Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis

Priscilla left Elvis when she was 27. Priscilla had been with Elvis for 13 years and still loved him, but needed to make a life for herself. The two had started dating when Priscilla was 14, but they weren’t seriously involved until she was 18. Their relationship was traditional, in keeping with the gender norms of the 1960s: Elvis was the man of the house and Priscilla did everything she could to please him. Priscilla didn’t question this dynamic, since Elvis was 10 years Priscilla’s senior and she understood him to be the authority on most things, including what she wore. She did her best “to meet all of his expectations” (4), but over time this exhausted her. The more famous Elvis became the less time alone Priscilla had with him. The couple was surrounded by a constant entourage of men, nicknamed the Memphis Mafia. Priscilla befriended some of them, but found it difficult to always be watched by them.

Priscilla also struggled with rumors of Elvis’s extramarital affairs. He was always surrounded by beautiful women on tour and Priscilla was jealous. Although he allegedly didn’t sleep with any of the women he fooled around with, he stopped having sex with Priscilla after their daughter Lisa Marie was born. Priscilla got pregnant on their wedding night.

Priscilla was particularly hurt after she discovered countless fan letters from young women at their Palm Springs home. When she confronted Elvis, he accused her of snooping, insisting she had no right to barge into his personal life. Hurt and angry, Priscilla started an affair with her karate instructor, Mike Stone. Priscilla holds that this relationship wasn’t the reason she divorced Elvis. She asserts that the marriage had been devolving for some time and that she wanted better for Lisa Marie; Elvis was often jealous of Priscilla’s attention to her. Elvis was surprised when Priscilla told him she wanted to divorce, as was his grandmother and Priscilla’s Grandma Minnie Mae. Despite how hard it was to leave, Priscilla still believes it was the right decision.

Priscilla reflects on the end of her relationship with Elvis, careful to reframe media representations of what happened. She reiterates that she didn’t leave him because of Mike or because Elvis “made love to me forcefully” (17). Elvis was indeed upset when he found out about Mike and did have “forceful” sex with Priscilla afterward, but Priscilla insists he was gentle at heart and simply a product of his generation.

Shortly after Priscilla left, Elvis started dating a woman named Linda Thompson. Priscilla was glad for him because she knew he needed a woman to take care of him. She felt pleased at not being jealous, too.

Priscilla found an apartment for herself and Lisa Marie when she first left Graceland. Her sister, Michelle, moved in, too. Priscilla kept dating Mike but did not live with him. Meanwhile, Priscilla navigated a coparenting arrangement with Elvis. She did everything she could to ensure he was in Lisa Marie’s life, even if she didn’t always agree with his parenting style. Then on October 9, 1973, they went to the courthouse and officially divorced. Priscilla was concerned when she saw how unwell Elvis looked but he assured her he was fine.

After the divorce was finalized, Priscilla bought a new house for herself in Beverly Hills. She continued coparenting with Elvis. However, Elvis’s lifestyle and lackadaisical parenting often made it hard for Priscilla to manage Lisa Marie when she returned home. Priscilla and Elvis remained friends after the divorce. Priscilla recalls him calling her frequently. Priscilla sometimes checked in on his relationship status to ensure he was being taken care of, but never told him when she was seeing other men. Elvis visited Priscilla sometimes, too, and she recalls some of their more tender exchanges.

Priscilla did not change her last name after the divorce, but her identity shifted significantly. She identifies the divorce as the second identity crisis she experienced. The first happened when she was 11 and discovered that Paul Beaulieu was not her biological father. In her mother’s room, Priscilla found a box of photos of herself as a baby, her mother, and an unfamiliar man. Priscilla’s mother, Annie, explained that her biological father was James Wagner. He had died in a plane crash when Priscilla was a baby. Annie begged Priscilla not to tell Paul she knew the truth, as Paul was jealous of his wife’s first love. He had legally adopted Priscilla, giving her the last name Beaulieu instead of Wagner. For Priscilla, joining the Presley family had been important for her identity. She hadn’t wanted to change her name again.

Priscilla started experimenting with her style after the divorce. She started working in design, too. Eventually, she and her new friend Olivia Bis (also a designer) opened the boutique Bis and Beau. The business did well and Priscilla loved working at the shop and outfitting celebrities. However, Priscilla ultimately sold her share of the business to Olivia when she realized her celebrity was compromising her partner.

In 1975, Priscilla ended her relationship with Mike and started dating Robert Kardashian. Robert was a sweet and good man, but Priscilla wanted a different life than he did. After they broke up, she dated Elie Ezerzer, but he turned out to be too jealous and controlling. She had had enough of this with Elvis, who was still a part of her life. She recalls trying to navigate Elvis’s calls when she was home or in bed with a man.

Priscilla grew concerned for Elvis in his later years. Because his mother, Gladys, had died young, Elvis often claimed he would die young, too. Meanwhile, he continued gaining weight and taking excessive amounts of painkillers and other prescription drugs. No one could convince him to stop, because the medications had been prescribed by a doctor. However, Elvis was struggling physically and mentally. At times he could not even perform. Priscilla recalls when he cut one of his last tours short and came to see her. They talked about books and their daughter. He read to her from the Book of Numbers (1926) by the early 20th century Irish mystic and astrologer Cheiro, which reminded Priscilla of their past together.

In June 1977, Elvis went back on tour for the last time. Priscilla recalls his Rapid City performance of his new song “Unchained Melody.” Just a few months later, Elvis was hospitalized and then died from a heart attack. Priscilla was shocked by the news as she’d thought he was doing better.

After Elvis’s funeral, it was hard for Priscilla to grieve, given his fame. Elvis was initially buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, but later moved to the Meditation Garden at Graceland, where his mother is also buried. Priscilla reflects on her struggle to accept Elvis’s death. She recalls all of the wonderful things about Elvis and the scope of his absence. Although Elvis died too young, Priscilla is glad she got to share some of life with him.