Priscilla Presley Shared Why Elvis’ Immense Career Success Became a ‘Real-Life Nightmare’ for Their Relationship

When Elvis Presley made a career comeback, Priscilla Presley was happy to see him succeed. She proudly watched him perform in concerts and traveled with him when he let her. Eventually, though, the intensity of his career began to wear on her. While his career disappointments hurt their relationship, his success put distance between them too.

Priscilla Presley grew concerned about Elvis Presley’s career success

When Elvis began playing shows in Las Vegas for the first time in years, Priscilla said he seemed “humbled” by his audience’s exuberant reactions to his performances. This didn’t last very long.

“Later, he would become more cocky,” Priscilla wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “The crowds’ admiration took him back to his triumphs in the early fifties, and he found it hard to come down to earth after a month of nightly cheers.”

He loved the attention and excitement of his Vegas residencies. In comparison, life at home with his wife and young daughter seemed dull to Elvis. For Priscilla, having to compete for Elvis’ affection was daunting.

“Thriving on all the excitement, glamour, and hysteria, he found it difficult to go home and resume his role as father and husband,” she wrote. “And for me, the impossibility of replacing the crowd’s adoration became a real-life nightmare.”

Priscilla Presley said Elvis seemed bored at home

In between weeks of touring and residencies, Elvis returned home. He tried to put off his time at home for as long as possible.

“At home in Los Angeles, there was just the usual group around — strictly a family atmosphere,” Priscilla wrote. “This abrupt change was too much for him and soon he developed the habit of lingering in Vegas for days, sometimes weeks, after a show. The boys were finding it increasingly difficult to resolve the conflict between working for Elvis and maintaining a home life.”

When Elvis did come home, Priscilla said he seemed restless and bored. It didn’t help that he was taking drugs, which heightened this feeling. 

“Crazed with inactivity and boredom, Elvis became edgy and temperamental, a condition exacerbated by the Dexedrine he was again taking to control his weight,” Priscilla wrote. 

She believed her husband felt lost

Priscilla wanted to make the transition to home life as easy for Elvis as possible. They took trips to Palm Springs for an escape, but Priscilla began to find them tedious when she became a mother. She suggested that Elvis take the trip with his entourage instead. 

“From that time on, the guys developed their own lifestyle in our secluded desert home,” she wrote. “Occasionally we wives would be invited to spend the weekend, but by and large, Elvis now considered Palm Springs his private refuge.”

Elvis told Priscilla he loved these trips, but she believed he was just desperately seeking an escape.

“He made it clear that this time away was good for him, giving him a chance to think, to hang out with the guys,” she wrote. “In reality, Elvis was lost. He did not know what to do with himself after Vegas. He escaped in more powerful, unnecessary prescribed drugs to raise his spirits and ward off boredom.”