Lisa Marie Presley Opened Up About Being 'Ferociously Protective' of Her Kids in 2014 Interview

Lisa Marie Presley — who's mourning the death of her son Benjamin Keough in an apparent suicide — previously opened up about being a "ferociously protective" parent.

On Sunday, a rep for Presley confirmed to PEOPLE that she is "beyond devastated" over the death of her 27-year-old son, whom she shared with ex-husband Danny Keough. Presley, 52, is also mom to daughter Riley Keough, 31, and 11-year-old twin girls, Harper and Finley, whom she shares with ex-husband Michael Lockwood.

"She is completely heartbroken, inconsolable and beyond devastated but trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley," said the rep. "She adored that boy. He was the love of her life."

Back in October 2014, Presley (daughter of music legend Elvis Presley) spoke to Healthy Living magazine about her family, which she called "just very normal."

Dave M. Benett/Getty Images Benjamin Keough and Lisa Marie Presley in 2010

"We all stay together. We are all very close. Wherever I am, they have their rooms and live with me," she said at the time. "We all try to stay close as much as possible. Like, in the same room, preferably for me. I don’t like it when they are far away in any way."

"I am very protective," she continued. "I just smother them in love and I am also ferociously protective. They are my priority. That’s what I do. That’s what I care most about. I keep them close to me and make sure they are happy and healthy."

Presley explained that even when her kids reach adulthood, caring for and doting on them never ends.

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"When they get older sometimes I don’t think it ever ends. When they get past 18 I think their problems just get bigger to be honest; that’s always a struggle," she said. "... We all kind of hold each other up; we are all each other’s best friends. I’m theirs but I am also their mother."

The mother emphasized her tight-knit bond with her children, adding that "none of us are happy if we haven’t seen each other past a week or two."

One of Presley's most recent social media posts, from June 2019, features the singer with her four children, including Benjamin. “Mama Lion with cubs ❤️🖤💚💙🦁🥰,” she captioned the post at the time.

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Presley proudly told CMT that each of her kids have “a little bit” of her late father in them, but that Benjamin truly was the spitting image of Elvis. “He was at the Opry and was the quiet storm behind the stage!” she said in October 2012. “Everybody turned around and looked when he was over there. Everybody was grabbing him for a photo because it is just uncanny. Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I look at him.”

The mom had a particularly close bond with her son — the two even got matching tattoos for Mother’s Day in 2009. Speaking to fans about it on Twitter in May 2012, she said it was “a Celtic eternity knot” that represents “eternal love and connection.”