s even possible. I find any place that is perpetually sunny suspect and wrong, anyway. I can honestly say that I am the only person who came to England for the weather! I love the cold and the rain. To answer your question, we have fallen in love with the UK and it is our hope to live here some day.’

On how much better England is than the US
‘We have found the quality of life so much more enriching and fulfilling. The civility, the culture, the people and its beauty have reawakened me and have smoothed out some of my bleak and jagged views about people and life.’

‘Only some though – ha ha!’

On how her husband helped her get through her grief at MJ’s death
‘There have been so many layers of grief in Michael’s death, so many different aspects and angles that have at times overwhelmed me, which I am still dealing with, to be honest.’

‘I am incredibly fortunate that I have an amazing husband who has been unbelievably understanding and supportive throughout the process. He has cried with me, he has left me alone to cry if that’s what I needed. I have never met a more selfless and supportive person.’

[From Hello! print edition, October 26, 2009, some quotes via The Daily Mail]

As someone who has been living abroad for four years, in my experience there’s no ideal place to live. You’ll miss things about the US if you move overseas and if you move back you’ll miss things about the place you used to call home. There are advantages and disadvantages to just about anywhere. Just because a place seems great when you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you’ll feel the same once you move there.

There’s also the old saying “wherever you go, there you are.” For someone with an outlook as bleak as Presley, that’s doubly true. Look at Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna. They loved merry old England until they lived there for a while, and then they inevitably found things to complain about. It’s not the place – it’s you. That said, it must be awful to see your ex husband’s death and strange life discussed ad nauseum in the press and Presley deserves some credit for being honest about what she’s going through. Maybe things will look up for her as time passes.

Pregnant Lisa Marie Presley on 4/7/08. The twin photos are on People.com

Lisa Marie Presley poses with her adorable three month old twin daughters, Finley and Harper, in the upcoming issue of People magazine. People has a preview online of the issue and the babies look so cute and alert. Presley talked candidly to People about her struggle to get pregnant after a medical condition that caused her to lose multiple pregnancies:

Elvis Presley’s only daughter, Lisa Marie, is now a doting mom to 3-month-old girls Finley and Harper – and she is showing off her tiny additions in the new issue of PEOPLE.

“I really wanted these babies,” says Presley, 40, who tried for two years to get pregnant before conceiving the twins.

“My blood was too thick and would clot, which caused several miscarriages,” she tells PEOPLE. “The moment I took blood thinners, I got pregnant.”

Presley and her guitarist husband Michael Lockwood, 47, also share their L.A. home with Presley’s children from a previous marriage: daughter Riley, 19, and son Benjamin, 16.

Life as a bustling family of six is “chaotic bliss,” says Presley.

[From People]

For anyone who suffers miscarriages there is an autoimmune disorder that you may want to ask your doctor about called antiphospholipid syndrome where the only symptom may be pregnancy loss. Courtney Cox had it and lost many pregnancies before doctors discovered the problem and she was able to successfully get pregnant with Coco. It sounds like that’s what Lisa Marie Presley is talking about and thank goodness she was able to get it treated in time to get pregnant with her twins. It must be so heartbreaking to have to go through that.

Presley was criticized for her fuller figure when she was first pregnant but it was not yet known to the press. She told People that she worked out up until the seventh month of her pregnancy to keep her weight down and that she only gained 30 pounds total. According to BabyCenter’s pregnancy weight gain estimator, Presley should have gained 35-45 pounds being pregnant with twins at 5’3″ tall, so that’s about right.

As Celebitchy reported on Saturday, Lisa Marie Presley and her husband, musician/producer Michael Lockwood, became the proud parents of twin girls on October 7th. The names of the twins were not immediately released, but they have been now.

ET has confirmed that the girls have been named Finley and Harper! Lisa Marie and hubby Michael Lockwood welcomed twin baby girls on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The bundles of joy are the couple’s first children together.

Lisa Marie gave birth by C-section at 2:46pm. The babies weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and 5 pounds, 2 ounces. The newborns and mom are happy and healthy and resting at home.

[From ETonline]

Harper and Finley are great names. Unique, but not so far out there people can’t stomach them. Harper feels like a great Southern name, thanks to Harper Lee, and Finley has a lovely Gaelic ring, which I am, of course, partial to. Lisa Marie’s oldest daughter was born Danielle Riley but professionally she goes by Riley Keough (she’s a model). Riley, Harper and Finley go perfectly together. They’re all unisex names, but they have an underlying delicateness. Lisa Marie’s son, with ex-husband Danny Keough, is named Benjamin Storm.

Congratulations Lisa Marie, Michael, Riley, Benjamin and especially little Harper and Finley.

