Larry Gatlin on losing Lisa Marie Presley: 'It's hard to understand'
Country music star Larry Gatlin reflects on Lisa Marie Presley's life and discusses Priscilla Presley's loss on 'Fox & Friends.'
Lisa Marie Presley attempted to stay strong for her three daughters while mourning the loss of her beloved son Benjamin Keough.
The songstress, who was the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, passed away on Jan. 12 at age 54 after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. Before her sudden death, Presley was vocal about her life while enduring personal heartache. Keough died by suicide in 2020 at age 27.
"I had not spoken to her in the last [several] months, but I knew that she had been really struggling with managing her grief after Ben’s death," Presley’s friend, author Harry Nelson, told Fox News Digital. "I personally was hoping that she was going to turn the corner on this. She was involved in another writing project, and we had some conversations about that."
Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley and a singer-songwriter dedicated to her father’s legacy, died after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. She was 54. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Icelandic Glacial)
Nelson said Presley "was in a really dark place related to Ben’s passing" when they last spoke.
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"I was reaching out to see if I could move forward with some of the writing we had spoken about," he recalled. "And it was very clear she wasn’t in a place to do that. I told her to reach out when she was ready. I never had the chance to speak to her again."
Nelson, the managing partner of a health care law firm, wrote a book in 2019 titled "The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain." Presley wrote the foreword, where she described overcoming addiction. The mother of four recalled how she was given a prescription for pain medication after the birth of her twin daughters in 2008. According to Presley, the short-term prescription led to "a difficult path to overcome this dependence, and to put my life back together."
Presley's father, as well as her ex-husband Michael Jackson, died of complications from drug use.
Ben Keough and Lisa Marie Presley attending the world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" at Odeon Leicester Square on Nov. 11, 2010, in London, England. Presley's only son passed away in 2020 at age 27. (Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)
Nelson, who met Presley sometime in 2014 through mutual friends, said the star was wary about opening up about her past battle. However, she wanted to help inspire others to seek help.
"I think she was struggling with her fear of the topic," Nelson explained. "She was being attacked already in the divorce proceeding by her ex-husband’s lawyers in terms of whether she was in sufficient health to be a mother. So I thought it was a chance for her to reclaim some of her power by taking control of her story and sharing the parts of it that she was willing to share."
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"I was a big believer that the most effective way to destigmatize seeking treatment and remove the shame that holds people into addiction… [is to] get those that we put up on a pedestal and those we revere to share their stories," he continued. "I think it has enormous power. I’m just kind of a nobody, a lawyer writing about the things that I was seeing. But I thought that this was a chance to get people to hopefully hear this message of the opioid crisis. The way that we were dealing with it as a society wasn’t working. So I wanted to try to get some information out there to change how people think about it and start to do something to save lives."
Lisa Marie Presley wrote the foreword to Harry Nelson's book "The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain." (Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
Nelson said that behind closed doors, Presley was "incredibly candid" about her life story. She was hopeful her journey could impact other lives.
"I was blown away by how smart and thoughtful she was in those conversations," said Nelson. "But at the same time, it weighed so heavily on her in terms of what the perception was going to be… in public. I think that tension was a challenge that she was constantly navigating."
In her foreword, Presley stressed that her children gave her "the purpose to heal." Nelson said the family bond was undeniable.
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Actress Riley Keough, left. with her mother Lisa Marie Presley. Harry Nelson told Fox News Digital that Presley's children were "the north star" of her life. (Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
"I think her children were like the north star of her life," Nelson explained. "Lisa went through so much trauma, but I think her purpose and drive in life were all about being the best possible mom and protecting her kids from the things that she had to deal with as a child. She wanted to make sure that they had a shot at a good life. She was so proud of them and such a devoted mom. I think that was the overriding thing that I took away from our conversations."
"She was somebody whose real sense of purpose was being a mom, an artist and keeper of her father’s legacy," he shared. "I think all those things gave her the drive to get through some of the very dark times, including the need to get sober. I think she had a real sense of purpose in all the times that I spoke and interacted with her. I think those things gave her the strength to do what she needed to do."
But Presley wasn’t always just business. Nelson said that at home, she was "very funny" and always put her children first.
Lisa Marie Presley with her twin daughters Harper Vivienne Ann and Finley Aaron Love at Narita International Airport on April 5, 2014, in Japan. Presley is survived by three daughters. (Jun Sato/GC Images)
"Having the chance to sit with her in her home was really a privilege," said Nelson. "And it was great to see her in action as a mom. She was always making sure her kids were fed and taken care of."
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During the final years of her life, Presley was focused on writing. She wrote an essay last August in honor of National Grief Awareness. In it, Presley revealed what she learned in the time since her son’s death.
"I’ve dealt with death, grief and loss since the age of 9 years old," Presley wrote in the essay shared with People magazine. "I’ve had more than anyone’s fair share of it in my lifetime and somehow, I’ve made it this far."
Lisa Marie Presley at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 10, 2023, in Beverly Hills, California. (Todd Williamson/NBC/NBC via Getty Images)
"But this one, the death of my beautiful, beautiful son?" she continued. "The sweetest and most incredible being that I have ever had the privilege of knowing, who made me feel so honored every single day to be his mother? Who was so much like his grandfather on so many levels that he actually scared me? Which made me worry about him even more than I naturally would have? No. Just no ... no no no no ..."
Nelson said that he supported "her bravery" in telling her story.
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"I’m just so sad she’s not with us," said Nelson. "I hope the world will remember her as a loving mother and devoted daughter… somebody who wanted to be a positive force in the world to try to help other people."
From left, Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, Riley Keough, and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood attend the Handprint Ceremony honoring Three Generations of Presleys at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 21, 2022, in Hollywood, California. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
"It’s just such a loss," he added.
Presley’s death was confirmed by her mother, Priscilla Presley.
With the release last year of Baz Luhrmann’s major musical feature "Elvis," Presley and her mother, 77, had been attending red carpets and award shows alongside the stars from the film.
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Elvis Presley with Priscilla Presley and their daughter Lisa Marie Presley, circa 1970. The singer passed away in 1977 at age 42. (GAB Archive/Redferns)
She was at the Golden Globes to celebrate Austin Butler’s award for playing her father. Just days before, she was in Memphis, Tennessee, at Graceland – the mansion where the rock 'n' roll legend lived and died – on Jan. 8 to celebrate her father’s birthday.
In her lifetime, Presley became involved in numerous humanitarian causes, from anti-poverty programs administered through the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation to relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. She received formal citations from New Orleans and Memphis for her work.
Presley will be buried at Graceland. Her final resting place will be next to Keough, Riley's rep confirmed to Fox News Digital. Elvis and other members of the Presley family are also buried at Graceland.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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