Athena Tyler and Michael Jackson are married to people they don't belong with. The history between Michael and Athena isn't complicated; they met on We Are The World, sparks flew, but they never stayed in contact.
When their respective spouses sugg...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
JUNE 14th, 1995
A few weeks later, Athena and Michael had an interview with Diane Sawyer. They had both heard some....not so pleasant things about Diane as an interviewer, but they were both determined to set the record straight about their relationship and dispel any rumors that may be circulating about either of their families or themselves.
"I have Michael Jackson and Athena Tyler here with me this morning," Diane said as she turned back to the couple, "Now I just want to make one thing clear; both of you have said that nothing is off limits today. Any questions or topics you are open to discussing. Is that still the case?"
Michael smiled reassuringly at Athena, who nodded, "Yes, we are completely open to discussing anything with you, Diane," he said.
Diane nodded, her eyes never leaving the couple, "Glad you're here. It occurs to me, looking at the two of you, I have got to start by asking how this marriage took place, how it began. Let me guess; it wasn't over miniature golf and a.....a hot dog or something. When did it start? What was the dating?"
"Well, we first met on 'We Are the World' in 1985, when Athena was only sixteen or seventeen years old," Michael started, "At the time, she was married to Liam Barlowe, but I knew the minute I met her that she was the one—but number one, she was too young at the time. And two, she was already married. But we had so much fun that night recording with everyone else in the studio—when it was over, I meant to get her contact information, but she was already gone by the time I was done saying goodbye to everyone else," he explained, "Fast forward nine years later, I was married to Lisa Marie Presley, regretfully, and she was still married to Liam Barlowe. Our spouses at the time decided we were going to do this social experiment called 'Seven Year Switch'. Have you ever heard of it?"
Diane leaned in, fascinated by the story, "Yes, I've heard of the 'Seven Year Switch' experiment. It's supposed to show couples how to improve their relationships, right? You end up swapping with another couple for a few weeks, and then switch back and see if anything has changed."
"Yes, well, in all of that, it turns out that we all switched with each other and that's how I ended up finding Athena again," Michael continued, "Come find out, Lisa Marie and Liam were cheating on us with each other long before that experiment, which is why we ended our marriages with them and how we're sitting in front of you today, happily married to each other."
"Oh, wow," Diane mused, seemingly impressed, "So what date did you file for divorce from your spouses?" she asked, curiosity piqued.
"Well, it's kinda funny. My family had a steady part in getting us divorced from Lisa Marie and Liam. One night when we were having family dinner, I had told them about Lisa Marie's manipulative nature and how I felt like I was suffocating our entire marriage. And that I was in love with Athena," Michael said, "And after that confession, my family actually dragged me to Athena's house in the middle of the night, made me an accomplice to playfully kidnapping her and then hauled both of us to our lawyers' office," he added, "Keep in mind, this is happening at 2:00 AM."
