Jackson feared dying like Elvis, says ex-wife Presley

Michael Jackson told ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley he feared dying young like her "King of Rock 'N' Roll" father Elvis.

In a blog on her MySpace page titled "He Knew", Lisa Marie, who was married to Jackson for just under two years between 1994 and 1996, said her ex-husband had once confided his fear of dying suddenly.

"Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general," Presley wrote.

"I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Father's Death. At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, 'I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.'"

Jackson's sudden death Thursday from an apparent cardiac arrest triggered an outpouring of grief that has evoked comparisons with the 1977 death of Elvis at the age of 42.

Presley also used her blog to hit out at the constant swirl of rumor and speculation surrounding her marriage to Jackson, which some critics derided as a public relations stunt designed to burnish the star's image after 1993 allegations of child abuse.

"I am going to say now what I have never said before because I want the truth out there for once," Presley said.

"Our relationship was not 'a sham' as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a 'Normal life' found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much," Presley wrote.

"I wanted to 'save him' I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened."

Source: TOI