Priscilla Presley Was Never The Same After Divorcing Elvis

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Elvis and Priscilla Presley were essentially a gender-flipped Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, but for boomers. One was a mega-watt popstar, the other a sports-loving occasional actor. However, Elvis and Priscilla's backstory is a little different. The pair first met in Germany in 1959, where the "Suspicious Minds" singer was stationed with the U.S. Army and Priscilla was in ninth grade. As Elvis' star rose, their relationship blossomed. In 1963, Priscilla found a new home at the now-famous Graceland or, as Priscilla told People, "[a]lmost unnoticed, I began to move in my things. ... By the time he suggested that I move into Graceland I already had." Four years later, in 1967, the pair wed in Las Vegas and welcomed a child. So, actually, that's quite a lot different from Swift and Kelce's relationship.

"You have to remember, he was such an impact in my life in every way," Priscilla told ET in 2017. "He was my mentor, he was my confidant. I wrote this in my book [Elvis and Me]. He was everything. In my book I wrote, 'My God,' because I lived and breathed him." However, despite being her everything, the couple divorced in 1973. Their relationship was a little more Elvis, and a lot less Priscilla.​​"I just kind of followed what he did. You lived his life," said Pricilla when speaking to the U.K. talk show Loose Women. "You saw the movies he wanted to see, you listened to the music he listened to, you'd go to places he would go. So you really kind of lost yourself."

To understand how Priscilla was never the same after her divorce, you only have to look at what life is like for Priscilla today. But let's take a look at how she got there.

There was no shortage of infidelity in Elvis and Priscilla Presley's relationship, mostly on Elvis' part. The "Burning Love" singer had vow-breaking flings with actresses Barbra Leigh, Anne Helm, and Ann-Margret. But Priscilla also had an illicit affair, and it started in the place you'd least expect... the dojo.

Ironically, it was Elvis who introduced Priscilla to her future beau (and karate trainer) Mike Stone. She just couldn't help falling in love with Stone, and their love affair began while Priscilla was married. To say Elvis was angry would be an understatement. "Mike Stone must die. You will do it for me. Kill him, Sonny," Elvis told his bodyguard Sonny West (via The Tab). Pot calling the kettle black, much? Despite the King of Rock 'n' Roll's fury, Priscilla continued to see Stone after her marriage crumbled. In her book "Elvis and Me", Priscilla wrote that Stone gave her a renewed sense of confidence in herself. So maybe there was a silver lining to the infidelity.

However, her relationship with Stone also ended dramatically in 1975, when the international karate champion sold a story to journalists titled "How I Stole Elvis' Wife From Him." In an interview with the Elvis Information Network, Stone noted, "[Priscilla] wanted to be known for who she was, not who she was with." Although the shadow of Elvis would always hang over Priscilla, she did go on to plow her own furrow.

During their marriage, Priscilla and Elvis Presley had been the subject of intense media speculation. So, Priscilla could've been forgiven for shunning the spotlight after their relationship ended. However, she actually moved into it. In 1980, she became the host of "Those Amazing Animals" before landing the role of Jenna Wade in "Dallas" three years later. She starred in 143 episodes of the soap opera until 1988, and her talents are remembered fondly by fans. "I always felt [Priscilla] was the better Jenna Wade," said one "Dallas"-head on X. "Going from playing Jenna to making the Naked Gun movies just showed what a great actress she really is!"

But Priscilla has also dipped her toe into the world of reality television. Notably, she appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2008. She was partnered up with Louis Van Amstel, who is responsible for one of the greatest "Dancing with the Stars" transformations, as they waltzed and foxtrotted to eighth place. Although she didn't reach the final, she called it an "incredible, life-changing experience" (via People).

Despite her career change, her major role in the Presley family continued on and off-screen. In 2019, she played herself in the Hallmark movie "Wedding at Graceland", the story of a couple planning a festive wedding at Elvis' home-turned-tourist attraction. After decades and forging a new career, Priscilla can't escape her second name, and nor does she seem to want to.

Priscilla Presley's book "Elvis and Me" is controversial to say the least, especially within the Elvis fandom. It's no surprise, as the book paints the "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" singer as, well... pretty much just that. Between stories of her ex-husband's infidelity, his emotional abusiveness, and telling Priscilla "[i]t's either me or a career. Baby. Because when I call, I need you to be there" (via Business Insider), it wasn't a great look for Elvis. Although the book does touch on some lighter aspects of their love story, for example, that Elvis' pet names for Priscilla included Sattnin and Little One. Ultimately, the book, co-written with Sandra Harmon, is a warts-and-all re-telling of their relationship. It acknowledges the power imbalances and controlling nature of her relationship with Elvis. Hence, it's still not loved by Elvis die-hards.