Lisa Marie Presley is shown outside Madeo restaurant with her husband on 7/4/08. Credit: WENN

Lisa Marie Presley, 40, and her husband Michael Lockwood, 47, welcomed twin girls on Tuesday, October 7. The babies weighed in at 5 lbs., 15oz., and 5 lbs., 2 oz and were delivered by c-section.

The newborn twins are the third and fourth child for Presley. She has daughter Danielle Riley, 19, and son Benjamin Storm, nearly 16, from her first marriage.

Presley won an apology from British tabloid Daily Mail for calling her fat and comparing her to her late father before his early demise based on photos that came out in March. Presley likened the tabloids’ attack on her weight to coyotes circling their prey, and announced in response that she was pregnant. She then sued the Daily Mail, which apologized and removed the article. It is unknown if she received a settlement.

Either way, twins are the best excuse for weight gain there is.

Congratulations to Presley and Lockwood on their two new arrivals.

Header image thanks to Michael Lockwood’s MySpace.

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Lisa Marie Presley is the latest celebrity to join the twin trend. I was desperate to have them, reducing my fat pregnant prison sentences by nine months, and now we’ve got people popping them out all over Hollywood. For Lisa Marie, the source of the twins is no mystery since they run on both sides of her family:

The singer’s mother, Priscilla Presley, has confirmed her daughter is expecting a double bundle of joy this autumn.

Priscilla reveals, “She wanted it really to be kept a secret for a long time, and I think women should, because they should be able to announce what they’re having and when it’s time to make the announcement.”

The new arrivals will follow a family tradition – Lisa Marie’s rock legend dad, Elvis, was a twin, and Priscilla has twin brothers.

San Francisco Chronicle

I wouldn’t call twins a ‘family tradition’ when it is really more genetics. With twins on both sides of the family I’m surprised that Lisa Marie hasn’t had twins during one of her previous pregnancies. She has a 19-year old daughter Dannielle and a 16-year-old son Benjamin from her first marriage. She is currently married to music producer Michael Lockwood.

I’m not sure how Lisa Marie feels about her mother blabbing all around town that she’s having twins, I have a family member who can’t keep his mouth shut, so now he’s always the last to know news. I want to tell people myself! Priscilla has in the past sort-of confirmed the twins to paparazzi. I think she’s just very excited – it must be nice to have new grandbabies when your others are getting all grown up.

I’m not sure when Lisa Marie is due to have her babies but it must be getting close as Pink threw her a baby shower last weekend, and it is six months since the news of her pregnancy was confirmed.

Other celebrity mothers to have twins or announce twin pregnancies include Jennifer Lopez, Rebecca Romijn, Marcia Cross, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Holly Hunter.

Lisa Marie Presley is shown on 4/7/08 outside Madeo restaurant with husband Michael Lockwood. Credit: WENN

Lisa Marie Presley won an apology from the U.K.’s Daily Mail, which implied that she was overweight and overeating. They published some very unflattering photos of Presley, which forced her to announce that she was actually pregnant – well before she planned on it. The Daily Mail didn’t just call Lisa Marie fat – they compared her to her father Elvis, who in his later years developed quite the voracious appetite.

Last month, Britain’s Daily Mail published a photo of Presley, dressed down and without makeup, eating with friends in Los Angeles, and the accompanying article said she was “growing just like her dad.”

Presley’s lawyers sued for libel, and on Friday the newspaper printed an apology. In fact, Presley, 40, felt forced to reveal her pregnancy secret two days after the article appeared. “I have had to show my cards and announce under the gun and under vicious personal attack that I am in fact pregnant,” she wrote on her MySpace Celebrity blog.

“My client is deeply upset and offended by this article, especially as it was widely published just as she and her family were meant to be celebrating her happy news,” her legal rep, Simon Smith, said at the time.

[From People]

I searched for the offending article, and it appears that the Daily Mail has removed it. Their apology is that typical terse stuff that somehow reads, “We’re technically apologizing for calling you fat, but only because we have to.”

On March 4, we published a photograph of Lisa Marie Presley while she was dining with friends. We suggested she might have an unhealthy appetite similar to her late father. We now accept that the suggestion is untrue and apologise to Ms Presley for any distress caused.

[From the Daily Mail]

Lisa Marie is believed to be expecting twins, but mom Priscilla was sort of tricked by a TMZ photog into answering the question. He asked, “How do you feel about Lisa having twins?” and she said “It feels great!”

The Daily Mail can provide some good articles once in a while, and has decent coverage of Brittan’s bigger stars. But at least a few times a week they seem to run out of stories to cover, and instead of finding something useful they find a bunch of unflattering photographs and dissect people’s appearance. I’d love to say that this will stop them, but there were no financial penalties, so I doubt it. But at least Lisa won a moral victory.

Here’s Lisa Marie Presley leaving Madeo restaurant with her husband Michael Lockwood on April 7th. Images thanks to WENN.