They're History: Presley Has Filed For A Divorce -- Millions Of Dollars Up In Air

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, self-proclaimed King of Pop, lost his queen yesterday when Lisa Marie Presley filed divorce papers in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Citing irreconcilable differences, the daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley asked that the couple's 20-month marriage be ended.

Court papers provided no insight into what went wrong with one of the most publicized and mysterious celebrity unions of recent years.

The petition for divorce said the couple's community property has yet to be determined. It also asks that Jackson pay legal fees and that her name be restored to Lisa Marie Presley.

It was not known whether they had signed a prenuptial agreement. At the time of their marriage, Jackson's estimated worth was $150 million and Presley's was $100 million.

Heartbreak hospital

Court papers said the couple separated Dec. 10. At the time, Jackson was recuperating in a New York hospital after collapsing due to a viral infection while rehearsing for an HBO concert special that was later postponed.

Ever since Jackson, now 37, and Presley, 27, were wed May 26, 1994, in the Dominican Republic, the marriage was questioned by suspicious minds.

Some observers wondered if the pairing was a stunt aimed at boosting Jackson's sagging record sales or, perhaps, a way for Presley - the sole inheritor of her father's estate - to launch her own music career.

There was also speculation that the marriage was an attempt to

divert public attention from child-molestation allegations against Jackson. Those 1993 claims led to a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement between the singer and his 13-year-old male accuser. No criminal charges were ever filed in the case.

A source close to the couple denied that the marriage was a stunt. "She really was committed to the relationship," the source said, but problems in the relationship became known within the couple's inner circle "a few months ago."

"They remain good friends"

Presley broke the news at noon yesterday in a phone call to her Los Angeles publicist, Paul Bloch, who then issued a brief statement that he declined to amplify. Jackson's Los Angeles publicist, Lee Solters, confirmed the separation a few hours later, saying that the couple had "mutually agreed to go their separate ways. However, they remain good friends."

Presley yesterday was believed to be at her home near Los Angeles, while Jackson was reportedly in New York.

It was the second marriage for Presley, and the first for Jackson. Presley's first marriage, to musician Danny Keough, ended in divorce after six years. They have two children.

The Presley-Jackson marriage started with a private ceremony in the tiny town of La Vega in the Dominican Republic. Spokespeople for the couple at first denied tabloid reports of the wedding before finally acknowledging it almost three months later.

"I am very much in love with Michael," Presley announced in a statement issued 11 weeks after the wedding. The couple made light of the naysayers in a September 1994 appearance on the MTV Music Video Awards ceremonies in New York.

"Just think, nobody thought this would last," said Jackson, joining Presley in a lingering kiss.

"Do we have sex? Yes!"

Last year, the couple gave a prime-time joint interview to ABC's Diane Sawyer, in which they claimed to be deeply in love and implied they were trying to have a child.

"Do we have sex?" Presley asked during the interview. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Asked if the marriage was a publicity stunt, Jackson replied: "Like we're faking this?"

The impending divorce comes when Jackson's career is at an ebb.

Domestic sales of his latest album, "HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book I," have been disappointing. Through the end of 1995, U.S. sales were fewer than 2 million copies, according to SoundScan - far below expectations when the album was released amid a $30 million publicity blitz last summer.

Jackson, however, received good news this month when he was nominated for four Grammy awards, including best album.

Information from Newsday is included in this report.