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He was very controlling with Priscilla.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Jan 21, 2023
From the start of Elvis and Priscilla's relationship, the two were shrouded in controversy.
The two first met in 1959 while at a party in West Germany during Elvis' years in the Army. At the time, Priscilla was 14 and Elvis was 24.
In an essay for PEOPLE in 1985, Priscila wrote about meeting Elvis for the first time, and their massive age gap.
"When we met, I was an impressionable 14-year-old. He was 24," she said. According to Priscilla, when he found out she was in ninth grade, he responded, “Why, you’re just a baby.”
In May 1967, when Priscilla was 21, she and Elvis married in a Las Vegas ceremony. Nine months later, the couple welcomed their first and only child, Lisa Marie Presley.
Elvis and Priscilla were married for four years before eventually divorcing in 1972.
However, during the former couple's marriage, Elvis had a strict and rather strange rule that he forced Priscilla to follow.
Elvis Presley wanted Priscilla to look perfect at all times and refused to see her without makeup.
During a November 2016 appearance on ITV's 'Loose Woman,' Priscilla admitted that Elvis refused to see her without makeup or even looking a bit disheveled.
"Some can't have the truth," Priscilla said, according to Entertainment Tonight. "I always had a little bit of makeup. He never wanted to see me getting dressed, he wanted to see the end result."
Following their divorce, Priscilla realized that Elvis had been trying to transform her into his ideal woman.
"Something in his Southern upbringing had taught him that the 'right' girl was to be saved for marriage. I was that girl," she wrote of her Mississippi hometown in her essay for PEOPLE.
She claimed that Elvis would try to "mold me into his perfect woman," and she would wear "the clothes, hairstyle, and makeup of his careful choosing."
It was reportedly Elvis' idea for Priscilla to wear her hair in a bouffant, which became her signature hairstyle, and even told her she needed to wear a heavier amount of eyeliner.
"You need to apply more makeup around your eyes — make them stand out more," Priscilla described Elvis telling her. "They're too plain naturally."
Priscilla pointed out that it took her years to finally understand who she was, and build a personality of her own.
"I realized that I don't know who I am," she said while on 'Loose Woman.'
Priscilla believed that Elvis had been trying to emulate his late mother through her.
It's no secret that Elvis had deep-rooted mommy issues, which ultimately bled into his relationship with Priscilla.
In her 1985 memoir 'Elvis and Me,' Priscilla picked up on Elvis' unshakeable relationship with his mother, Gladys, who died in 1958.
"I was to learn that Elvis' mother, Gladys, was the love of his life."
According to Express, biographer Alma Nash pointed out that Elvis' mother's passing coincided with him meeting Priscilla, which might've led to his obsession to turn her into Gladys.
"Elvis was always looking for that young girl he could mold into the image of Gladys," Nash said.
"In a way, he dressed young women to resemble her," she continued. "He picked out their clothes. Priscilla was perfect."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.