Priscilla Presley reveals in her forthcoming memoir that Elvis Presley once phoned her at 2 a.m. while she was in bed with Robert Kardashian, a detail she says the King did not know about at the time. The claim appears in an excerpt from Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis that The Sun published this week. Presley writes that Elvis would have "gone ballistic, maybe literally, if he’d known Robert was in my bedroom," adding that Elvis "always carried a loaded gun, sometimes more than one." The memoir is due to be released later this month, and Presley frames the recollection as part of a broader look at her life after Elvis.
Priscilla began dating Kardashian in 1975, after her divorce from Elvis in 1973 and her subsequent romance with karate instructor Mike Stone. Kardashian would go on to marry Kris Jenner in 1978 and welcome four children with Jenner before their 1991 divorce. Presley describes Kardashian as "a sweet man," though his demanding work as a high-profile Hollywood attorney kept him working long hours, complicating the relationship. A representative for Presley did not respond to requests for comment from Page Six.
According to Presley, Kardashian reportedly hoped for a life with her, and she recalls memories from friends that Elvis could be controlling about the relationship. A friend who contributed memories for a 2017 book recalled Kardashian telling others that Elvis would "not stop controlling [Priscilla]." Presley writes that there was a bedside arrangement in which she would place the bedside receiver on the pillow between herself and Robert so Kardashian could listen in on Elvis's conversations with his ex-wife. Kardashian later married Kris Jenner and had four children with her; he died in 2003 from cancer.
Presley notes that she and Kardashian remained friends until his death in 2003. She mentions that Kardashian's daughter Kim Kardashian called from the hospital before his death and that Kardashian and Presley shared a final conversation that left Presley with affection for him. The memoir, Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, is scheduled to hit shelves Sept. 23 and adds another chapter to the public fascination with the intertwined lives of Presley and Kardashian families. Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis's daughter, died in 2023, underscoring the lasting public interest in the family legacy.
The excerpt’s publication and the surrounding reporting highlight Priscilla Presley’s ongoing effort to tell her story on her own terms. A representative for Presley did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Page Six. The book’s release date offers readers a chance to reassess the long-running public narrative around Elvis, Priscilla, and their circle, including Kardashian’s later marriage to Kris Jenner and the generations that followed.