Priscilla Presley Would Go Months Without Speaking to Elvis After He Left Germany
When Elvis Presley began dating the future Priscilla Presley, she dreaded his return to the United States. He was in Germany with the Army, and her family was also there because of her father’s role in the military. When Elvis left, he promised to remain in contact with her. He stayed true to this word, at least to a certain extent. While Elvis continued to call Priscilla, she said she would often go months without hearing from him.
Priscilla Presley worried about the state of her relationship with Elvis
When Elvis and Priscilla said goodbye to each other at the airport in Germany, he promised to call her once he was home. She began receiving calls from journalists and letters from fans, but nothing from Elvis. After three weeks, he finally reached out. This became the trend for their communication. Priscilla wrote Elvis letters and waited by the phone, but she only sporadically heard from him.
“I was living in a state of suspended animation, waiting for Elvis’ infrequent calls,” she wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “There was never a pattern to them. He would phone out of the blue after three weeks — or three months. He always did most of the talking, chatting about his current film or his costar.”
He also used the calls to complain to Priscilla about his girlfriend, Anita Wood. This, coupled with the infrequency of his communications, made her question if she fit into his life.
“I didn’t know where I stood,” Priscilla wrote. “Time and distance had created doubts and questions; I wanted to ask him, ‘Where do I fit in your life? Or do I?’”
Priscilla Presley constantly worried Elvis had entered into another relationship
The infrequent communication made Priscilla wonder if Elvis had entered into another relationship. She knew about Wood, of course, but she wondered if other women were in the picture.
“I wanted to believe him when he said he still cared for me,” she wrote. “But during the periods when I did not hear from him, I could not help but doubt that I would ever see him again. I heard his latest record, ‘Marie’s the Name (His Latest Flame),’ and felt sure he’d fallen in love with a girl named Marie.”
She followed the tabloids closely and worried about each of his co-stars.
He broke a months-long silence in a dramatic fashion
In the spring of 1962, Priscilla had gone months without hearing from Elvis. Therefore, when he called her that March, his words came as a surprise.
“‘I’d like to make arrangements for you to visit me in Los Angeles,’ he said. ‘Do you think we can work it out?’”
Astonished, Priscilla promised to work on getting her parents’ approval. To her, the invitation came as validation that their relationship was real and that Elvis cared for her. Once her parents agreed to let her visit him during her summer break, she awaited her trip in eager, almost painful anticipation.
