Why Priscilla Presley Has Never Remarried

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Priscilla Presley’s mercurial marriage to rock ’n’ roll legend Elvis Presley lasted only a handful of years. However, after five decades, the 78-year-old still recalls vivid details of their complicated, but ultimately loving, bond.

Priscilla recently opened up about her relationship with the “Suspicious Minds” singer—specifically, the extramarital affairs that ultimately doomed their 1967 union. “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve never not loved Elvis, like, to this day,” she said Saturday at An Evening with Priscilla Presley in Mashantucket, Connecticut. “He was an amazing human being. He had a big heart, but, unfortunately, he was Elvis Presley, and every woman, every girl, went after him. I can see being him, how he would take it.”

Priscilla has always been candid about their tumultuous relationship, sharing it in her 1985 memoir Elvis and Me that inspired the 2023 movie Priscilla. Despite this, she has made it clear she has always loved the late music icon and had no intention of marrying anyone else following their 1973 divorce. Even through several high-profile relationships, including a 20-plus-year partnership that produced her son, Priscilla has stayed the course by never remarrying.

Elvis and Priscilla divorced after six years

While Priscilla’s memoir and the Priscilla movie illustrate several unflattering aspects of their relationship—such as Elvis’ insistence she dress and look a certain way—she revealed just how much his extramarital trysts affected their relationship at the Connecticut Q&A event in late March.

Priscilla recalled when she first confronted Elvis over letters he received from female admirers. In one, a fan described having “the best time” with the singer while he was on the road. “When I found that letter, it just ate me up,” Priscilla said, according to People. “That was the beginning. He wasn’t happy about that, but I wasn’t happy either. That made me realize that things go on. Listen, there was him and four or five of his guys who were always together, so they’re men, right? And they were all married, and they were all fooling around.”

The birth of their only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 1968 showed more blemishes in their marriage. Elvis, concerned about how fatherhood would affect his career, asked for a trial separation during Priscilla’s pregnancy, though it lasted only a short time. Priscilla wrote in her book that Elvis then became reluctant to be intimate with her: “He had mentioned before we were married that he had never been able to make love to a woman who’d had a child.”

Elvis continued to spend a lot of time on the road, away from his wife and daughter, and to have other extramartial relationships. In the meantime, Priscilla began her own affair with a dance instructor. Ultimately, the couple split in 1972 and amicably agreed to make it official. Their divorce was finalized a year later in 1973.

After Elvis, Priscilla dated Robert Kardashian and Marco Garibaldi

Before her divorce from Elvis, Priscilla had begun a relationship with her karate instructor, Mike Stone. She and Stone were together until 1975, though she stayed close to her ex-husband up until the singer’s death from heart failure on August 16, 1977.

Following her relationship with Stone, Priscilla dated lawyer Robert Kardashian for about one year, from 1975 through 1976. After their split, Priscilla was involved with model and actor Michael Edwards from 1978 through 1984. Meanwhile, Kardashian went on to marry Kris Jenner and became the father of Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian.

Karate instructor Mike Stone

Presley began dating Stone before her divorce from Elvis was finalized in 1973, but the relationship sputtered out two years later.

Laywer Robert Kardashian

Kardashian and Presley briefly dated, beginning in 1975. After parting ways, the lawyer married Kris Jenner in 1978 and became a dad to Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Rob Kardashian.

Actor Michael Edwards

Although Presley began her acting career while dating Edwards, the two were never co-stars. The pair dated from 1978 through 1984.

Screenwriter Marco Garibaldi

Together for more than 20 years, Presley and Garibaldi share a son, Navarone Garibaldi Garcia, but never married. They split in 2006.

Priscilla’s longest relationship was with screenwriter Marco Garibaldi, whom she met through friends in 1983 and began living with a year later. They had one son, Navarone Garibaldi Garcia, in 1987.

Although Presley and Garibaldi never married, they remained together for over 20 years before finally splitting in 2006. Navarone has spoken extensively about his estranged father in recent years, claiming Marco lied about his Brazilian heritage and “had a bit of a complex” about Priscilla playing Elvis’ music around the house.

Afterward, in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Priscilla was linked to British TV executive Nigel Lythgoe and Richie Palmer, the ex-husband of late actor Raquel Welch.

Watch Priscilla on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or Max

These days, Priscilla is single or at least hasn’t gone public with another beau. That hasn’t stopped rumors about Presley and one of her former TV co-stars from circulating. Recently, speculation began that Priscilla is carrying a torch for Patrick Duffy, her onscreen romantic interest from the TV show Dallas. She played Jenna Wade in 144 episodes of the popular CBS drama from 1983 through 1988.

However, Presley shut down the rumors that their catch-up at a cast reunion earlier this month signaled anything more. “I’m going, ‘This is unbelievable, really, this is so crazy,’” she said at her recent Connecticut Q&A. “I hadn’t seen him in a long time, and it was a great reunion. Patrick told me how happy he was, and we talked to the audience, and they had questions for us, and that’s it.”

Priscilla never remarried because “no one could ever match” Elvis

It’s long been rumored that Priscilla vowed never to remarry while Elvis was still alive. While she has never confirmed this directly, she seemingly corroborated the story during a November 2023 speaking engagement in Las Vegas. “I just don’t think that he could handle that,” she said. “To be honest with you, I never wanted to marry after him. I never had any desire. No one could ever match him.”

It’s apparent the turbulent nature of Priscilla’s relationship with Elvis ultimately couldn’t break their deep connection. Priscilla became the executor of his estate two years after his death—including his Graceland property in Memphis, Tennessee, which opened to the public in 1982 and is now a hugely popular tourist attraction—and helped preserve his legacy through Elvis Presley Enterprises. Once she was of age, Lisa Marie officially inherited the estate when she turned 25, but Priscilla is still a part of maintaining Elvis’ legacy today. She acts as a “special advisor” to the trust that includes Graceland, now controlled by her granddaughter Riley Keough.

“I was absolutely in love with him and still am to this day,” Priscilla said of Elvis in 2022. This past November, she secured the right to be buried at Graceland near Elvis, meaning one day in the future the former couple could reunite at the home where their love story once blossomed.

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