Elvis Presley was a man with many titles. One of them was "The King". After his music career took off he became America's favorite celebrity and was immortalized in everyone's hearts. In a way, The King's wife Priscilla, and his daughter Lisa Marie felt like every American's family.
But what every famed celebrity has to deal with is numerous scandals, and Elvis was no exception. There were many rumors about his addictions to many about his marriage. No matter how he's remembered, his legacy won't be forgotten. His ex-wife, Priscilla decided to come forward with a few things about Elvis we hadn't heard before.
Meeting Priscilla
While he was in the military, he was stationed in Germany and had a party at his house. Priscilla came to the party and this is where they met. Priscilla was a 14-year-old but allegedly she didn't look like a minor. Her father, a US Navy Pilot, forbid Elvis from seeing her since she would always stay out with him far past curfew.
Elvis put on his then undiscovered charm and managed to win over Mr. Beaulieu's favor. He could see Priscilla and he promised she would never miss curfew again.
Priscilla's First Trip
After Elvis had to leave Germany, he would still call Priscilla occasionally so they wouldn't lose touch. After many attempts in getting her parents to let her visit Las Vegas to see Elvis they finally gave in on the condition that Elvis paid for the flight there.
Even though her parents were none too happy about her going to Las Vegas, that's exactly where Elvis took her. Priscilla had to take pills just to match Elvis at this point.
Priscilla Was 22-Years-Old When They Got Married
Elvis proposed to Priscilla in 1966, but there are rumors that he only did so because he had no other choice. Priscilla was a minor when they first started dating.
Allegedly Priscilla said that she would go to the media and tarnish his reputation if he didn't propose to her. If he had refused he could have faced jail time for seeing a much younger woman than himself.
The First Night
Elvis preferred "pure" girls. Priscilla was no exception and to prove that their child was born exactly nine months after their wedding night.
It's not actually known if they really did wait for their wedding night. But what is known is that it didn't take long for Elvis to start going off and cheating on Priscilla with other women. I guess he had had enough of "pure" girls.
There Were Multiple Affairs
With the reputation Elvis had acclaimed, every woman in America would have gladly had him to themselves. And Elvis wouldn't let something like marriage stop him from seeing them from time to time. Elvis felt like he needed attention from women constantly.
When women would ask him about his wife he told them that his marriage with Priscilla was an open one. At this point, his word wasn't too reliable since he was taking so many pills. Even with an alleged "open" marriage Elvis still made Priscilla follow some weird requests.
Elvis And Ann-Margaret
After Elvis costarred with Ann-Margaret in Viva Las Vegas he began to feel chemistry with her. It wasn't long until he had an affair with her. This would become his most famous affair and although it was brief, she had the moniker "Thumper" when she would call his house - Graceland.
Elvis did what any respectable man should do when his wife found out about the love affair, he denied it. He said that it was a publicity stunt for the movie and that's why he was spending time with her. Even though Elvis had his fair share of affairs we can't say that Priscilla was perfect.
Priscilla Is Not So Innocent
From most sources, you'd hear that Elvis was the one going off having love affairs while Priscilla was at home. But in actual fact, she isn't as pure as that. She had her secrets she kept from him too.
After they got married and they had their daughter, Elvis seemed to have little interest in Priscilla. So she looked to other men to satisfy her needs. She allegedly had an affair with her dance instructor at the time, Mark. Her karate teacher was apparently also having an affair with her. Elvis eventually found out and promise that he would give her the attention she deserved.
The Divorce
Still, though, the couple just seemed disconnected once their child was born. They didn't even live in the same city as each other and they had numerous affairs.
Elvis couldn't take it anymore and decided to file for divorce in 1973. He didn't like all the men Priscilla was seeing. The two parents had charged custody of their child and since there was no bad blood between them afterward, they still remained good friends. But after the divorce, Priscilla shared some things about Elvis that had everyone raising their eyebrows.
Priscilla Lost Herself
Since she became involved with Elvis at such a young age, she said they a piece of her was taken away. Her entire identity revolved around Elvis and being his wife. She didn't feel like her own person.
