But, despite being devoted to the new arrival, Elvis and Priscilla’s relationship took a turn after Lisa-Marie’s birth. Elvis confessed to Priscilla that he couldn’t be intimate with women who had given birth.
In her memoir, Elvis and Me, Priscilla wrote: “[Elvis] had mentioned to me before we were married that he had never been able to make love to a woman who had a child.”
As expected, after Lisa Marie’s arrival, Elvis struggled to see Priscilla as anything other than a mother. This affected Priscilla’s self-perception. “I [was] beginning to doubt my own sexuality as a woman,” she wrote. “My physical and emotional needs were unfulfilled.”
The King’s long-time mate, Sonny West, supported these claims, stating: “It didn’t come easy for Elvis to be a committed husband. Elvis viewed her as a mother first and a wife second, and he had hang-ups about making love with her.”
Sonny also highlighted how Elvis’ relationship with his late mum, Gladys Presley, likely influenced his relationships with women in his adult life.
“[Gladys] gave him so much love and attention when he was growing up that he came to put all mothers on a special pedestal,” West said. “The idea of sex with a mother was, to Elvis, out of the question.”
This was a big shift for the couple. Priscilla described their sex life after tying the knot as “passionate” and “full of adventure”. “Ordinary thrills sometimes were not enough [for Elvis],” she once said. “Especially when he was under the influence of powerful drugs.”
However, after Lisa Marie was born, Elvis spent time with other women. And Priscilla reacted as one might expect. She had a brief fling with her dance instructor, as well as a serious affair with her karate teacher Mike Stone.
After six years, Priscilla and Elvis broke up. They finalised their divorce in 1973 – but they remained very friendly.
When they left the courthouse after breaking up, Elvis sang the lyrics to Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You.