Nicolas Cage honors ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley: 'She lit up every room, and I am heartbroken'

Nicolas Cage issued an emotional statement after ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley's death calling the news "devastating." Lisa Marie, the only child of icon Elvis Presley, passed away on Thursday hours after suffering cardiac arrest.

"Lisa had the greatest laugh of anyone I ever met. She lit up every room, and I am heartbroken," Cage tells Yahoo Entertainment. "I find some solace believing she is reunited with her son Benjamin."

Benjamin Keough, one of Lisa Marie's four children, died by suicide in 2020. She was "destroyed" after the tragedy and in her last social media post, was open about her grief in hopes it could help others "in some way."

Lisa Marie had several high-profile relationships throughout her life. She was married four times — to Danny Keough, Michael Jackson, Cage and Michael Lockwood. But it was her passionate romance with Cage, her third husband, that captured headlines in the early aughts.

Cage and Lisa Marie met at guitarist Johnny Ramone's 52nd birthday, according to People, and sparks flew despite the fact they were romantically involved with other partners. The King of Rock n' Roll's daughter was engaged to musician, John Oszajca, while Cage was rumored to be with his Captain Corelli's Mandolin co-star, Penélope Cruz.

"Nic had a very special interest in Lisa," a fellow party guest, Vincent Gallo, told the magazine. "When I saw them talking, I thought, 'Uh-oh.'"

Lisa Marie went public with the Face/Off star in 2001, one month after ending her relationship with Oszajca. She and Cage broke up the following year, but got back together. Their intense romance became tabloid fodder — it was rumored that Lisa Marie threw her engagement ring in the ocean at one point during a yacht trip with her fiancé. Cage purportedly hired divers but the sparkler was never recovered. The two eventually wed in August 2002, but Cage filed for divorce just three and a half months later.

"I'm sad about this, but we shouldn't have been married in the first place," Presley said in a statement at the time, per People. In his own statement, the actor added: "I did not comment on the marriage, I am not going to comment on the divorce."

Cage did open up about Lisa Marie, though, in a 2003 interview with Barbara Walters.

"I walk into a party not knowing who I'm going to meet, and there's this beautiful girl standing in the middle of the living room wearing this short leather skirt and this fluffy jacket, and she looks up at me with these big, beautiful, soulful eyes, eyes that look like they have a sad story to tell, and I just went 'Oh.' I was thunderstruck," he shared.

"We got to talking, we got to know each other, and she's hilarious and she's a real firecracker and she tells it like it is," Cage, who's admittedly a huge fan of Elvis, added to Walters. However, he noted that he "saw Lisa" and not Elvis's daughter.

Cage said they had an "unfortunate pattern of breaking up, getting back together again, breaking up, getting back together again."

"I miss her every day," Cage added. "Sometimes I wish we couldn't have rushed the marriage and sometimes I regret rushing the divorce, but it just seemed like, you know, it wasn't going to change."

Lisa Marie also reflected on their volatile relationship and Cage's abrupt divorce filing in an interview with ABC Nenews. "The most upsetting thing," she explained, "was when he called to say he was sorry, wish he hadn't done it, things like that."

The singer added: "You can't have a temper tantrum and then call me four days later and expect, you know, everything to be fine again … so, it was like that … We were both like two 12-year-olds in a sandbox, basically."

Lisa Marie said neither party was to blame for the failed marriage as they were both at fault. They remained friendly over the years.

Matriarch Priscilla Presley confirmed her daughter's death in a statement on Thursday night.

"It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," Priscilla shared. "She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known. We ask for privacy as we try to deal with this profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers. At this time there will be no further comment."

Lisa Marie leaves behind three daughters: actress Riley Keough, 33, and 14-year-old twins, Harper and Finley Lockwood.

MORE: Pink pens heartfelt tribute to Lisa Marie Presley