NEED TO KNOW
- Priscilla Presley revealed that she still wears a diamond cross necklace from Elvis Presley
- “He bought me beautiful things,” Priscilla writes in her new memoir, Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis
- Priscilla recently shared that despite Elvis’ alleged infidelities, he was “very, very special”
Priscilla Presley still wears a memento from Elvis Presley.
In her new memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the businesswoman and actress, 80, reveals a special way she pays homage to the late singer.
“With me, he was usually gentle and often tender. He was also extremely generous,” she writes in the book. “He bought me beautiful things, expensive gifts, amazing jewelry. I still wear the diamond cross he gave me. I had much to be grateful for in my marriage.”
In the book, Priscilla also explains how the 10-year age gap between herself and Elvis played out in their marriage.
“The problem, of course, was that as I grew into adulthood, the power imbalance created by the age gap with Elvis remained,” she writes. “It was difficult for us to have a marriage of equals when Elvis was used to being in charge. I did my best to meet all of his expectations… Elvis’s behavior fit the standards of the time. In many ways, he was a good husband. He never abused me, physically or emotionally. Though his temper could be explosive, he rarely exploded at me.”
In an interview with Today on Monday, Sept. 22, Priscilla opened up about the music legend’s infidelity during their six-year marriage, saying that despite the indiscretions, he was “very, very special.”
“Our life was very different, you know? Very, very different. And when he was in Vegas, you know, he was really starting his career back again into Vegas,” Priscilla said.
She added: “We had a home in Palm Springs, a second home and I would go there to check it out when he was in Vegas to see how it’s doing. If it’s clean, if the maids had cleaned everything before he comes home.”
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When Priscilla went to check the mailbox, she saw mail from “all girls.”
“I’m reading the mail, and the things that I was reading I really disapproved of and didn’t like,” she recalled.
Priscilla continued: “They would go and meet Elvis at the house on weekends when he went, and it was another life. Now, he would come home great and wonderful. He was still a good husband, but it was just too many of us.”
Priscilla met Elvis in 1959 at just 14 years old when Elvis was serving in the army overseas in Germany. The pair tied the knot in Las Vegas in 1967. They welcomed one child together, Lisa Marie Presley, who was born in 1968. Lisa Marie died in 2023 from a small bowel obstruction at age 54. Priscilla also has a son, Navarone Garibaldi Garcia, 38, whom she shares with Marco Garibaldi.
Priscilla and Elvis called it quits in 1972 and were divorced the following year. In addition to Elvis’ frequent alleged infidelities, Priscilla had an affair of her own with karate instructor Mike Stone.
Elvis died of a heart attack in 1977 at age 42.
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