Despite the relationship not being all sunshine and rainbows, it had a profound effect on Priscilla that lasted long after their marriage ended. "He taught me everything," she wrote in the memoir (as per Business Insider). "[H]ow to dress, how to walk, how to apply makeup and wear my hair, how to behave, how to return love — his way. Over the years he became my father, husband, and very nearly God." A.K.A., not the type of guy you'd forget in a hurry.

"I just don't think that [Elvis Presley] could handle [me remarrying]," said Pricilla Presley at a Las Vegas Q&A in 2023 (via People). "To be honest with you, I never wanted to marry after him. I never had any desire. No one could ever match [Elvis]." But although she never put a ring on it again, Priscilla did have a slew of high-profile relationships.

Let's take a look inside Priscilla's relationship with Marco Garibaldi, for example. It was Priscilla's longest-term post-Elvis love, lasting from 1984 to 2006. The couple even welcomed a child, Navarone Garcia, in 1987.​​ But unlike her relationship with Elvis, Priscilla and Garibaldi kept out of the spotlight. A further look at Priscilla's relationship history shows ex-romances ranging from British radio presenters to American male models. But perhaps her most notable relationship was with Robert Kardashian Sr. Yes, that Robert Kardashian Sr., Kim Kardashian's late father and member of O.J. Simpson's legal team. Why didn't the Presley-Kardashian romance work out? Well, the pair reportedly called it quits because Priscilla didn't want to tie the knot while her ex-husband was still alive.

But even after Elvis died, she never felt the need to remarry. As she put it, when speaking to People in 1978, "[t]o me, marriage means nothing. It makes you feel like you're glued."

On the 16th of August 1977, Elvis Presley passed away at Graceland. Not long after the King of Rock 'n' Roll died, the estate, which cost upwards of half a million dollars in maintenance and taxes, began to experience cash flow problems. Therefore, in 1982, Priscilla and the executors of Elvis' estate opened the couple's former home up to the general public.

Despite many changes to Priscilla's life after her divorce from Elvis, Graceland was one thing that she was not going to let go of easily. "We had attorneys and bankers, and we had a meeting. I was one of the executors to the estate, and one of the attorneys, after a few meetings, said, 'Well, you know, we're going to have to sell Graceland,'" Priscilla recalled to the Graceland YouTube channel in 2022. "I looked at him and I never felt so... strong on my conviction... that will never happen. I looked at him straight in the eye, 'never happen.'"

Indeed, Priscilla was able to keep Graceland in the family. But she's had to battle to keep it close to her, at least in a legal sense, but more on that later. Graceland was one piece of Elvis that Priscilla couldn't go her "Separate Ways" from.

It wouldn't be right to take a look at the "Dallas" actress's life after Elvis without a look inside Priscilla Presley's history with the Church of Scientology. It all started in the least likely of all places, at her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley's, birthday party during a chat with John Travolta. You know, as you do. "[Travolta] was having a hot moment with Welcome Back, Kotter," Lisa Marie wrote in her memoir, "From Here to the Great Unknown" (as per Us Weekly). "He talked to her about Scientology, and a few days later, she joined."

"My mom would drop me off after school at their building in Hollywood," Lisa Marie continued. "I felt like she was dumping me there so they could handle me, and she didn't have to." It led Priscilla and Lisa Marie to come to blows. In 2014, Lisa Marie called it quits with the religion. However, her mother stuck it out...

Despite rumors Priscilla had left the church in 2017, her representatives denied the claim. Whether she's still a part of the church or not, it was a major change for Priscilla post-divorce. In Elvis, she'd been married to a devout Christian who, as is claimed in Janet Reitman's book "Inside Scientology," didn't like Scientology at all.

