Elvis Presley’s Girlfriend Ghosted Him for 2 Weeks After They Met and He Was ‘Desperate’ to Find Her
Elvis Presley may have been the original “King of Rock and Roll,” but he was also many other things. Now, Presley is a cultural icon. Even people born after his time know his name. What most fans do not realize is that there was another side to Presley — one that was extremely jealous of girlfriends.
This jealousy made him desperate to find a woman he wanted to date, Linda Thompson. She had ghosted him for two weeks after he met her, making for an awkward situation.
How Elvis Presley and Linda Thompson met
Presley and Thompson met in July 1972 right after she won the Miss Tennessee USA crown. Presley had just come off his Elvis On Tour, which covered 15 cities in the early spring. And Thompson chose to attend a private movie screening at the Memphian Theater one night. Coincidentally, it was Presley who had rented out the property for the event.
That first night, Thompson became his focus. They talked a lot, especially once he told her that he had left his wife, Priscilla Presley, in January.
Presley’s jealousy revealed
As Elvis.com reports, Thompson told Larry King that she and Presley ended up spending most of the evening together in that theater. They found that despite their drastic age difference, they had a lot of similar beliefs. They were both from the South, shared the same cultural and religious beliefs, and had a great time together.
When the private movie viewing was over, she gave Presley her phone number and went home. At 4 a.m., her phone rang. Presley was on the other end of it.
In the conversation, Presley said, “I just want to let you know how happy that I met you this evening, and you know, I want to know where you’ve been and don’t disappear on me.” In the end, he invited her to Graceland to meet his father, Vernon, the next day. She agreed, and the two found an even deeper connection.
When Thompson left Graceland that day, she told Presley she was going on vacation and hoped to see him again when she returned. However, in an interview, she said “it didn’t register” for him. She admits she disappeared for two weeks.
Her disappearance wasn’t intentional. She didn’t have his number and had not given him a number to call her while she vacationed. Presley was quite upset over her disappearance.
After returning home, the phone rang. It was Joe Esposito, Presley’s road manager and friend, saying he and Elvis had looked everywhere for her. They wanted to know where she was and had been calling her. He went on to state that Presley wanted her there the next day.
The relationship between Thompson and Presley
When Presley got on the phone, he told her he was going to Las Vegas and she only needed to bring a toothbrush to go with him. Thompson arrived in Las Vegas to discover that Presley had booked them one room. However, he was a southern gentleman, and they did not become intimate.
For the next four years, Presley and Thompson dated and lived together at Graceland. Thompson says Presley was faithful to her during the first year. After that, she heard about other ladies he was seeing. Presley believed affairs were different for men, which is how he justified his jealousy.
This didn’t make his affairs hurt any less. However, she feels confident that he remained true to her mentally, if not physically. This was proven randomly by his jealous nature.
One example occurred in 1976, shortly before the couple separated. Thompson was sitting in Presley’s hospital room watching the Olympics. She says they were watching Bruce Jenner cross the finish line and said “Wow, look at that guy. I’d like to marry that guy.” Presley told her “Over my dead body.”
Another time, she mentioned a past relationship to Presley. He told her he didn’t ever want to hear about anyone she thinks is handsome, good-looking, or dated in the past. He said he didn’t want to know anything about it.
