Alex Carson
Elvis Presley marries once to Priscilla Presley, whom he meets when she is only 14 years old. Of all the women he loves throughout his life, only his affair with Ann-Margret Olsson comes close to rivaling his relationship with Priscilla in terms of how memorable it is in the public sphere. It gripped the world’s imagination and kept us wondering about all of its juicy – albeit scandalous – details.
Ann-Margret and Elvis share a sizzling affair that endures friendship and a deep level of mutual respect over time. Many suspected that they just might be soulmates – Ann-Margret included. But their passionate romance leads Priscilla to reconsider their life together amid all that questioning. She breaks a vase in a fit of fiery rage. Join Facts Verse to know more about Ann Margret Finally Addresses the Affair That Destroyed Elvis’ Marriage.
Elvis Met Ann-Margret On The Set Of Viva Las Vegas
Is it really any wonder that Ann-Margret and Elvis fell so hard for each other? For one thing, Ann-Margret refers to the media as a female incarnation of the King of Rock and Roll. Stars are sex symbols in their own ways, talented in music, and possess undeniable star power and magnetic charisma. They seemed perfectly suited for each other.
George Sidney, the director of Viva Las Vegas, introduces the two on the set of his 1964 film. Elvis is already a big star and Ann-Margret saw the success she is looking for with movies like Bye Bye Birdie.
In her 1994 memoir, My Story, Ann-Margret reveals that her affair with the man from Tupelo feels like an inevitability. She wrote that she and Elvis were indeed soul mates – at least in her eyes. They were both shy on the outside but unbridled and wild within.
They both lived their lives on the edge and could be equally prone to self-destruction in their own ways. Both had remained childlike and emotionally dependent despite their immense fame and their meteoric rise to the top.
Arguably, the two young stars just might have been a bit too similar for the King’s tastes. He’s conservative, old-school ideas about things like marriage and gender roles. Because of this he and Ann-Margret clash on the set of Viva Las Vegas. Rumors start going around that he harbors professional jealousy towards her.
She can be assertive and keenly focus on her career and that isn’t what he’s looking for in a woman.
Priscilla Was Furious Over The Affair
There was just one pesky little problem with Elvis and Ann-Margret’s relationship. The king was already engaged. Priscilla, who was 18 at the time, was still living at Graceland eagerly awaiting their planned marriage.
Priscilla knows full well that Elvis is a bit of what can call a ‘wondering eye’. She admits to feeling threatened by her fiance’s relationship with Ann-Margret when she pens her 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me. In the book, she recalls a time that she picks up a flower vase. She throws it across the room when Elvis admits his covert affair with his co-star.
Elvis’ youthful future bride inflames the affair. Elvis wonders if he ships her back off to Germany for a bit to give her the chance to cool down. But Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, stepped in to pressure him to marry Priscilla anyway.
For her part, Ann-Margret was aware that her affair with Elvis couldn’t possibly last due to his engagement. She isn’t confused about that.
Elvis is nothing but honest with her, but it is still quite a confusing situation that she puts herself into. With his wedding date coming up in 1967, Elvia and Ann-Margret continued to see each other periodically until they had dated for almost an entire year. Then suddenly both parties pumped the breaks, They both knew that the relationship had run its course and that Elvis had to fulfill his vow to marry Priscilla.
Eventually, Elvis ceased returning Ann-Margret’s phone calls. He married Priscilla in 1967 just as they had planned, shortly before his former lover walked down the aisle with her longtime fiance as well.
Elvis And Ann-Margaret Remained Close Friends
Even though Ann-Margret marries Roger Smith for 5 decades, she retains a deep level of affection for the legend of rock and roll who she once called her lover. She refused to ever say a negative word about him, even though she was initially heartbroken over the loss of their relationship.
In a New York Times article published long after their split, Ann-Margaret opened up about that burning question of whether she considered Elvis to be the ‘love of her life’. She started the interview by stating that she had no intentions of hurting her husband. She goes on to relay that the man that she married at that point for 30 years is the man that she knew she was going to marry by their third date.
Even so, Elvis and Ann-Margaret remained close friends up until his death. He even sent flowers to her before many of her performances, and she was one of the few stars to attend his funeral in 1977.
But what about Priscilla? Remember how we mentioned earlier that Elvis had met her when she was just 14 years old? Keep watching to see how all of that played out. Join Facts Verse to know more about Ann Margret Finally Addresses the Affair That Destroyed Elvis’ Marriage.
