There are many celebrities out there with huge global followings. However, few entertainers have commanded the kind of larger-than-life, legendary status Elvis Presley does among his diverse fanbase.
Fans of Elvis often fall into the category of superfans. Their kind of fandom borders on worship and often only leads them to see the positives of those they revere. However, as Elvis’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, revealed, the King wasn’t always as wonderful as people thought.
Priscilla Presley met Elvis when her family moved to Germany in the 1950s. At the time, she was only 14 years old and oddly not as enamored by the star as most other girls were in those days.
Elvis eventually did win her over, and the pair kept in touch through letters for two years after their first meeting. Elvis completed his stint in the U.S army by this point but had already been introduced to amphetamines by his colleagues during that time.
In the early days of Elvis and Priscilla’s courtship, they were forced to keep up a long-distance relationship. This kind of relationship is difficult to manage in any circumstance and even harder when one party is a global superstar.
The pair later moved in together and dated for over seven years. Despite staying with him, Priscilla recounts that there were problems even from that point.
The couple had not been married yet and were already struggling through these periods. There were constant rumors that Elvis was having affairs with co-stars from the movies he acted in.
During his time in the army, he had also lost his mother to hepatitis complications, a devastating loss from which he never fully recovered. Things would get worse from there.
After keeping their relationship secret, Elvis and Priscilla finally married in 1967 at a Las Vegas hotel. Despite marrying the most eligible bachelor in the world, Priscilla’s seemingly perfect life with him was disappointing from the start.
The wedding ceremony lasted roughly 8 minutes, hardly a romantic union by any standard. After marriage, Priscilla was subjected to another problematic side of the King.
According to Priscila, after marriage, Elvis became highly possessive and controlling. From everything she wore to the opinions she was allowed to have, it seems Elvis had a hand in it all.
Another bizarre admission of Priscilla was that Elvis was obsessed with her staying youthful. He would become upset at signs of wrinkles and want her to be forever young. If this wasn’t bad enough, she was also afraid of him.
Priscilla has also spoken about a much darker side to Elvis. It’s uncertain whether the entertainer’s unfortunate habits might have played a role here, but according to Priscilla, he could become highly temperamental.
The worst part was that this side of him scared her as he also became violent. While physical abuse was never alleged, she did confirm that he would do things like taking shots at TV sets with his revolver.
Most of these revelations came courtesy of Priscilla’s memoir, in which she recounted many harrowing details about her life with the legend. Elvis Presley is never entirely gone away in the minds of all those that adore him.
However, interest in the icon has once again come to fore with the release of a new motion picture based on his life. While many look back fondly on the superstar, Priscilla’s remarks about her life with him often remind us that he was far from perfect.
Despite Priscilla’s tales of Elvis’s darker sides being tragic, they’re not unsurprising. Even while Elvis was alive and in his prime, controversy was never far behind. After all, Elvis was known as a rebel who indulged in what was considered offensive, vulgar music and dance for its time.
Add his public infidelities and well-known problems with substances to the mix, and suddenly it’s not that much of a revelation that he had a darker side behind closed doors.
After suffering through all these turbulent times with Elvis, by the end of their marriage, Priscilla decided to hit back. In the very end, the couple was known to have a somewhat publically open marriage.
Priscilla has always been forthcoming about the fact that she also stepped out of her marriage. Not with just anybody; it was with a karate instructor that Elvis recommended, no less.
By the time they divorced in October 1973, Elvis was a shadow of his former self. His much-publicized battles with being overweight, taking cocktails of prescription pills, and excessive indulgence took their toll.
Sadly, he often hinted in somewhat cryptic ways that he regretted losing Priscilla. Of course, the couple had one shining light from their marriage: their daughter Lisa Marie. However, she once seemed destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
When you’re the daughter of Elvis Presley, it’s probably hard to meet men that can claim to be in the same league. However, if there was ever another entertainer that could rival Elvis in sheer star power and fame, it was Michael Jackson.
Whether by chance or design, Elvis and Priscilla’s only child once married the King of Pop. Just like her mother, she also dished about the many unsettling eccentricities of her ex-husband. The similarities between the two were sometimes eerie.
Like Elvis, Michael Jackson led a larger-than-life existence and was a megastar. However, he was also known for many controversies and, sadly, also succumbed to a life shortened by overmedicating.
Both tragically passed well before their time and certainly before the world had seen enough of their musical genius. However much both these icons are still revered, stories like Priscilla’s and Lisa Marie’s remind us that all that glitters isn’t always gold.
What distinguished entertainers like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson were their ability to transcend generations. Their music, dancing, and overall appeal both remain timeless, no matter how much time passes beyond their lives.
While one must pause to remember that Elvis Presley had many demons and was far from perfect, the entertainment world is undoubtedly a richer place by his inclusion in it.
Priscilla Presley has been very candid about the darker sides of Elvis Presley. However, perhaps being cognizant of just how much he meant to so many fans around the world, she has also often tempered these truths by remembering his good traits too. Elvis may have had his faults, but he was also known to be extremely kind, charitable, and a person that often fought for social justice issues in his own way long before they became popular. Whatever his faults, he will forever remain a true legend.
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
