Priscilla Presley Quotes

I still loved Elvis greatly, but (...) I knew that I must take control of my life. (...). There was a whole world out there and I had to find my own place in it.

He was a man, a very special man

Over the years he became my father, husband, and very nearly God. Now he was gone and I felt more alone and afraid than ever in my life.

It sounded silly to me, they knew who he was, as did the whole world. But Elvis was the perfect gentleman. My father was visibly impressed, and from that moment on, Elvis always addressed him as Captain Beaulieu or Sir. This was characteristic of Elvis, whatever a person’s position in life—whether doctor or lawyer, professor or motion-picture director—unless someone were in Elvis’s immediate circle, Elvis rarely used first names, even in dealing with people he’d known for years. As he once explained to me, “It’s simple. They’ve worked hard to get where they are. Someone should respect them.

Sometimes he lashed out just to drive home a point. If he thought it would teach us a lesson, he’d blow some minor grievance out of all proportion, and even as he was yelling he might wink at someone nearby. Then, ten minutes later, he’d be fine, leaving us bewildered and emotionally depleted. There were also times he would leave us emotionally uplifted. He was truly a master at manipulating people.

The man in my hospital room that day was the man I loved, and will always love. He didn’t have to try to be strong and decisive or sexy, he wasn’t afraid to show his warmth or vulnerability. He didn’t have to act the part of Elvis Presley, superstar. He was just a man, my husband.

It was the only picture of Mama and me where she looked semi-normal; none of the cheap wigs or bejeweled bell bottoms and platforms that made every other photo look like I was taking a picture with a Vegas showgirl. I had begged her to dress like all the other moms, so she went with “Priscilla Presley in mourning,” which involved black from head to toe.

His endearing traits, in many instances, were the mirror images of the characteristics that made him so difficult to bear at times. His need to control, for example, manifested itself positively in his tenderly protective and nurturing side; the exaggerated self-gratification brought on by his stardom and power was equaled, and possibly surpassed, by his legendary generosity; his double standard reflected the southern tendency to place a woman on a pedestal as a creature to be revered, almost worshiped; his egocentricity, when reversed, gave Elvis an almost supernatural ability to empathize. Elvis Presley was a man of many paradoxes—alternately megalomaniacal and humble, oversexed yet strangely prudish.

In his room, Elvis gave two large red pills, explaining, "Take this now, and by the time you come to bed, you'll be nice and relaxed." I really didn't need anything but he insisted, saying that they would help me sleep better...

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She would just tell us what she wanted,” recalled Elvis’s cook, Mary Jenkins. “One time she said, ‘I want a different cake every day of the week, but don’t tell Mama—she’ll put me on a diet.

Priscilla related that when she told him, Presley "grabbed ... and forcefully made love to" her, declaring, "This is how a real man makes love to his woman". She later stated in an interview that she regretted her choice of words in describing the incident, and said it had been an overstatement.

Do you see that you need this? You need someone to take you right to this point and put you in your place" I was relieved and happy to be back in his arms. Anything he'd have said would have made sense to me in that moment. What I did not realize until later was that this was Elvis's technique of keeping me under control

My arm was bruised where he'd grabbed me, and my eye was swollen black and blue (...). Everyone teased me, and Elvis joked, "Couldn't help it. She tried to get rough with me. I had to show her who's boss

I loved babying Elvis

I also had all the physical attributes that Elvis liked, the fundamentals he could use in turning me into his ideal woman. In short, I had everything that Elvis had been looking for in a woman: youth and innocence, total devotion, and no problems of my own.

He'd reminded me that his was the stronger sex, and as a woman, I had my place.

I was Elvis's doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased

I swallowed the pills and started to prepare myself for the end. In tears, I thought of leaving him a note, writing down everything I would denver been able to say (...) I'd tell him how I feared his violent temper, which robbed me of my freedom of expression; and how I wished that he'd have tried to understand me as I'd desperately tried to understand him

He was truly a master at manipulating people

I was still there to tend to his needs, as he wanted his wife to be, while also creating my own world, no longer intimidated by the magnitude of his. I was growing, learning, and expanding as an individual

From my adolescence, he had fashioned me into the instrument of his will. I lovingly yielded to his influence, trying to satisfy his every desire.

Accustomed to suppressing my anger, I could honestly vent it now without the fear of accusations or explosions. I stopped apologizing for my opinions and laughing at jokes I did not find amusing

Along with this new confidence, off came my false eyelashes and heavy makeup, the jewels and flashy clothes. All devices that I would depended upon for security I now shed. I was seeing myself for the first time.

Finally he asked, "Have I lost you to another man?". "It is not that you have lost me to another man, you have lost me to a life of my own. I am finding myself for the first time".

I learned from Elvis, often sadly from his mistakes. I learned that having too many people around can sap your energies. I learned the price of trying to make everyone happy (...) I learned to take charge of my life.

I was still uncertain about how my unexpected pregnancy would affect our marriage. This was supposed to have been our time alone. I wanted to be beautiful for him; instead, my debut as Elvis bride was going to be spoiled by a fat stomach, puffy face and swollen feet (...) I intended to prove that a pregnant woman did not have to get fat

I wanted to write about love and precious, wonderful moments and ones filled with grief and disappointments, about a man's triumphs and defeats, much of it with a child-woman at his side, feeling and experiencing his pain and joys as if they were one

He taught me everything: how to dress, how to walk, how to apply makeup and wear my hair, how to behave, how to return love his way.