How Priscilla Presley Reacted When Elvis Said He Wanted 20 Children

In early 1968, Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley brought their first and only child, Lisa Marie, home to Graceland with them. Though Elvis expected Priscilla to take on most of the child-rearing responsibilities, he was beyond excited to be a father. He liked the role so much that, according to Graceland maid Nancy Rooks, he wanted to have many, many more children. When Rooks told Priscilla, she didn’t seem nearly as excited about the idea.

Priscilla Presley didn’t share Elvis’ vision of a home full of children

Shortly after Priscilla and Elvis married, she discovered she was pregnant. Though she wanted children with Elvis, she hadn’t wanted them so soon. He did not share any of her trepidation and excitedly prepared to become a father.

His excitement only increased after Priscilla gave birth to Lisa Marie. He could hardly wait to tell Graceland staff that Lisa Marie had been born.

“He thanked us all for everything and, after catching his breath, related all the exciting events of the day,” Rooks wrote in her book Inside Graceland: Elvis’ Maid Remembers. “His excitement was so contagious, and everyone wanted to share it with him. He told Dodger, ‘I love my little girl to death! We’re going to have a boy next time!’ He beamed and, getting caught up in the rapture of the moment, said, ‘We’re going to have 20 children!'”

Rooks told Priscilla what Elvis said, and she didn’t seem nearly as excited.

“Several weeks later Priscilla and I were talking and I happened to mention, teasingly, what Elvis had said about wanting 20 children,” Rooks wrote. “She laughed and replied, ‘Well, he’ll be the one to have them, because I’m not having any more!'”

Priscilla Presley initially worried about having a child with Elvis

Unlike Elvis, Priscilla spent much of her pregnancy worrying. She’d wanted to spend her first year of marriage traveling, not preparing for a newborn. She also worried that Elvis’ feelings toward her would change. He commented often on how he believed women used pregnancy as an excuse to let themselves go.

“I loved seeing Elvis happy, but I was still uncertain about how my unexpected pregnancy would affect our marriage,” she wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “This was supposed to have been our time alone. I wanted to be beautiful for him; instead, my debut as Elvis’ bride was going to be spoiled by a fat stomach, puffy face, and swollen feet.”

Priscilla’s fears were not unfounded. Though they remained married for several years after welcoming Lisa Marie, Priscilla said that Elvis’ behavior toward her changed.

“Now I was a mother and he was uncertain how to treat me,” she wrote. “He had mentioned before we were married that he had never been able to make love to a woman who’d had a child.”

She eventually had another child

Though Priscilla told Rooks she didn’t want another child, she eventually had one. She did not marry after her divorce, but she had a lengthy relationship with film producer Marco Garibaldi. In 1987, they welcomed a son, Navarone Garibaldi Garcia. 

Garcia, who is now the guitarist and lead vocalist of the band Them Guns, said it wasn’t always easy growing up with a famous mother.

“I got in trouble more than everybody else, because kids’ parents would find out who my mom was, and they’d want a reason to talk to her,” he told People. “I wasn’t very comfortable with it.”