In an interview, Priscilla said: "I was kind of lost really in who I was earlier in my life, I really didn't have teenage years, I learnt so much about him and was with him so much that I thought the way he did, I knew what he liked…I knew his thoughts, I knew everything as far as you could possibly do when you live together at such a young age."
The King Was A Twin
Even though Elvis seems so unique things might have turned out very differently. You see, Elvis was alone in his mother's womb, he shared it with an identical twin.
Sadly, Jesse Garon Presley, His big brother, was stillborn. He was born 35 minutes before Elvis and if things had turned out differently we might have seen a duo Presley act. Wouldn't that have been something! Still, only one person is fit to be The King.
Elvis Was A Germophobe
Priscilla revealed even more information about Elvis in 2015. She said that he almost had OCD when it came to the spread of germs. She said: "He never liked to go to people's homes to eat because [he] didn't like eating with other people's silverware, so he would take his own silverware."
Elvis would always drink on the side of a cup that was closest to the handle since he knew normally no one would drink from that side.
He's Always Looked Different
Elvis' signature look has been causing him to stand out from the crowd since he was a teenager. In high school, he looked much more mature than the rest of his classmates.
He grew sideburns and styled his hair with rose oil and Vaseline. This hairstyle would later become distinctly "Elvis." Elvis didn't spend time playing sports or going to parties like the other kids in his class. He spent all of his time listening to blues and immersing himself in music.
Elvis Was A Gun Enthusiast
Elvis was from the South and he fully embraced the South's enthusiasm for guns. He was an avid collector of guns and he liked to carry guns with him at all times.
It's reported that Elvis owned about 37 different kinds of guns. After Elvis died, one of his guns was auctioned off for $28,000. Elvis spent some time in the U.S. Army, and although he wasn't thrilled about being drafted, he was excited about the guns in the army.
Elvis' Father Went To Jail
The public didn't know about Elvis' father being locked up until after Elvis died. Elvis' manager wanted to protect his public image, so he told Elvis not to talk about his father's sordid past.
In 1976, Vernon Presley was imprisoned in Mississippi State Penitentiary for forging a check. Vernon was given the check for selling a hog. He wasn't impressed with the selling price, so he added some more zeros.
Elvis Never Wanted To See Her Getting Ready
It later became clear that Elvis had many ideals when it came to the women he was interested in. In an interview with Country Living, Priscilla later revealed that Elvis always wanted to have a mystique about himself, and he wanted his wife to be that way, too.
"He never wanted to see me getting dressed. He wanted to see the result of getting dressed," she said. "I left because... I needed to find out what the world was like. I didn't really know who I was."
Elvis' New Girl
Just five months after Elvis and Priscilla separated, Elvis started a relationship with Memphis beauty queen, Linda Thompson.
Elvis and Linda were together for four years. During that time, Linda revealed that she was shocked by how many substances Elvis was ingesting. Linda said that their relationship was "special," but that she knew that Elvis was never faithful to her. The pair split up just nine months before Elvis died. Keep reading to find out what other secrets The King was keeping about himself.
Lisa Marie Got The Estate
Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley was just 9-years-old when her father died. Even though she was only 9, she became the joint heir to her father's large estate. She shared the estate with Elvis's father and grandmother Vernon Presley and Minnie Mae Presley.
After Vernon and Minnie May died in 1980, Lisa Marie became the sole heir of Graceland, Elvis' multimillion-dollar home. At this point, Lisa Marie has sold 75% of the estate.
Elvis' Weight Gain
As Elvis got older, he began to gain weight and lose his figure that he was known for. Apparently, Elvis' weight gain got out of control after a mild concussion intensified his depression.
Elvis was suffering from headaches and insomnia and his behavior became erratic. Elvis turned to pills to relieve the pain, which caused him to gain weight. These pills may have also contributed to Elvis' untimely death.
Elvis' Secret Surgery
Elvis' partner Linda Thompson later revealed that Elvis had a secret facelift when he was 40 years old. Elvis was going through a midlife crisis and he thought he needed surgery to help him with his body image issues.
