Priscilla Presley Had A Devastating Reaction When She Heard Of Elvis' Death
Priscilla Presley was married to Elvis Presley from 1967 through 1973 and the couple shared one daughter together. The two first met in Germany when Priscilla was a freshman in high school, according to People. "When we met, I was an impressionable 14-year-old. He was 24," she wrote in an essay for the outlet in 1985. They would go on to fall in love and exchange vows in a ceremony held in Las Vegas in May of 1967. The nuptials took place at the Aladdin Hotel and the couple had a six-tier wedding cake that cost a whopping $3,200 — which was quite pricey for the late 60s.
Priscilla and Elvis Presley would go on to welcome a child together in February 1968. "The nurse brought her into my room and I cradled her in my arms. She was so tiny, so beautiful. Elvis came into the room and kissed me, thrilled that we had a perfectly normal, healthy baby. He was already in love with her. He watched me holding her and his eyes misted with happiness. Then he took us both in his arms and held us," Priscilla wrote of Lisa Marie Presley in an article for the Orlando Sentinel. Sadly, however, Elvis and Priscilla's marriage didn't last. The two split in February 1972 and finalized their divorce the following year. They would go on to co-parent until Elvis' sudden death in 1977.
Although they were no longer in a romantic relationship, Priscilla was devastated when she learned that her ex had died.
Priscilla Presley went to her room after learning her ex-husband had died
After hearing that Elvis Presley had died, Priscilla Presley said that she just sat in her room with all kinds of thoughts running through her head. Elvis Presley was found unresponsive in his home in Memphis. According to USA Today, Elvis' official cause of death was listed as being due to "cardiac arrhythmia." A toxicology report later confirmed that he had "extremely high levels" of various opiates in his system. He was just 42 years old.
"It was so devastating that I just went to my room and tried to contemplate how this happened, and what happened, and just stayed there until they sent a plane for me," Priscilla said in a 2017 interview with ET. "They sent a jet to come, and going into that house and hearing all the people — especially his father, who I will, to this day, still remember him crying in such grief, howling — that it still resonates the loss and the impact," she continued. Priscilla added, "[I lost] everything. You have to remember, he was such an impact in my life, in every way. He was my mentor, he was my confidant."
Priscilla was left to raise the former couple's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who was only 11 years old at the time of her dad's tragic death.
Priscilla Presley said she was in shock when Elvis Presley died
Days after Elvis Presley's death, Priscilla Presley attended his funeral. During an interview on "Today" in 2018, she said, "I was still shocked. It was just too hard to believe. And going out the gates in the limo and seeing the streets lined up on both sides all the way to the cemetery. You'd see glimpses, you'd see people crying, hysterical, fainting, and that's how impactful it was and still to this day. People come around the same time and they're all there."
Priscilla Presley later supported the 2022 film "Elvis," which starred Austin Butler as Elvis Presley and was directed by Baz Luhrmann. In another interview with "Today," Priscilla admitted that watching the film "brought back a lot of memories." She elaborated on "Good Morning America" that June, saying, "This is a movie that he really would have loved, showing who he was, what he was striving for, what his dreams were."