Elvis And Priscilla’s Relationships
Elvis and Priscilla Beaulieu Presley met when he was 24 and she was 14 – but you already knew that. The age gap might seem pretty startling – and perhaps disturbing to some of you by today’s standards – but the difference wasn’t a problem for Elvis who earnestly thought that he could mold Priscilla into his ideal partner. This plan of molding and whatnot was at first very acceptable to Priscilla, but as she grew up she began to desire more control over her own life, which was something that their relationship frankly couldn’t withstand.
Elvis is stationed in West Germany during his time in the Army. In 1959, Priscilla arrived in the country after the Air Force transferred her father there. One day, when she was out with her little brother, a service member approached her and asked if she’d like to join him and his wife to go meet Elvis. Priscilla’s father gave the go-ahead to her to do so after checking in with the service member’s commanding officer.
On a cool November night in 1959, Priscilla, donning a navy-and-white sailor outfit, visited Elvis’ temporary abode in Bad Nauheim. Upon meeting the budding young star, Priscilla captured his attention. He still seemed interested even after she admitted that she was only in the ninth grade. He proceeded to swoon her by playing several songs for her including his hit ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’, but when she left his home that evening, she pretty much assumed that it was a one-off thing. She didn’t yet realize that she would soon be seeing a whole lot more of The King.
Elvis Liked That Priscilla Was Young And Inexperienced
Elvis saw a striking resemblance between Priscilla and his beloved mother, Gladys, who had recently passed away. He reportedly told his buddy Rex Mansfield that Priscilla was just young enough that he could train her any way that he desired. Elvis was eager to see her again. The second time that they linked up, he invited her back to his bedroom where they shared a kiss.
After he and his young lover-to-be went on four dates, her parents demanded that they meet him. Priscilla asks Elvis why his interest is in his teen daughter. Elvis replied by saying that he was quite fond of her and that she was a lot more mature than other people her age. He finished his pitch by adding that he enjoyed her company.
Priscilla’s parents impress enough by his words that they allow their daughter to continue seeing Elvis. For the rest of the time that he was stationed in Germany, Elvis was the center of Priscilla’s world. While she continued to go to school, she fell behind.
Priscilla’s age meant that the duo couldn’t go out in public together, but they still saw each other as often as they could. The only thing that was left to do was consummate their relationship – which Priscilla was eager to do. But Elvis told her that she had to wait. At the time, she was just too young for him to engage in that kind of thing. He promised her, however, that someday they would.
Elvis And Priscilla Reunited Two Years After He Was Discharged
In March 1960 Elvis left Germany. Priscilla sent him many letters using bright pink envelopes to make them easy to locate among all of his other fan mail. Her parents did however caution her that Elvis would probably forget her and that their relationship was likely over. But then, one fateful day, he called her. In 1962, he then convinced her parents to allow her to travel to Los Angeles to visit him.
After Priscilla made her way out west to visit her much older lover, Elvis added a visit to Las Vegas to the trip’s itinerary. During that trip, Priscilla started taking uppers and downers to keep up with Elvis’ night-owlish schedule. She begins wearing adult clothing that Elvis gives her as well as wearing makeup and her hair done to suit Elvis’ tastes.
Priscilla also visited Graceland for Christmas that year. After that, Elvis asked her to finish up her schooling in Memphis which she was all about. Her parents weren’t initially thrilled at the idea but she kept pressing them while Elvis concurrently tried his best to convince them that their daughter would be perfectly safe in his company living with his dad and stepmother. He also told them that he had intentions of marrying her. After laying down all of that pressure, Priscilla’s parents eventually agreed to the proposal and allowed her to move in with him at Graceland.
Well, that’s how Priscilla and Elvis came to be an item. While their story begins as a storybook romance – and they did eventually consummate their relationship after marrying in Vegas in 1967 – they separate and divorce in 1973.
But even so, when Elvis died in 1977, Priscilla was devasted. In her memoir, she recounted that after hearing the news, she wanted to die. Their relationship perhaps was not meant to last, but she still loved him deeply just as her rival Ann-Margret did.
That’s all the time we’ve got left for this video, but before you go, let us know in the comments section below what you think about Elvis and Priscilla’s relationship. Do you think that she was too young for him or do you think that it was just a different time with its own set of norms?
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