Thompson also revealed that Elvis was especially self-conscious about his "skinny little chicken neck" and that's why he wore those trademark high collars. This was apparently the only cosmetic procedure that Elvis ever had. Elvis wasn't the only Presley family member who had a secret surgery
Plenty Of Pills
People always assumed that Elvis was into drugs, which went along with the rock and roll lifestyle. Also, Elvis' addiction issues were public knowledge. People didn't know the extent of his addiction though.
Elvis's doctors had prescribed the star thousands of doses of pills around the time of his death. Linda Thompson said that Elvis would get the pills whenever he could. She spoke about a trip to the dentist during which "Elvis opened the cabinet and took out gigantic jars of pills. He began taking handfuls of pills and stuffing them into random pockets."
Elvis' Extreme Diet
After Elvis gained a bunch of weight, the public turned on him and started publically shaming the King. Elvis decided that he needed to go to extreme lengths to get back down to his previous weight.
These extreme lengths involved self-imposed sedation. Elvis would sleep for most of the day and only get up to go to the bathroom. He also started taking more pills. Everyone around him was worried about his health.
Lisa Marie And Michael Jackson
Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie married pop legend Michael Jackson just 20 days after she divorced her first husband. They decided to get married in 1994 after Lisa Marie supported Michael during his child harassment trial.
Lisa Marie said, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong, and that he was wrongly accused and, yes, I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it."
Plotting Against Priscilla's Lover
IN 1973, during one of Elvis' shows, four men climbed on stage and tried to attack Elvis. Elvis was convinced that the men were sent by Priscilla's lover, Mike Stone.
After this incident, Elvis became obsessed with getting revenge on Stone. At one point he said, "There's too much pain in me … Stone [must] die." Some of Presley's close friends actually offered to get a hit man to kill Stone, but Elvis declined the offer.
The Accidental Pregnancy
In 1971, Elvis had an affair with Capitol Hill staffer Joyce Bova. Joyce had an identical twin and she and Elvis were able to bond over that fact. Elvis spoke to her about his own twin brother who had died at birth.
Elvis and Joyce had a very close relationship, and Elvis offered to leave Priscilla to be with Joyce. At one point, Joyce got pregnant with Elvis' baby. She had an abortion and never told Elvis about the pregnancy.
Elvis And Nixon
In 1970, Elvis got the opportunity to meet President Richard Nixon in the White House. In the meeting, Elvis talked about his patriotism and how he doesn't really care for hippie culture and thought that the Beatles' influence was anti-American.
Elvis asked Nixon for a Bureau of Narcotics badge as he was collecting patriotic items. Nixon got a bit uncomfortable and denied Elvis' request. However, Elvis was later given the badge in a private meeting.
After The Divorce
Elvis took the divorce from Priscilla pretty hard. His health started to decline after the official split and he started abusing substances more and more. He actually overdosed twice the year after the divorce. One overdose left him in a coma for three days.
Elvis was taking plenty of substances to cope with the loss of his marriage, even though it wasn't a faithful marriage. He really missed Priscilla and the public pressure got intense.
Tedious Touring Schedule
Even though Elvis was going through a lot of health issues, he wasn't going to let that stop him from touring. In 1973 alone he performed 168 concerts.
That year in Maryland, Elvis walked on stage and was a complete mess. He held on to the mic stand for support, he was slurring his words, and nobody could understand what he was singing. Everyone around him was begging him to take a break, but he refused.
Paparazzi Problems
When Elvis died, so many news outlets were desperate for one last picture of "The King." They were bribing Elvis' cousins to let them into the funeral home so they could get a quick shot of the star's body.
The National Enquirer posted that picture on the front page of their paper and it sold a record-breaking 6.5 million copies. That photo became the most famous front page photograph in history.
Elvis' Signature Hair
Sure, Elvis is famous for his voice and his songs, but he's also just as famous for his look and his style. In some ways, Elvis' style was his biggest asset.
Elvis' hair was a big deal. He didn't let very many people cut it. He trusted Mr. Gill, his mother's hairdresser, so Elvis would fly him out to wherever he was when he needed a little touch-up. Mr. Gill saved some of Elvis' hair clippings and sold them at auction after Elvis died.