Lisa Marie Presley's Estranged Husband Michael Lockwood Ordered To Pay Her Legal Bills: The Latest On Their Messy Divorce
He has to cough up over $140,000.
Getty Celebrity divorces are often sensational but most don't get as crazy as the three-year fight that Lisa Marie Presley has been in with her estranged husband Michael Lockwood. The couple has been wrangling over the details of their split since 2016, with each of them accusing one another of horrible behavior.
Lockwood claims he signed a post-nuptial agreement that he never even read and Presely accused Lockwood of having inappropriate photos of their twins Harper and Finley on his computer.
This isn't Presley's first divorce. She was previously married to and divorced from three other men. She married Danny Keogh in 1988 and they share two kids: Riley and Benjamin Keogh (who looks a lot like Elvis, by the way.) Their divorce was finalized in 1994.
Two months later, Presley married Michael Jackson. That storied marriage ended two years later in 1996. In 2000, she married actor Nicholas Cage, though he filed for divorce only a couple of months after they tied the knot. Her marriage to Micahel Lockwood began in 2006 and the separated in 2016.
The latest ruling in the Presley/Lockwood divorce came down this week and dealt with Presley's legal fees. Who is Michael Lockwood and how much money does he owe his estranged wife's lawyers?
1. Who is Michael Lockwood?
Lockwood is a guitarist and producer who had a long career in the music industry well before he ever met Presley. He has worked with artists such as Carly Simon, Fiona Apple, Bijou Phillips, Susanna Hoffs, and Michael Penn.
By 2006, he teamed up with Presley for her album "Now What" and he served as composer, executive producer, and programmer, as well as contributing guitar on the record. They got married that same year. In 2008, they welcome twins Harper and Finley.
Presley with her twin girls.
2. They've been trying to get divorced since 2016.
In 2016, Presley filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. According to reports at the time, the couple had a post-nuptial agreement (like a prenup but written and signed after the marriage had already taken place).
Presley wasn't asking for any money from Lockwood in the divorce but she also didn't want him to have time alone with their twins. She filed for sole custody and only wanted Lockwood to have supervised visits.
3. The twins were taken into protective custody when Presley found disturbing images on Lockwood's computer.
In 2017, the divorce took a strange and nasty turn when Presley announced that her kids were in protective custody with the Department of Child and Family Services. Presley said at the time, that she had called authorities because Lockwood "[had] hundreds of inappropriate photos of children and is facing allegations of sexual abuse and neglect."
In a statement, she said, "When I discovered the photos on [Lockwood's] computer, and viewed the videos, I was shocked and horrified and sick to my stomach. I had no idea that [he] had taken those photos. I will refrain from describing the photographs in detail out of respect for the privacy of my family."
"The Beverly Hills Police Department executed a search warrant and removed over 80 of his devices they have not yet analyzed and have not released," she continued. "My understanding is that Tennessee law enforcement is also conducting an investigation related to the photos and videos that I discovered. I have no idea what else may be on those devices and fear that there are more and worse images and evidence in these unanalyzed devices."
4. No charges were ever brought over the photos.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looked into the allegations about the photos but they never accused Lockwood of a crime. "Barring any new potential evidence or information, we have concluded our involvement in this matter," T.B.I. Public Information Officer Josh DeVine said at the conclusion of the inquiry. "We have not been able to determine a crime occurred in Tennessee and accordingly do not have an open investigation."
As all this was going on, the twin girls were living with Presley's mother, Priscilla Presley. They were seeing both of their parents at the time. It wasn't really clear from reports why they lived with their grandmother at that time.
In 2019, however, old reports emerged that Presley had coached the twins to say their dad was abusing them. The photos turned out to be pictures taken of the girls in the bath and Presley had reportedly been present when they were taken.
At the same time that DCFS was investigating the claims about Lockwood, they also looked at Presley for possible abuse tied to addiction issues she was dealing with then and ruled that the children were at risk for serious harm. The entire investigation was dismissed in 2017.
5. Lockwood wanted spousal support payments.
The revelations about the photos first came out as part of Presely's objection to Lockwood's request for spousal support. The couple had a post-nuptial agreement that apparently prohibited him from asking her for money in the event of a divorce, but he tried anyway, saying he never read the document he signed. The judge in the case didn't buy that excuse because Lockwood had been working with an attorney at the time the postnup was executed and he signed it on the advice of counsel.
It was just as well that Presley didn't have to fork over money to Lockwood at that moment. This was all decided in 2018, at the same time that she discovered that her financial manager had lost most of the fortune her father left her.
6. Now, Lockwood has to pay for Presley's lawyers.
It's been over three years since this whole divorce started and they're still not done yet. In the latest twist, a judge in California ruled that Lockwood needs to pay for $140,000 dollars worth of legal fees that Presely has accrued.
The couple has yet another hearing in late December to discuss the matter further. No word on when they'll ever actually be divorced. Meanwhile, Lockwood is engaged to hairstylist Stephanie Hobgood.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.