Elvis Presley was loved and known as the King of Rock and Roll. He was a pivotal figure in the music industry and to this day is still recognized as one of the greatest performers of all time. There’s no doubt that Elvis is a true icon and that his memory will carry on forever.

Although Elvis is no longer with us, his musical legacy has continued to live on. With hits such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” it’s easy to see how the legendary star has continued to inspire other musicians and singers to this day. On top of that, his stage presence was other-worldly, and Elvis was famous for his energetic movements and provocative performance style. This, blended with his unique vocal tone, made Elvis an all-around rock and roll star.

On top of his career, Elvis is also survived by his beautiful family. Many people in the Presley family have gone on to make a name for themselves while still honoring the King of Rock and Roll, including his daughter Lisa Marie Presley and his granddaughter Riley Keough.

Elvis was also famous for his marriage to Priscilla Presley – but this marriage was controversial in many ways. 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 and Priscilla. 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.

Their Meet-Cute

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

Priscilla Beaulieu — as she was known then — was a doll-faced angel who 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 left that night, she thought she would never see Elvis again.

After their first meeting, Elvis invited Priscilla on a date, and they shared their first kiss. Because of the 10-year age difference, Priscilla’s parents worried about the new couple and wished to speak with Elvis right away. He immediately laid their concerns to rest upon meeting them.

Elvis said that he was “very fond” of Priscilla, and he told them that he felt that Priscilla was mature for her age. His true motives may have diverged from that statement, however. Rex Mansfield, a friend of Elvis’ in the army, said that when his relationship first began with Priscilla, Elvis told Mansfield she was “young enough that I can train her any way I want.”

No matter the motives, love blossomed between the two. Elvis became the center of Priscilla’s world and she began to apply lots of makeup at Elvis’s request and dress in a more adult fashion, according to Biography.com.

She moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1963 to complete her high school there, and Elvis implied that he intended to marry her when he spoke with her parents. During the time, she lived with Elvis’s father and stepmother, but she soon after moved in with Elvis.

Keeping Up With Elvis

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

In an interview from 1985, Priscilla 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 talked about how he didn’t have a problem waiting until Priscilla reached adulthood for physical relations. He appreciated her purity. She had to make sacrifices to have a relationship with Elvis, however, such as dealing with his relations with other women.

Elvis recreated her in his own image as time went on and wanted her to “match” his looks. At one point, Priscilla even called herself Elvis’ “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 even demanded that Priscilla match up with his requirements. She couldn’t show herself to him until she had her makeup and hair done, because even though Elvis loved the end result, he didn’t want to see her putting herself together.

On ITV’s Loose Women, as reported by ET, Priscilla revealed how everything revolved around Elvis and his life. If she had problems, Elvis wasn’t interested. Her life centered around his happiness. Nothing else seemed to matter.

A Beautiful Wedding But Tumultuous Marriage

On May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla 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 they had essentially been together for a few years by the time they were married, Elvis’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 began receiving hate mail from Elvis fans. “It was hard on me,” she told Closer Weekly in 2017.

Seven months into Priscilla’s pregnancy, Elvis and Priscilla took a break from their relationship. They hit a rocky patch as Priscilla learned that Elvis had engaged in extramarital affairs. Though he’d had affairs before their marriage, Priscilla didn’t want to put up with it after their marriage.

When Lisa Marie was born, the old flame was rekindled. However, their relationship was never the same, and Elvis 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. Soon after Lisa Marie’s birth, Elvis 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 said that ultimately, there was infidelity on both sides.

Six years into marriage, Priscilla 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.”

Finding Her Voice & Identity

Priscilla met Elvis at a crucial time when girls become women. 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 placed on Priscilla set her back in the discovery of herself. 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 while making a celebrity happy.

In the divorce, Priscilla and Elvis shared custody of Lisa Marie. 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 found her own voice and had her own life again.

After her divorce from Elvis, Priscilla 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 share one son, Navarone Garibaldi, who was born in 1987.

Despite their tumultuous relationship, Priscilla says that she only has warm memories of her time with Elvis. About Elvis’s death on Aug. 16, 1977, Priscilla said, “I wanted to die.”

Even during and after the divorce, Elvis and Priscilla remained close friends, and she was largely the one responsible for turning Graceland into a tourist attraction. Priscilla has always defended and honored Elvis’s legacy, and it is clear there was a lot of love between the two of them.

Did you know about Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley’s controversial relationship and marriage? Let us know, and be sure to send this to your family and friends.

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