Priscilla Presley Shared Why Elvis Criticized the Wives of His Entourage — and Why She Worried About Getting the Same Treatment

Priscilla Presley was with Elvis Presley for years, but she got far less alone time with him than she would have liked. During most of their waking hours, the couple was with Elvis’ Memphis Mafia, his entourage of friends and employees. She grew close with these men and their wives. She also noticed Elvis’s frustration when he spoke about some of the wives. Priscilla shared why they irritated him and how she tried to avoid this reaction.

Priscilla Presley didn’t want Elvis to criticize her for taking him away from his entourage

Even before Priscilla moved in with Elvis, she realized how important his entourage was to him. They ate meals together and lived on his property. He relied on them for nearly everything, including companionship. They even traveled with Elvis and Priscilla in the days immediately after their wedding.

“I understood Elvis’ need for the camaraderie the entourage provided, and I didn’t want to take him away from the people he loved, especially now that we were married,” Priscilla wrote in her book Elvis and Me.

Priscilla and Elvis Presley | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

She also knew it would be a problem if she complained to Elvis about the time he spent with his entourage. Whenever a member of the entourage’s wife asked her husband to spend more time at home, Elvis became frustrated. Priscilla didn’t want her new husband to think she was pulling him away from his friends.

“He had always criticized wives who tried to change the status quo,” Priscilla wrote. “He told me about one wife, saying, ‘She doesn’t like him to be around the boys so much. She’s going to cause problems in the group.’ The last thing I wanted was for Elvis to think I’d be the kind of wife who’d come between her man and his friends.”

As a result, Priscilla swallowed her complaints, as she did with nearly every one of the couple’s relationship problems I’ve covered. 

Priscilla Presley began to long for a life with Elvis away from his entourage

While Priscilla didn’t want Elvis to think she was getting between him and his friends, she longed for some alone time with her husband. When they bought the ranch where they spent the days after their wedding, Priscilla had hoped it would be a private getaway for them.

“I fell in love with it and began to picture Elvis and me living there alone,” she wrote of the ranch house. “It was small enough for me to handle myself … I thought of this ranch as a wonderful way for us to get away from Graceland from time to time. I pictured us saddling our own horses and riding in the early morning or at dusk. My picture was of us alone, without an entourage.”

This was not what happened. When they bought the ranch, Elvis installed mobile homes for every member of his entourage. Priscilla hosted people for dinner at the house every night. 

Her concerns will play out on the big screen in Sofia Coppola’s film ‘Priscilla’

Priscilla gave insight into her life with Elvis in Elvis and Me. In 2023, Sofia Coppola’s adaptation, Priscilla, will hit theaters. The film comes not long after Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, but will center on Priscilla Presley. 

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where a visibly moved Priscilla watched as the audience gave a 7-minute standing ovation.

“It’s very difficult to sit and watch a film about you, about your life, about your love,” Priscilla said, per Variety. “Sofia did an amazing job. She did her homework, we spoke a couple of times, and I really put everything out for her that I could.”

The film arrives in theaters Nov. 3.