An unexpected and quite delicate detail has emerged in the family of Elvis Presley. According to American media, actress Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, allegedly is the biological mother of John Travolta's younger son and his late wife Kelly Preston.
According to TMZ, this concerns 15-year-old Benjamin Travolta. It is claimed that Riley Keough donated her eggs to the couple when they decided to become parents again after the tragic death of their eldest son Jett in 2009.
This information came to light not from tabloid gossip but during legal proceedings. Former employee of Priscilla Presley, Bridget Cruz, filed a lawsuit against Navarone Garibaldi — Priscilla Presley's son — over a breach of business contract. However, the public's attention was drawn not to the essence of the lawsuit but to a sensational detail mentioned in the legal documents.
They claim that 36-year-old Riley Keough is the biological mother of Benjamin — the younger son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston. According to Cruz's version, the actress agreed to donate her eggs when the couple faced conception issues. Benjamin was born in 2010, a year after Jett's death, who died from an epileptic seizure caused by Kawasaki syndrome.
Bridget Cruz also states that previously Travolta and Preston considered using the eggs of Lisa Marie Presley — Riley Keough's mother — but abandoned that idea. According to Cruz, the reason was concerns related to Lisa Marie's alleged opioid addiction, which she describes very harshly in the documents.
According to the plaintiff's claims, there was an agreement between John Travolta, Kelly Preston, and Riley Keough: for the egg donation, the actress allegedly received a Jaguar car and a reward ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. Cruz claims that Michael Lockwood — Lisa Marie Presley's ex-husband — kept this information secret for years, viewing it as a potential way to make money.
Cruz alleges that Lockwood found himself in a dire financial situation and decided to use this secret to seek compensation for himself and his daughters from his marriage to Lisa Marie — twins Harper and Finley, who are now 17 years old.
Only indirect evidence has been presented in court: a note with the contact information of infertility clinics with the names of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, as well as screenshots of messages where Benjamin is referred to as "the beautiful great-grandson of Priscilla Presley." Additional attention was drawn to the fact that the boy is named the same as Lisa Marie Presley's son and Riley Keough's brother — Benjamin, who died by suicide in 2020.
Michael Lockwood himself categorically rejected such claims in a comment to the Daily Mail. "This sounds just crazy. I haven't heard anything about it," he stated.
Riley Keough is the eldest daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, the granddaughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. She was born in 1989 during Lisa Marie's marriage to musician Danny Keough. In this same union, son Benjamin was born, who died at the age of 27. Later, Lisa Marie was married to Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage, and Michael Lockwood, with whom she had twins Harper and Finley. Lisa Marie Presley passed away in 2023.
Since 2015, Riley Keough has been married to stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen. In 2022, the couple welcomed a daughter, Tupelo Storm, and in September of this year, the actress became a mother for the second time. Both children were born via surrogacy.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston married in 1991. In 1992, they had a son, Jett, in 2000 — a daughter, Ella, and in 2010 — Benjamin. In 2020, Kelly Preston died after battling breast cancer.
