Priscilla Presley and Elvis Presley had a bit of a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ relationship when they first met on September 13, 1959 – she was 14 years old at the time, while he was 24. They met at a party in Germany and the sparks started flying immediately, but her parents quickly stepped in and insisted she not see him.
Nonetheless, Elvis was persistent and convinced her parents to allow him to see Priscilla. They spent a lot of time together during his military service in Germany, but they started to drift apart when he returned to the US in 1960 – they still kept in touch via the phone, but went two years without seeing one another.
By 1963, at the age of 17, Priscilla moved to Memphis to be closer to Elvis – who promised her parents that he would financially provide for her and ensure she received a proper education. She eventually moved in with him and the couple wed on May 1, 1967 – Lisa Marie Presley was born nine months later.
Considering Priscilla Presley was just 14 years old when they met, many people have criticized and even slandered Elvis Presley for sparking a relationship with a minor – with some people even suggesting that he was only in it for the sex. Of course, that wasn’t the case and Priscilla is now letting everyone know it.
The 78-year-old, whose divorce from Elvis was finalized in 1973, recently spoke to the press at the 80th Venice International Film Festival – where Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (based on Priscilla’s Elvis and Me autobiography) was being screened. It was there that she decided to set the record straight about Elvis.
“[He liked me] because I was more of a listener. Elvis would pour his heart out to me every way … and I was the person who really, really sat there to listen and to comfort him. That was really our connection,” she said on Monday (September 4) – insisting that they ‘never had sex’ and he ‘respected’ her age.
It wasn’t just her ability to listen that drew Elvis in – he also appreciated the fact that she kept their early romance a secret from everyone she knew to avoid too much press and attention. “I never gave him up in any way. I never told anyone at school I was seeing him,” Priscilla Presley said at the press conference.
Priscilla Presley Says Elvis is Still the ‘Love of Her Life’
Priscilla Presley also wanted to make one more thing clear. While she and Elvis divorced in 1973, their love for one another never faltered. In fact, she blamed Elvis’ rockstar lifestyle as the reason why they broke things off – describing his lifestyle as ‘difficult’ and declaring that ‘any woman can relate to that.’
“We still remained very close, and of course we had our daughter, and I made sure that he saw her all the time,” Priscilla said during Monday’s press conference. “It was like we never left each other — so I want to make that clear.” Elvis passed away on August 16, 1977, just four years after his divorce from Priscilla.
Priscilla Presley is preparing for the release of Priscilla, a biographical film that tells of her love story with Elvis – through the memories she painted in her 1985 biographical novel, Elvis and Me. The film is being directed by Sofia Coppola and will see Cailee Spaeny portray Priscilla and Jacob Elordi portray Elvis.
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And while Priscilla Presley was a huge supporter of the Elvis film that came out in June 2022 – the one that starred Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge – it appears Elvis’ estate is unhappy with the upcoming film. In fact, they’re calling the film a ‘money grab’ and are disappointed at how Elvis is portrayed in the film.
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