Elvis Presley’s Cousin Reveals He ‘Didn’t Want’ to Marry Priscilla or Any Woman

Forty-eight years after Elvis Presley‘s untimely death, there’s still more to be learned about the King of Rock and Roll. His cousin Danny Smith, son of Elvis’ cousin Billy Smith, lived on Graceland’s property with his family and got to see a different side of Elvis. Danny revealed that not only did Elvis not want to marry Priscilla Presley, he likely didn’t want to marry at all.

Elvis Presley likely would have remained single

Danny Smith, also known as Memphis Mafia Kid, posted a video sharing his thoughts about Elvis Presley’s relationship with Priscilla Presley. Smith believes Elvis was happy as a single man and didn’t yearn for marriage.

“Just my opinion, no doubt Elvis loved Priscilla. He loved a lot of women,” Smith began. “Did he want to be married to any of them? I don’t think so,” he continued.

“I don’t think he really did and I don’t think he really could. Believe and feel what you want to,” Smith concluded.

Smith did not elaborate further on why he didn’t think Elvis would have married. However, Priscilla gave some insight into their love affair in a 1973 interview with Ladies Home Journal, including why it took so long for them to tie the knot.

Priscilla Presley claimed she and Elvis Presley were happy unmarried

In 1973, Priscilla Presley sat down for a lengthy interview to discuss her life as Elvis Presley’s wife. The couple divorced that same year after a relationship that spanned 14 years, and a marriage that lasted six.

Priscilla discussed meeting Elvis at 14 in September 1959. By 1963, she was living at Graceland. They married in 1967 when Priscilla was 21 and Elvis was 32.

She told Ladies Home Journal, “As a wedding present, Elvis flew in my mom and dad from his new post at Fort Ord, California. I remember how overwhelmed they were, and how happy, too. Of course, they thought it was time. We had been dating for years!”

“Although many people thought our wedding was sudden, Elvis and I had been talking about it in stages,” she said of their engagement.

“One day he showed me the ring and simply asked me to marry him. Even though we were perfectly content the way we were, at that time it wasn’t nice for people to live together.”

Priscilla said Elvis’ lifestyle and alleged infidelities led to their divorce

In a 2017 interview with Sunday Night, per Yahoo!, Priscilla Presley said her split from Elvis Presley had nothing to do with a lack of love between them. “It was the lifestyle. I couldn’t keep up, it was hard keeping up and I had a daughter (Lisa Marie Presley),” Priscilla admitted.

“He wasn’t faithful. Not that he had someone special, but when you’re in the entertainment business there is always that and I tried to turn my back to that, but I just didn’t want to share him. Simple as that.”

Throughout Elvis and Priscilla’s relationship, his manager Colonel Tom Parker insisted it be kept a secret, both for a morality issue (due to the fact Elvis and Priscilla lived together outside of marriage) and to maintain Elvis’ appeal as a single teen idol. Therefore, he encouraged Elvis to date throughout the ’60s, including romances with Ann-Margret and Sandy Martindale.

Despite their split, Elvis and Priscilla reportedly remained close. He valued her opinion and respected her as a mother and his former longtime, trusted partner.

“We never lost our friendship and our care for each other,” Priscilla revealed. “He would call me at night. I really valued his calls. I valued him telling me what was wrong.”

Elvis Presley never remarried. Neither did Priscilla Presley. He died on Aug. 16, 1977.