Elvis Presley first met Priscilla Beaulieu in 1959 when she was just 14-years-old while he was stationed in Friedberg, Germany.
Just a few years later, after he had finished his stint in the US Army, he brought Priscilla over to the USA to live with him in Graceland.
Their relationship continued to blossom, and by Christmas of 1966, they were engaged. They got married on May 1, 1967, and began their married life as Elvis and Priscilla Presley. But that’s when things began to get complicated.
Last year, Priscilla looked back on those first tumultuous months of being married to the King of Rock and Roll, noting how she was the hot topic for all the newspapers at the time.
“The beginning [of the marriage] was very difficult,” Priscilla confessed, before adding that her young age was a key part of the interest in her.
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Priscilla was just 21-years-old when she got married to Elvis, who was a decade older than her.
Their age difference had been a hot topic for years in the press, and when they finally got married after six years of being together, things only got worse.
But, Priscilla confessed, she “knew what she was in for”. (via Irish Times)
Despite this, she struggled to deal with the microscope continually being pointed at her.
Priscilla recalled: “The gossip was the hardest part. That’s when I started not reading papers any more or [magazines] in the grocery stores.”
Soon enough, rumours began to circulate in the papers and magazines that Elvis had only married Priscilla because he had no other choice.
“I found out how vicious people could be,” she remembered. “There were rumours I was pregnant, and that’s why he got married and I’m going: ‘Oh my God, this is not gonna be good for me.’”
Although the rumours were not true – Elvis did not marry Priscilla because she was already pregnant – the young woman did give birth to their only child, Lisa Marie Presley, exactly nine months later on February 1, 1968.
Despite the fact she and Elvis were caught in the crosshairs, the King always supported his wife, and tried to keep her focused on their life.
Priscilla said: “It was hard to get accepted. But he always told me: ‘Don’t pay attention … don’t even listen and don’t look at the tabloids. You know what the truth is so just be cautious, but be aware.'”
