The Life of Elvis Presley’s Wife And The Reason She Couldn’t Be With Him Without Having Her Makeup and Hair Done

Jan 27, 2021 by apost team

Marrying a celebrity may seem glamorous, but it isn't always easy. While many ordinary people who have married celebrities have no complaints, some marriages test a person's endurance — like the marriage between Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley. Marred by infidelity and control issues, the couple found themselves in a difficult situation more often than not when it came to their marriage. Read on to learn more about this famous couple. 

Widely celebrated as the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley met his wife Priscilla Presley when he was 24 and she was just 14. Cupid's fateful arrow struck in 1959 during a party that Elvis Presley hosted in Bad Nauheim, Germany. At the time, Elvis Presley was serving in the United States Army.

Priscilla Presley, a doll-faced angel, caught his eye. He hoped she returned his love and played the song "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" as a way to impress her, per Biography.com. When Priscilla Presley left that night, she thought she would never see Elvis Presley again.

After their first meeting, Elvis Presley invited Priscilla Presley on a date, and they shared their first kiss. Because of the 10-year age difference, Priscilla Presley's parents worried about the new couple and wished to speak with Elvis Presley right away. He immediately laid their concerns to rest upon meeting them. Elvis Presley said that he was "very fond" of Priscilla Presley, and he told them that he felt that Priscilla Presley was mature for her age. His true motives may have diverged from that statement, however. Rex Mansfield, a friend of Elvis Presley in the army, said that when his relationship first began with Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley told Mansfield that he could train her any way he wanted because of her age.

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No matter the motives, love blossomed between the two, and Elvis Presley became the center of Priscilla Presley's world. After a while, Priscilla Presley began to apply her lots of makeup at Elvis Presley's request and dress in a more adult fashion, according to Biography.com. She moved to Memphis, Tenn. in 1962 to complete her high school there, and Elvis Presley implied that he intended to marry her when he spoke with her parents. During the time, she lived with Elvis Presley's father and step-mother, but she soon after moved in with Elvis Presley.

To stay up to Elvis Presley's schedule, she took pills that he provided, allowing her to keep a busy schedule of both attending classes and remaining available for Elvis Presley, according to Biography.com.

In an interview from 1985, Priscilla Presley said, "Nights when his mood was calm and peaceful, he would describe his ideal woman and tell me how perfectly I fit this image. He liked soft-spoken brunettes with blue eyes. He wanted to mold me to his opinions and preferences. Fidelity was very important to him, especially on the woman’s part." Elvis Presley talked about how he didn't have a problem waiting until Priscilla Presley reached adulthood for physical relations. He appreciated her purity. She had to make sacrifices to have a relationship with Elvis Presley, such as dealing with Elvis Presley's relations with other women.

Many people have commented on how Priscilla Presley shared some resemblance with Elvis Presley. That wasn't a coincidence. Elvis Presley seems to have shaped Priscilla Presley into the way that he wanted. He recreated her in his own image. For example, he requested that the hairdresser dye her hair black since he wanted her to have the same style he had so they matched, as per Biography.com.

At one point, Priscilla Presley even called herself Elvis Presley's "living doll." Not only did he demand that she improve her posture, but he also had her place porcelain caps on her teeth. Her hair was dyed black like his, placed in a style that matched his pompadour, and he also asked that her clothes be similar to his. Elvis Presley demanded that Priscilla Presley match up with his requirements, such as expecting that she couldn't show herself to him until she had her makeup and hair done, because even though Elvis Presley loved the end result, he didn't want to see her putting herself together.

On ITV's Loose Women, Priscilla Presley talked about how everything revolved around Elvis Presley and his life. If she had problems, Elvis Presley wasn't interested. Her life centered around his happiness. Nothing else seemed to matter.

