For a couple of years. Likely the most chaste period of her adult life. They were actually childhood friends and it was rumored that she married him to help give him some "cover" for the child molestation charges he was facing at the time.
It didn't work. I always laugh when I remember the way they were reporting Jackson's death, not laughing at his death but they way they worked so hard to avoid that whole topic. "A child star in the '70s, Jackson ruled as the King of Pop all through the '80s and as the 2000s dawned he was rising triumphantly again..." Uh, did you forget a decade? What was happening in the '90s? Oh. Oh. Right. Nothing to see here...
Quid Pro Quo : The Presley estate got back the rights Jackson bought of some Elvis songs.
I always thought MJ used her for cover as well, though she looked happy in the photos taken with him. Unbelievable that she inherited 100 million when she turned 25, and blew it all.