Listín Diario gave the world premiere of this historic marriage in the world of entertainment between Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, who both died last Thursday at the age of 54 following a heart attack.
At the time, Michael Jackson was 35 and living through the scandal of being accused of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy. Then he decided to get married with Lisa Marie Presley, in the city of La Vega, Dominican Republic.
The marriage ceremony was officiated by the judge of the Second Circumscription, Hugo Álvarez Pérez, who revealed this the artist wanted to get married on a plane flying across the country, who did not operate according to the laws of this nation.
A reporter from Time Magazine and the National Enquirer had enough information to break the story what Álvarez Pérez decided to call the LISTÍN DIARIO and reveal that on Thursday, May 26, 1994, he consummated the wedding of Michael Jackson and the King of Rock’s daughter, Elvis Presley.
It was late 1993 when La Vega 2nd Circuit Judge Hugo Álvarez Pérez was contacted by a close friend, a Miami-based attorney whose name he never revealed, who put him in touch with the attorneys of Michael Jackson , who proposed going through with his marriage to Lisa Marie Presley.
It was in January 1994 that Álvarez Pérez, who was Secretary of the German Embassy (1989), met the artist’s lawyers in Los Angeles for the first time.
“There I met Jackson’s attorneys and Lisa Marie’s representative and they gave me some details of the wedding that would take place in May,” recalled Hugo Álvarez Pérez when interviewed by Listín Diario in June 2009. (This judge is deceased):
A second meeting was held in Miami in March, at which all the details of the marriage were agreed and the pre-marriage terms were announced.
The celebrity lawyer also didn’t have the exact date of the marriage, but knew the wedding would take place in mid-May.
“I signed a declaration of assurance that I can’t reveal any details of the wedding. I am very respectful and very honest and felt compelled to provide the details because an American journalist had a copy of the marriage certificate. When this journalist contacted me, he offered me 5,000 pesos for the shovel, which I declined,” he said.
Then he added: “There was no way to keep the secret anymore, so I decided to call the LISTÍN DIARIO and give them the information.”
The lawyer clarified in 2009 that he later found out that it was Jakcson who revealed to his mother that he had married Lisa Marie, and it is the artist’s mother who tells Latoya, one of her daughters, what is happening in the Dominican Republic has happened.
“It’s Latoya who is leaking the information to the press, so they come to the country to investigate,” he said.
Jackson’s arrival at the DR
On May 25, 1994, pop stars Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, along with their representatives and attorneys, arrived in the Dominican Republic via La Romana Airport on a private plane and stayed at a villa in Casa de Campo.
That day, the judge flew there to finalize the final details and had him sign the Civil Status Act 659 affidavit.
“I saw them both that day, Jackson and Lisa Marie. The lawyer asked me if it was possible to celebrate the wedding on the plane since the artist wanted to get married while flying across the country. I replied that this was impossible, that Dominican law does not provide for it because the country has different constituencies, so the wedding must take place in my jurisdiction,” the judge recalled.
So the lawyers asked for a private location with tight security. He thought of a friend’s house in the mountains, which they turned down because they wanted absolute discretion. So it was decided that the wedding would take place at the judge’s house in the El Campito urbanization in the town of La Vega.
The impression
What struck then-Judge Hugo Álvarez most about Michael Jackson was his skin color and temperament.
“His skin color was deep pink and he acted like a child because he couldn’t meet his gaze. He struck me as a shy person, mostly because of his personality. We had a short talk of about three minutes,” he said.
The pop star told her that he had heard that the Dominican Republic was a very beautiful island and that’s why he would have liked to get married by flying over the island in a plane.
“Among other things, he asked me if I was married and if I had children. I told him I have three kids, so he told me that when I got back to Los Angeles I should contact his attorneys so I could visit a ranch that he had that my kids would love,” recalled Hugo.
The wedding took place the next day, as agreed. The well-known lawyer dispatched the service personnel working at his home that day and sent his three children to his mother’s house. The wedding ceremony took place around 11:00 in the morning and only lasted about 10 minutes.
When they reached the house, two bodyguards dismounted and went through all the rooms to make sure no one was there.
I had everything arranged in the living room of my home and began the ceremony, which was held in Spanish as required by Dominican law and one of the lawyers translated.
Álvarez Pérez had saved some champagne to celebrate, but Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie, their attorneys and representatives rushed out of their home. The wedding was filmed.
More details
When the judge told the groom he could kiss the bride, Michael Jackson was surprised by the request; then Hugo Álvarez explained to her in English that it is traditional in the Dominican Republic for the bride and groom to kiss at the end of the ceremony. “Then Jackson kissed her on the mouth.”
Michael Jackson was dressed in black with a hat of the same color and a studded belt. Lisa wore a short bigie dress and a bouquet of flowers in the same color.
“I was also struck by her shiny black hair. On that day, she didn’t wear the bangs she used on her forehead while singing. Jackson came in with dark glasses and I asked him to take them off, which he immediately agreed to,” the judge said.
Álvarez demanded 700 pesos for the wedding at the time and was given two thousand dollars by the lawyers.
The marriage certificate is at number 188 of book 154, page 88 of 1994 and documents the marriage of Michael Joseph Jackson, passport number 034643028, to Lisa Marie Presley, passport number 032734072. Eve Darling and Thomas Keough signed as witnesses.
Jackson and Presley married in 1994, but the marriage ended two years later and was marked by numerous bizarre public appearances, including an unexpected kiss from Jackson during the MTV Video Music Awards and a joint interview with Diane Sawyer, in which she defended Jackson against allegations against him had sexually abused a minor.
Her other famous marriage lasted even less: Nicolas Cage filed for divorce in 2002 after four months of marriage.
Lisa Marie has been through four divorces. His first partner was Danny Keougj, whose marriage took place in 1988 and it was held in Morocco. This marriage lasted until 1994. The musician was part of their band, and the same singer called him her “best friend.” This relationship resulted in Riley Keough in 1989 and Benjamin Storm Keough in 1992.
From his last marriage, which began in 2006 and ended 10 years later in 2016, twins Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood were born.