The fairytale romance of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley may not have lasted forever but their love for each other never waned. These two lovebirds were married for six years before his untimely death. Continue reading further to learn more about the whirlwind romance of Elvis and Priscilla.
During an interview with People magazine in 2021, Priscilla talked about her relationship with the Can’t Help Falling in Love singer and said, “I truly cherish the great times. As you grow up, there are always fears and insecurities. But as you get older you understand it all.”
How did Priscilla meet Elvis?
The famous singer met the entrepreneur for the first time in the year 1959. Then, Priscilla was merely 14 years old however he was 24 and serving in the army overseas in Germany. The two of them met at a party at his rented home in Bad Nauheim, Germany.
In an interaction with Good Morning America in June 2022, Priscilla spilled the beans on the pair’s initial days together. She went on to say “He was fun to be with. We had fun everywhere we went.”
In a 2017 interview with Today, Priscilla revealed that she was attracted by the rock star’s boyish good looks. She said, “He wasn’t bad to look at. Everyone had a crush on him.” However, it was Priscilla who made a pretty good first impression on Elvis. The couple started spending more time together after her parents gave their blessing to them.
During a tell-all interview with People magazine in 1965, Priscilla said, “Each night that I was with him he entrusted a little more of himself — his doubts, his secrets, and his frustrations. It was a lot to expect someone my age to understand, but I tried. I listened to his desires to become a great actor like his idols Marlon Brando, James Dean, Karl Malden, and Rod Steiger.”
Let’s take a look at the relationship timeline of Elvis and Priscilla Presley
September 1959: Elvis met Priscilla Beaulieu for the first time
Presley and Priscilla crossed paths for the first time when she was in ninth grade. At that time, Priscilla was escorted to Elvis’s home by Currie Grant, a friend of the singers she had met at the Eagles Club. In an interview with the People magazine, Priscilla talked about her first meeting with Elvis and she said, “I spotted Elvis immediately. “
Priscilla further added, “He was handsomer than he appeared in films, younger and more vulnerable looking with his GI haircut.” Even though she was very young then but she managed to impress the It’s Now or Never singer. He sang two songs: Rags to Riches and Are You Lonesome Tonight for her and his guests that night.
Priscilla continued, “I saw Elvis trying to get my attention. I noticed that the less response I showed, the more he began singing just for me. I couldn’t believe that Elvis Presley was trying to impress me.”
1959: The pair shared their first kiss
Their relationship was progressing day by day. Priscilla continued her streak to visit Elvis at his home in Germany, and on their third meeting, the two of them had their first kiss.
In 1985, she told People, “When it was time for me to go, he kissed me goodbye — my first real kiss. He broke away first, saying, ‘We have plenty of time, Little One.’ He kissed my forehead and sent me home.”
Over time, Elvis was able to win over the hearts of Priscilla’s parents as well and he and Priscilla continued to spend time more together until the Suspicious Minds singer left Germany in March 1960.
March 2, 1960: Elvis Presley left Germany
The pair spent his last night in Germany together before he returned home to America. Priscilla reminisced the day and told People, “We were lying on his bed, our arms around each other. I was in a state of complete despair.”
Things took a turn when Elvis left Germany. Priscilla continued “I locked myself in my room, unable to eat, unable to sleep. Finally, I forced myself to go to school and found myself swamped by reporters and photographers.”
1962: Elvis and Priscilla reunited after 2 years
Despite being on two different continents Elvis and Priscilla stayed in touch with one another for a total of 2 years. Priscilla got her parents’ permission to visit her then-beau in Los Angeles on the condition that she be chaperoned and write to them every day.
As per the reports of Pop Sugar, Elvis did not adhere to all the rules of Priscilla’s parents. Once Priscilla arrived in Los Angeles, he took her to Las Vegas and he even introduced her to drugs so that she could keep up with his lifestyle. She said, “Despite whatever misgivings I had about pills, I took them.”
1963: Priscilla’s parents let her move to Memphis to be with Elvis
In the year 1963, Priscilla’s mom and dad officially allowed her to travel to Memphis to be with the Always on my Mind singer. She told People, “Living with them turned out to be difficult. I felt out of place in their home, and did not want to be an intrusion in their personal life.”
This time, also Priscilla’s parents had set some ground rules for her. She would acquire her education from an all-girls Catholic high school nearby and she would live with Elvis’ parents in a separate house till the time she graduated and then Elvis would eventually marry Priscilla.
Elvis and Priscilla were the rule-breakers. They didn’t follow the rules of her parents. Soon afterward, she moved in with the A Little Less Conversation singer to his Graceland mansion and Priscilla made the place her permanent residence once Elvis promised her parents that he would marry her.
After a while, Elvis moved to Hollywood to pursue his acting career and get more work in movies and he left Priscilla in Memphis. Pop Sugar stated that around the time, Elvis had several affairs with female co-stars. When asked about the same, he denied it and debunked the news about his affairs, and described it as gossip.
December 1966: Elvis asked Priscilla to marry him
The Burning Love singer popped the question to Priscilla with a 3.5-carat diamond ring three weeks before Christmas. In 2017, Priscilla told NPR’s World Cafe program, “It was a surprise.
