Behind the gates of Graceland and the glamorous legacy of Elvis Presley was a far more complicated story—one filled with insecurity, rebellion, jealousy, betrayal, and, ultimately, a devastating truth that Priscilla Presley says she did not fully understand until it was too late.
In Chapter 6 of Softly, As I Leave You, Priscilla looks back on the difficult years of raising Lisa Marie Presley. To the outside world, Lisa Marie was the daughter of one of the most famous entertainers in history. But according to Priscilla, fame and privilege did not make childhood easy. Lisa was shy, insecure, impulsive, and constantly searching for new experiences.
School became one of the biggest battles.
Priscilla describes Lisa as intelligent but deeply uninterested in traditional education. She struggled to get her daughter to attend school and even tried enrolling her in different schools. At one point, Priscilla considered sending Lisa to a boarding school in Switzerland. But Lisa reportedly failed the entrance examination, just as she had struggled academically elsewhere.
Priscilla did not believe intelligence was the problem. Lisa was able to master demanding Scientology courses, suggesting that she could learn when she was interested. The problem, Priscilla believed, was simple: Lisa Marie hated school.
But education was only one of Priscilla’s worries.
After Elvis died, Lisa Marie desperately wanted to return to Graceland. She longed to be surrounded by the people, memories, and familiar environment connected to her father. Elvis had died when Lisa was still a child, and Priscilla believed that his early death contributed to Lisa developing a romanticized view of her childhood.
Priscilla became fiercely protective.
She monitored Lisa’s whereabouts, called the parents of her friends, and worried constantly about the boys entering her daughter’s life. Lisa was reportedly attracted to rebellious “bad boys”—the kind with motorcycles, long hair, and leather jackets. Priscilla feared that Lisa’s impulsive personality could lead her into trouble.
One particularly unforgettable parenting moment came when Lisa, at 14, appeared wearing an outfit Priscilla considered far too revealing. Instead of simply ordering her daughter to change, Priscilla decided to make a dramatic point.
She went upstairs and changed into an equally revealing outfit.
Then, to Lisa’s horror, Priscilla reportedly went outside and pretended to hitchhike. Lisa was mortified. The message was clear: if Lisa was embarrassed to see her mother dressed that way, perhaps she could understand how Priscilla felt watching her daughter leave the house in a similar outfit.
But the chapter takes a much darker turn when Priscilla discusses Michael Edwards.
Edwards, a handsome and charismatic model, entered Priscilla’s life when Lisa was around 10 years old. He eventually moved in with them. Priscilla describes him as outgoing and charming, but her parents never trusted him. They could not fully explain why—they simply felt uncomfortable around him.
Over time, Priscilla herself began to have doubts.
She became suspicious of his relationships with other women, particularly when his work took him out of town. She discovered clues suggesting that he had been unfaithful, including two partially filled wine glasses hidden beneath a bar during one trip. Edwards allegedly disappeared for days at a time and returned with apologies and denials.
Their relationship was already unstable.
Then came the moment that would change everything.
When Lisa was 14, she told Priscilla that Edwards had entered her bedroom one night and pulled back the covers while she was wearing a nightgown. Lisa said the experience made her uncomfortable. Edwards denied wrongdoing, claiming that he had simply checked on her and tucked the covers around her.
Priscilla was confused.
Lisa had reportedly denied that Edwards had touched her inappropriately, and afterward, she even became upset when Priscilla decided he should leave. Lisa wrote an emotional letter defending him and reminding her mother of their complicated family bond.
For Priscilla, the situation was heartbreaking and difficult to understand.
Yet something did not feel right.
Despite the confusion, Priscilla ultimately decided that protecting her daughter had to come first. She asked Edwards to leave.
Years later, the situation became even more disturbing.
Edwards published a book in which he wrote about developing feelings toward Lisa as she entered puberty. His own words, as described in Priscilla’s account, left her deeply disturbed. Priscilla later said that reading what he had written made her physically sick and caused her to question how much she had failed to understand at the time.
But the most devastating revelation came decades later.
After Lisa Marie’s death, Priscilla learned from Lisa’s own posthumously published autobiography that the disturbing incident involving Edwards had allegedly not been an isolated event. Lisa revealed that inappropriate touching had allegedly continued for years.
For Priscilla, there could be no final conversation.
No opportunity to sit across from her daughter, ask difficult questions, or understand why Lisa had once defended Edwards while privately carrying experiences her mother had not fully known about.
That is what makes this chapter so emotionally devastating.
It is not simply the story of a famous family struggling with fame. It is the story of a mother who believed she was watching carefully, who believed she was protecting her child, and who later discovered that some of the most painful truths had remained hidden.
Priscilla’s reflections are filled with confusion, regret, and the unbearable reality of never receiving complete closure.
And perhaps the most haunting part of all is this: sometimes a parent can be standing right beside their child, desperately trying to protect them, while still not knowing the full truth of what that child is silently carrying.
For Priscilla Presley, that realization came far too late—and by then, Lisa Marie was gone, taking the answers with her.