Elvis’ Friend Worried the Singer’s Romance With Ginger Alden Was ‘Killing’ Him
After his divorce from Priscilla Presley and the breakdown of his relationship with Linda Thompson, Elvis Presley threw himself into a relationship with Ginger Alden. He was two decades older than her, and their romance became a point of concern for the members of Elvis’ entourage. His friend Larry Geller worried that trying to keep up with Alden would kill Elvis.
Elvis’ friend worried about his relationship with Ginger Alden
From the moment Elvis and Alden met, he threw himself into their relationship. He bought her expensive gifts, insisted she joined him on tour, and flew out her family members when she felt homesick. Elvis talked to Geller about the way Alden’s presence in his life invigorated him, leading to better performances. Geller didn’t think the emotional high would last, though.
“How long can the drugs and his feelings about Ginger keep him on this high?” Geller wrote in his diary, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick.
In fact, Geller believed Elvis’ interest in Alden would ultimately be to his detriment. Other members of the entourage agreed: some aides even told the Nashville Banner that Elvis’ attempts to keep up with Alden was “absolutely running him ragged.”
Geller, who had witnessed firsthand the effects of stress and drugs on Elvis, believed he was “killing himself, striving for her love and attention.”
The singer’s friend told him he should consider dating a woman his age
Elvis’ relationship with Alden became a frequent point of discussion for the people in his life. The members of his entourage believed her interest in Elvis had more to do with his wealth and fame than anything else. Typically, they tried not to disagree with Elvis, but they gave their opinion about Alden relatively freely. Elvis’ cousin, Billy Smith, even told the singer that he should consider dating someone his own age.
“What the hell could a forty-two-year-old woman do for me?” Elvis snapped in response.
He disregarded their concerns and kept Alden close by his side. If Elvis had his way, Alden would have spent even more time with him. They had several raging fights when she refused to join him on tour.
Elvis proposed to Ginger Alden
In 1977, Elvis proposed to Alden after just a few months together. He used a massive diamond from his TCB ring and popped the question in his bathroom. According to Graceland maid Nancy Rooks, though, the couple’s age gap began to cause problems for their relationship. Rooks didn’t think Elvis would have actually married Alden.
“A lot of people have asked me if Elvis had really intended to marry Ginger. I don’t think that he did,” Rooks wrote in Inside Graceland: Elvis’ Maid Remembers. “I think in the beginning he felt like he could change her into someone who could take care of him, but, as time went on, I think he realized that he could not ‘mold her’ like he wanted to. She was just too young and too independent. He had already mentioned to me a day or so earlier that if she did not go with him on this tour, he was going to find someone else.”
Elvis died in 1977, before he and Alden could have gotten married.
