Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Priscilla
With so many movies made about Elvis Presley, writer-director Sofia Coppola went in another direction with Priscilla; and though it’s based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me, the biopic doesn’t include every detail from the book. Priscilla is focused on the subject’s years with Elvis, better known as the King of Rock and Roll. Coppola brings Priscilla’s life to the big screen and includes much of what the actress included in her memoir — but not everything.
Starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, whose version of Elvis Presley couldn’t be more different from Austin Butler’s, Priscilla explored the relationship between Priscilla and Elvis. Priscilla wrote extensively about her time with the “Love Me Tender” singer — from how they met to their final days together. Coppola’s film only covers a certain amount of time from the book. And though it’s rather faithful to Presley’s memoir, there were certain things that were either left out or not expanded upon within the scope of the biopic. After all, not everything can be included or fully explored in just two hours.
8 Priscilla Presley Had A Couple Of Affairs Before Divorcing Elvis
Elvis Presley was known for his many affairs, and Priscilla highlighted some of them and how they made Priscilla herself feel throughout their relationship. But what Priscilla didn’t really cover is the two affairs she had before she ended things with Elvis. Granted, Priscilla didn’t take up any relationship with other men until the end of her marriage. In the late 60s, Priscilla admitted to a brief affair with a man named Mark, her private dance instructor. Her memoir highlighted her regret of the situation and recalls how short her affair was with Mark at the time.
A few years later, in 1972, Priscilla began an affair with karate instructor Mike Stone, who is glimpsed at the end of Priscilla. The biopic doesn’t fully insinuate what happened between the pair, but in the months before Priscilla asks Elvis for a divorce, Priscilla reveals her affair with Stone. Priscilla’s affairs helped push her to realize she didn’t want to stay married to Elvis anymore. Following Elvis and Priscilla’s divorce, she moved in with Mike Stone in 1973 and their relationship ended a couple of years later in 1975.
7 Priscilla Lived With Elvis’ Father & Stepmother Before Moving To Graceland
Sofia Coppola’s film shows that Priscilla Presley moved into Graceland after arriving from Germany (and after visiting Elvis previously). However, one of the conditions of Priscilla moving to Memphis was that she would stay with Elvis’ father Vernon and his wife Dee. While Priscilla did initially stay with them, it was short-lived. She ended up moving into Graceland shortly after her arrival from Germany, and remained there for the rest of her time with Elvis. Priscilla’s parents were also under the impression that Elvis would marry their daughter, as Elvis had Priscilla told them as much, which is why they let her move there in the first place.
6 Elvis Presley Was Pressured To Propose To Priscilla
Priscilla and Elvis had been together for six years before the latter finally proposed. Priscilla Presley stated that they were “perfectly content” just living together (via Ladies Home Journal), but that it was Colonel Parker who was said to have pressured the couple to marry. Elvis, on the other hand, was reportedly hesitant to marry Priscilla. Elvis also suggested to Priscilla’s parents that they would marry when he was trying to convince them to let her move to Graceland. According to the biography Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley, Elvis was caught crying before his wedding to Priscilla (via Country Music Nation).
5 Elvis Called Priscilla Multiple Times Before She Visited Graceland
Priscilla suggests Priscilla Presley waited for a couple of years before Elvis contacted her again after leaving Germany. However, it was only 21 days after returning to the US that Elvis Presley contacted Priscilla. After that, she would receive infrequent calls from him for the next couple of years. That is, until 1962, when Elvis formally invited Priscilla to visit him in the US. The visit took her first to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but Priscilla would spend time at Graceland during Christmas later that same year. It wasn’t long after that Priscilla returned to Graceland for good.
4 Elvis Wanted To Hire A Hitman To Kill Priscilla’s Lover
Priscilla Presley’s affair with Mike Stone eventually found its way to Elvis. When he found out about it a month following the divorce filing, the singer didn’t take it very well, and he thought about hiring a hitman to kill Stone (via Biography). Of course, Elvis was persuaded not to go through with it. The whole incident was left out of Priscilla because the film ended shortly after its subject spoke to Elvis about getting a divorce. Everything that happened thereafter remained offscreen.
3 Elvis & Priscilla Presley Were Briefly Separated During Her Pregnancy
Priscilla doesn’t shy away from the unhappiness and dysfunction of the couple’s relationship. And while the film does include a scene of Elvis asking Priscilla to leave, Priscilla doesn’t fully dive into his request for a trial separation. In her memoir, Priscilla Presley details Elvis’ shocking request for a trial separation seven months into her pregnancy. The singer stated things weren’t going well in their relationship and that he was “going through some things” and needed a break (via Cheat Sheet). Priscilla and Elvis were apart only briefly — for two days, to be precise — before Elvis changed his mind about the whole thing. It didn’t come up again.
2 Priscilla & Elvis’ Wedding Caused Tension With His Friends
Priscilla and Elvis’ wedding looked idyllic, but the affair was rather short, and it didn’t sit well with Elvis’ friends, who were better known as the Memphis Mafia. The wedding was a fairly public event, with a press conference even held afterward. The thing that set off the Memphis Mafia was the fact that they weren’t invited to attend Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding ceremony. This created tension between them and Elvis.
It especially upset his friend Red West, who reportedly didn’t attend the reception because he was refused entry to the ceremony (via Cheat Sheet). Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was primarily blamed for the snub, but it left a rift in the pair’s friendship for a while after. Priscilla Presley wrote in her memoir that West was mostly hurt that Elvis didn’t fight Parker’s demands regarding the wedding’s attendees. Elvis was ultimately regretful, but believed Parker was at fault. Priscilla also expressed regret about the way things went down. The couple eventually hosted another reception at Graceland to make it up to those who didn’t attend the original wedding.
1 Priscilla Was Told Elvis Would Know If She Was With Other Men
Despite Elvis Presley’s many affairs throughout his relationship with Priscilla, the singer made it clear to her early on in their relationship that he would know if she ever got with other men (via E! Online). This is implied throughout Priscilla as she hears and reads about Elvis’ affairs while she remains at Graceland. When Priscilla did have an affair with Mike Stone shortly before their divorce, Elvis did end up finding out about it.