Elvis Presley-based movies are like London buses, you wait a long time for one and then two come at once. Baz Luhrmann's 2022 film "Elvis" and Sofia Coppola's "Priscilla," released a year later and based on Priscilla Presley's aforementioned book "Elvis and Me," dealt with the Memphis-based marriage in different ways. But one thing's for sure, the latter divided viewers much like Priscilla's book did. "Sofia Coppola is the only woman who could make Elvis feel like a narcissist indie musician terror from Silver Lake who thinks he's the first guy who ever read a book," said one user on X. However, a poster on Elvis' dedicated Reddit page disagreed, saying: "He wasn't a perfect person obviously, no one is, but it felt a lot like a hit piece in my opinion. I'm happy to never watch it again." Coppola's film's 64% all-audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (as of this publication) tells you all you need to know. We guess some things don't change.

However, what did change was Priscilla's attitude towards the publicity of her and Elvis' romance. While the pair were together, they banned paparazzi from their wedding and avoided them like the plague. Now, Priscilla walked the red carpet for two films that feature intimate details of her relationship with the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

A major theme of Priscilla Presley's post-Elvis life is family drama. In the aftermath of Lisa Marie Presley's death in 2023, drama erupted between Priscilla and her granddaughter, Riley Keough. It all centered on Graceland. It was revealed that, in Lisa Marie's will, Riley was the sole heir to the Tennessee-based home-cum-tourist attraction. The "Lights Out" singer edited her will in 2016, removing Priscilla. In her stead, she added Lisa Marie's son, Benjamin Keough, and Riley as trustees. But that was before the tragic details of Benjamin's death emerged. After that, Riley became the only living heir.

However, Priscilla disputed the amendment, claiming it was never delivered to her and that Lisa Marie's signature appeared "inconsistent with her usual and customary signature" (as per the Daily Mail). It all got a whole lot messier from there, with some sources claiming that Riley even changed the locks on the Graceland archives. But Priscilla tried to play down rumors of a feud. "[P]lease ignore 'the noise,'" she said in a cryptic statement to Page Six. "There is an individual that bought their way into the family enterprise that is trying to speak on behalf of our family. This person is not a representative of Elvis or our family."

Thankfully, the pair were able to reach a judge-approved agreement within the year. To not bore you with legalese, they essentially agreed that Priscilla still gets paid. It showed just how much Priscilla had changed. During her marriage to Elvis, Priscilla explained to Business Insider: "I was Elvis's doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased." Now, she was the one instigating family drama with his heirs, and it didn't stop there.

In fact, the family drama only got more scandalous. Yet another sad and tragic detail about the Presley family came in 2025, when Priscilla Presley's former business partners accused her of aiding in the heartbreaking death of Lisa Marie Presley. Prior to her passing, Lisa Marie had been struggling after complications from weight loss surgery. However, Priscilla was keen for the family to remain in the spotlight, as she insisted Lisa Marie join her at the 2023 Golden Globes, where Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" was nominated for Best Film. Tragically, just two days after the awards, Lisa Marie was rushed to hospital and died.

"[D]espite Lisa's clear directive to 'prolong her life,' Priscilla pulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted [to hospital]," said the lawsuit (via NBC News). "Priscilla knew that Lisa's death neutralized the threat of Lisa's efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa's irrevocable life insurance trust and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland. At her house the week [before Lisa's funeral], Priscilla exclaimed, 'I'm the queen, I'm in charge of Graceland.'" Rebuking the lawsuit, Priscilla's attorney called it "a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty-year-old woman," in a statement to NBC News.

Oddly, it may have brought the family closer together. "[Riley Keough] stands behind [Priscilla] 100% and is equally disgusted with this latest, vicious attempt ... to ruin her grandmother's life," Priscilla's attorney continued. It's a silver lining, we suppose.

Hot on the heels of Sofia Coppola's "Elvis and Me" film adaptation, Priscilla Presley announced she put pen to paper once again. The memoir, titled "Softly, As I Leave You: Life after Elvis," is co-written by Mary Jane Ross and, rather aptly, focuses on Priscilla discovering who she was while separated from Elvis and how she reinvented herself after his death. As the synopsis puts it, via Amazon, "The only way to find herself was to leave that world and seek a new life of her own, because leaving was the only way to survive, for herself and for her daughter."

"This book covers eight decades of my life," Priscilla said in a statement announcing the book, as per People. "Writing it has been a learning experience on many levels. I have reflected deeply both on myself and on those I love. I have always loved and admired Elvis, but the more than four decades of living without him have taught me how rare and extraordinary he was as a human being." Grab the Kleenex, because she has a tragic real-life story that'll break your heart. We're sure it's a page turner.