West Germany On September 13, 1959, Priscilla, then 14, met Elvis Presley, 24, at a party held at his rented home in
Bad Nauheim, West Germany, where he was stationed during his
military service. She was introduced by Currie Grant, a U.S. Air Force officer. Priscilla met Presley several times after their initial meeting. During one of these early visits, he invited her upstairs to speak privately and shared memories of his mother, Gladys Presley, who had died in August 1958. Before she left, he kissed her goodbye—reportedly her first real kiss. After their fourth date, her father stated that if the relationship was to continue, he wanted to meet Presley in person. Presley agreed and arrived in his Army uniform, accompanied by his father. During the meeting, Priscilla's parents outlined expectations for future visits, including transportation and curfews. Presley responded respectfully and offered reassurances, allowing the relationship to continue under agreed conditions. Thereafter, Priscilla and Presley were frequently together until his departure from West Germany on March 2, 1960. After Elvis left Germany, Priscilla isolated herself for two days, unable to eat or sleep. At school, she was swarmed by reporters asking if he’d called and stating that
Nancy Sinatra had met him at the airport. Convinced their relationship was over, Priscilla feared she'd never see him again. She was also concerned about Elvis rekindling his relationship with
Anita Wood, who he had been dating before and after his overseas service. Twenty-one days after Elvis left Germany, Priscilla received a phone call in the early hours of the morning. From then on, their communication became sporadic, with calls arriving unexpectedly after long gaps. As part of the arrangement, Elvis was expected to marry her. Priscilla enrolled at the
Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, an all-girls Catholic institution, and initially lived with Elvis’s father and stepmother. She spent increasing time at Graceland with Elvis’s grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley, gradually moving her belongings in until she was living there full-time. Priscilla was eager to accompany Elvis to
Hollywood, but he repeatedly told her he was too busy and asked her to remain in Memphis. During that period, she read reports of an affair between Elvis and his
Viva Las Vegas co-star
Ann-Margret. She confronted him, and he dismissed the stories as publicity-driven rumours, urging her not to trust the press. Over the following years, Elvis had multiple intimate relationships with co-stars, though he denied each of them to Priscilla. She was eventually permitted to visit him in Hollywood, but her stays were brief.
Marriage and pregnancy , February 1968 Shortly before Christmas 1966, Elvis proposed to Priscilla, reportedly prompted by
Colonel Tom Parker's reminder of RCA's "morals clause" in his record contract. In a 1973 interview with ''
Ladies' Home Journal'', Priscilla recalled that they were happy to
live together, but "at that time, it wasn't nice for people to [just] live together". Accounts of Elvis's attitude toward marriage vary: his cook Alberta and friend Marty Lacker described him as reluctant and upset about not having a choice, while others, including Esposito, claimed he was excited to marry Priscilla. In her memoir
Elvis and Me, Priscilla described Elvis as passionate but insistent that they wait until marriage before having intercourse, stating, "I'm not saying we can't do other things. It's just the actual encounter. I want to save it." Priscilla said in her autobiography that she was a virgin when she married, and she and Elvis did not have sex until their wedding night. Biographer
Suzanne Finstad alleged Priscilla had been sexually active earlier with Elvis and her high school boyfriends in Germany. However, it has also been found that Finstad's book
Child Bride: The Untold Story of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley relied heavily on the controversial statements made by former Elvis Army buddy Currie Grant, with Currie also acknowledged to have been one who made the claim that Priscilla confessed to having sex with Elvis while in Germany. she considered an abortion, but she and Elvis ultimately decided against it. Their daughter,
Lisa Marie Presley, was born on February 1, 1968 — exactly nine months after their wedding. Encouraged by Elvis, Priscilla took up karate to share his interests and occupy her time. In 1968 she saw Mike Stone for the first time during her second honeymoon in Hawaii. In 1972, she met instructor Mike Stone backstage at one of Elvis's concerts and began an affair. Nevertheless the year 1972 is not confirmed by Mike Stone who wrote that he met Priscilla for the second time at a karate event at Bolsa Chica High School on May 15, 1971. She later wrote, "I still loved Elvis, greatly, but over the next few months, I knew I would have to make a crucial decision regarding my destiny." According to her memoir, Elvis later summoned her to his hotel suite and "forcefully made love to me...[saying] 'This is how a real man makes love to his woman. In a later interview, Priscilla said she regretted her choice of words, calling it an overstatement. Nevertheless, according to Jerry Schilling, Priscilla and Elvis talked together in his dressing room, not in his suite. Priscilla reflected that Elvis's attempt at reconciliation came too late and lacked sensitivity. She cited his earlier comment that he had "never been able to make love to a woman who had a child" and described the emotional toll of their sexual dysfunction: "I am beginning to doubt my own sexuality, as a woman. My physical and emotional needs were unfulfilled." She concluded, "this was not the gentle, understanding man I grew to love." Years later, on
Loose Women, Priscilla confirmed that she and Elvis did sleep together after Lisa Marie was born. The couple separated on February 23, 1972, and filed for legal separation on July 26. Priscilla sued Elvis for fraud to reopen the divorce by default in May 1973. The divorce was finalized on October 9, 1973. Priscilla and Elvis agreed to share custody of Lisa Marie. She received a $725,000 cash settlement, spousal and child support, 5% of Elvis's new publishing companies, and half the proceeds from the sale of their Beverly Hills home. Initially, the settlement had been smaller, but after consulting new lawyers, Priscilla revised her requests, asserting that Elvis could afford more. The couple remained close, leaving the courthouse hand-in-hand on the day their divorce was finalized. == Personal life post-1973 ==