On May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla Presley took their vows at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas. Few guests attended because of limited invites, and the wedding ceremony ended in 8 minutes. While Priscilla and Elvis Presley had essentially been together for a few years by the time they were married, Elvis Presley's fame was hard on both of them. Their relationship had to be kept secret for a long time and was only announced publicly after their marriage. After her wedding, Priscilla Presley began receiving hate mail from Elvis fans. “It was hard on me,” she told Closer Weekly in 2017.

Soon after, Priscilla Presley became pregnant. Seven months into the pregnancy, Elvis and Priscilla Presley took a break from their relationship. The relationship hit a rocky patch as Priscilla learned that Elvis Presley had had extramarital affairs. He had had affairs before their marriage, but Priscilla Presley didn't want to put up with it after their marriage.

However, when Lisa Marie Presley was born, the old flame was rekindled. However, their relationship was never the same, and Elvis Presley was unwilling to have intimate relations with her after giving birth. "He had mentioned before we were married that he had never been able to make love to a woman who’d had a child," said Priscilla Presley. Soon after Lisa Marie Presley's birth, Elvis Presley continued to maintain his partying lifestyle and was not faithful to her once again. While she turned a blind eye as long as she could, Priscilla Presley said that ultimately, there was infidelity on both sides.

Six years into marriage, Priscilla Presley filed for divorce. She later told ET, "I did not divorce him because I didn't love him. He was the love of my life, but I had to find out about the world." Priscilla Presley met Elvis Presley at a crucial time when girls become women. Because everything revolved around Elvis Presley and his wishes, she never had the opportunity to learn about herself and her beauty. Her every waking second was about making him happy. She followed what he did and never had a life of her own. Like the example of Elvis controlling her hairstyle and makeup, Priscilla lost her voice, making a celebrity happy.

In the divorce, Priscilla and Elvis Presley shared custody of Lisa Marie Presley. Each saw her regularly, and everything went smoothly as they remained on friendly terms. After the divorce, Priscilla kept the Presley surname, but she did her hair and makeup however she pleased. She opened a clothing boutique and even starred in movies like "The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear." Following the divorce, Priscilla Presley found her own voice and had her own life again.

After her divorce from Elvis Presley, Priscilla Presley also had a number of serious relationships. Her most significant relationship was with Marco Garibaldi, a screenwriter turned computer programmer. Their relationship lasted for 22 years, and they both share one son, Navarone Garibaldi, who was born in 1987. 

As you could imagine, a life where everything revolves around someone else's happiness wouldn't be much of a relationship. The many demands that Elvis Presley placed on Priscilla Presley set her back in the discovery of herself. Priscilla Presley says that she only has warm memories of her time with Elvis Presley, despite this. About Elvis Presley's death on Aug. 16, 1977, Priscilla Presley has written, "I wanted to die."

Even during and after the divorce, Elvis and Priscilla Presley remained close friends, and she was largely the one responsible for turning Graceland into a tourist attraction. Priscilla Presley has defended and honored Elvis Presley's legacy.

Knowing what you now know about the Elvis and Priscilla Presley relationship, do you think a relationship with a celebrity would still be worth it? Many ordinary people who have dated celebrities have reported similar experiences like the one outlined with Elvis and Priscilla Presley.

For those who want to learn more about Elvis and Priscilla Presley's relationship — albeit from a single perspective — Priscilla Presley even wrote a book about her experiences living with the King in the 1985 biography "Elvis and Me." Larry Peerce even turned the book into a television movie, which first aired in 1988. 

The book was reviewed positively by John Barkham Reviews. It reads, “This honest, full-length portrait paints him as he really was both in and out of the spotlight … his wife, who knew him better than anyone else, sees him clearly, steadily and sees him whole.”

What's interesting about the story with Priscilla Presley is that she met Elvis Presley during a time when she should have had the opportunity to explore her own identity. Instead, her life was suddenly changed as everything became about pleasing Elvis Presley and his most trivial desires. For many, the cost of a celebrity relationship is too high. What do you think? Let us know what you think — and be sure to send this article to friends to hear their thoughts!