Priscilla Presley “knew” what she was getting into when she married Elvis.
Priscilla Presley knew what she was getting in for when she married Elvis Presley in 1967
The 76-year-old actress says the early days of their marriage were “difficult” but she understood what she was in for as she met the late King of Rock and Roll - who was one of the biggest heartthrobs of all time - when she was 14 as a schoolgirl in Germany, 10 years his junior.
Priscilla told a variety of reporters at the launch of the new exhibition 'Elvis: Direct From Graceland' at Bendigo Art Gallery: “The beginning [of the marriage] was very difficult, but I knew what I was in for because I saw it at a very young age.”
The 'Naked Gun' star said the rumours surrounding the ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love With You’ hitmaker were a struggle for her but was assured to not “pay attention” by her husband, who she divorced in 1973.
Priscilla said: “That’s when I started not reading papers anymore or [magazines] in the grocery stores.
“I found out how vicious people could be … there were rumours I was pregnant, and that’s why he got married and I’m going, ‘Oh my God, this is not gonna be good for me.’
“So it was hard to get accepted. But he always told me, ‘Don’t pay attention … don’t even listen and don’t look at the tabloids. You know what the truth is so just be cautious, but be aware’.”
Priscilla - who had daughter Lisa Marie, now 54, with Elvis in 1968 - described the late-night dates they used to have together in their courting days that made her “not do well” in school.
On their trips to the movies, she said: "We would leave [Graceland] right after the Johnny Carson monologue and we would head out for the theatre, sometimes coming home at three, four or five o’clock in the morning. At that time I was going to school by the way, so I would go to bed and then get up at 7.30 … I didn’t do well with the grades.”
Priscilla also revealed Elvis was a bookworm and would read into the early hours.
She said: “We could come home at two o’clock in the morning or later, and he would go right to the books and start reading.
“And he would read [out loud to me] and I would be so tired … and he would say, ‘you aren’t listening to me’ and I would say [to myself], ‘okay, keep your eyes open’.”
Tagged in Elvis Presley Priscilla Presley Lisa Marie Presley