She added, “He got on his knee with a gift behind his back and told me to close my eyes. Of which I did and then told me to open them and he presented me with a beautiful engagement ring.”
Later on Priscilla told Ladies Home Journal, “Even though we were perfectly content the way we were, at that time it wasn’t nice for people to live together, [without being married].”
May 1, 1967: Elvis and Priscilla got married in Las Vegas
Elvis and Priscilla exchanged their vows on May 1, 1967, at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas when she was 21 years old. As per Vogue, the couple got hitched in front of very few guests and their wedding ceremony lasted for a total of eight minutes.
For their special day, Elvis wore a brocade silk tux and Western boots, on the other hand, Priscilla opted for a beaded chiffon gown with long lace sleeves. She bought the gown from a department store named Westwood.
The pair had their first dance on Love Me Tender, then they cut their six-tier yellow sponge cake that reportedly cost $3,200 at that time. In an interview with Memphis magazine, the pastry chef Denis Martiq said, “Each layer was filled twice with apricot marmalade and a kirsch [liqueur] flavored Bavarian cream … glazed with fondant icing and decorated with royal icing and marzipan roses.”
After their private wedding ceremony, the two of them had a press conference and breakfast champagne. Soon after their wedding, the newlyweds went to Palm Springs for their honeymoon. Before the pair headed home to Memphis, Priscilla realized that she was pregnant with their first child.
February 1, 1967: The couple welcomed their first child together
Just nine months after getting married, Elvis and Priscilla welcomed their first and only child, Lisa Marie Presley into the world on February 1, 1967. Priscilla recalled the day the pair’s daughter was born in an article published by the Orlando Sentinel in November 1985.
Around the time, Priscilla wrote, “I awoke at about eight o’clock and realized that labor had begun. Frightened, I called my mother in New Jersey and she suggested I ring the doctor immediately. He told me to head straight for the hospital. I gently woke Elvis and told him the big day had arrived.”
In the book, Elvis by the Presleys: Intimate Stories From Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and Other Family Members, Priscilla stated the morning of her daughter’s birth was stressful. She disclosed that her water broke early but it took Elvis a long time to get him out of bed.
Priscilla told Classic Country Music, “Elvis is moving around the house in slow motion while I’m crossing my legs. He finally finds his cigars, but now he’s lulling around the kitchen, getting a bite to eat. Elvis is acting like we’ve all the time in the world.”
Then, the King of Rock and Roll took his wife to the wrong hospital. As per the reports, the two of them were supposed to check in at the Methodist Hospital but luckily things turned out just fine as the couple arrived at the right location just in time to welcome their new baby.
Priscilla further added, “Elvis came into the room and kissed me, thrilled that we had a perfectly normal, healthy baby. He was already in love with her. He was in awe, saying, ‘I can’t believe that I made part of this beautiful child.’ “
1973: Elvis and Priscilla got divorced
Over time, the marriage of Elvis and Priscilla started to fall apart. Throughout the course of their six-year-long marriage, Elvis toured all over the world and he continued to cheat on his wife Priscilla with several co-stars.
Priscilla also had an extra-marital affair with her karate teacher Mike Stone in the early 1970s and she told the Are You Lonesome Tonight singer she was leaving him in 1972. The two of them began living separately on Feb. 23, 1972. They filed for divorce a few weeks later.
Elvis and Priscilla’s divorce got finalized on October 9, 1973. From there on also, the couple continued to be on good terms and they put their focus on co-parenting their daughter Lisa Marie Presley.
1977: Elvis passed away
Sadly, Elvis died at the age of 42 on August 16, 1977, at his Graceland home in Memphis. According to preliminary autopsy findings, it was revealed that he passed away due to a heart attack.
Priscilla talked about the singer’s death and said, “It was a shock, although I saw his health failing and even went back to Memphis once to see if there was anything I could do.”
Priscilla paid a heartfelt tribute to Elvis on social media in 2021
In January of 2021, Priscilla took to her Facebook and paid homage to the If I Can Dream singer and wrote, “It’s difficult to believe Elvis would be 86 today, January 8th. I think back and wonder…if he were here today, how would he celebrate in the year 2021.”
She further added, “It’s not really hard as Elvis was somewhat…a creature of habit. I believe he would be celebrating exactly the same way. Having a small number of his friends, family, and his Memphis Mafia all gathered at Graceland.”
Priscilla concluded by saying, “I can almost hear his laugh, see him joking around, and know he would be staying up into the early morning hours… ending at the piano singing gospel songs. Elvis, lost in the lyrics, as if no one was around. Then as the song comes to an end and with a slight smile, turns to his guest and nods with satisfaction as everyone applauds for more. Those are cherished moments embedded in my mind.”
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I’m sure everyone knows that Elvis loved Priscilla and she loved him twice as much. For Elvis never to remarry explains that. Priscilla tried to help him and she really did not want to leave but she had to go. The movie was perfect! Hope Priscilla, Austin and Baz gets an Oscar! Good work Priscilla to tell your story accurately and no one else could have done it !!