The two officially parted ways in October 1973.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 24, 2021. It has since been updated.
A celebrity wedding is always a big deal for people like us, isn't it? But there's so much that goes on behind the scenes that we, as outsiders, don't know about. Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll" met Priscilla Presley—formerly known as Priscilla Ann Wagner—when she was just a teenager. They eventually tied the knot in 1967 and it seemed like their love was meant to be, but according to Presley's housekeeper and cook, the rockstar didn't want to marry Priscilla. In fact, former housekeeper and cook, Alberta Holman, revealed in the 1998 biography, Down at the End of Lonely Street, that he was crying about the upcoming ceremony in 1967.
When she caught him weeping, she asked him why he didn't just cancel his wedding, but he apparently replied, "I don't have a choice."
Although Elvis didn't want to marry Priscilla, they tied the knot in Las Vegas on May 1, 1967, and she soon became pregnant after the wedding. She then gave birth to their first daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, on February 1, 1968. However, after Lisa's birth, Priscilla's dynamics with Presley changed. He just didn't want to maintain a relationship with his wife, so he slept with numerous other women. Priscilla, too, didn't remain faithful. Eventually, in 1972, she told her husband that she wanted to get a divorce. The two officially parted ways in October 1973.
In 2016, Priscilla opened up about how it was being married to someone with a huge fan-following, according to PEOPLE.
"I was always ready to greet him at the door and pamper him," says Priscilla. "I loved taking care of Elvis very much. I loved tending to him. I loved feeding him. We would baby talk, because you have to have your own language when you have that many people around. It was a good life. It was different, but it was ours." But sometimes, things are just not meant to be, right? Priscilla, who is now 76, first fell for the singer when she was just 14. She spoke about how it made her feel when her husband received all the attention from his female fans all the time. "Women gravitated to him, so I would be nervous when he had to go places alone. I would even go with him to get his teeth cleaned! I always had an eye on him because everyone in the world was after him."
She also addressed his notorious temper. "If he saw somebody he didn't like on the TV, he'd get his gun out and blow it up," she says. "Then he would tell his daddy to go get another TV."
Although her marriage did not last, she has no regrets about it. "I truly cherish the great times. As you grow up, there are always fears and insecurities," says Priscilla. "But as you get older you understand it all." Despite the fact that they separated decades ago, and Presly is no longer alive, Priscilla still follows what her ex-husband had told her to survive difficult times. "Keep moving. Keep moving. You always keep moving."
References:
https://www.amazon.com/Down-End-Lonely-Street-Presley/dp/0451190947
https://people.com/music/priscilla-presley-was-so-nervous-about-elvis-being-alone-exclusive/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Keystone
