After Elvis and Priscilla Presley divorced, he invited her to one of his shows. His girlfriend, Sheila Ryan, was also in attendance, and he had the women sit together. While this was likely a little uncomfortable, Elvis’ behavior during the show would have made them forget about any awkwardness between them. He monologued about both women, and his bodyguard said they each looked very embarrassed.
Elvis embarrassed Priscilla Presley and his new girlfriend with his monologuing
During a Las Vegas performance in the 1970s, Elvis got to perform in front of his ex-wife and new girlfriend.
“It was weird,” bodyguard Red West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “He had Priscilla and Sheila sitting in a booth next to one another.”
In between songs, he spoke about the jewelry he’d gifted Ryan and assured the audience that there was no drama between himself and Priscilla. Despite this, he took time to insult her new boyfriend, Mike Stone, saying he “ain’t got no balls.” Priscilla and Ryan sat through the rambling speech knowing that all eyes in the room were on them.
“Poor Priscilla and Sheila seemed very embarrassed, but they both handled it with lots of class,” West said. “Priscilla said at the time that she should have known better than attend the show. God, it was embarrassing!”
Priscilla Presley said she was also worried about Elvis’ behavior
To have the details of her divorce and new relationship aired out in front of an audience was embarrassing to Priscilla, but it was also troubling. Elvis was typically more guarded with his personal life. The fact that he was baring all to the audience signaled to Priscilla that something was wrong.
“I was in shock,” she said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “Because [in the past] he would never, ever let on to the audience what his emotions were. You know, singing was always his way of venting his emotions, how he felt about something — and he’d get onstage and sing his heart out … This was [so] out of character, for someone who had so much pride, you know — everything he was against, he was displaying. It was like watching a different person.”
This was yet another reason why her worry over Elvis continued to mount.
His bodyguards said he dated Sheila Ryan and Linda Thompson at the same time
While Elvis was in a relationship with Ryan, he also had one with Linda Thompson. According to bodyguard Sonny West, he alternated spending time with each woman.
“He often would alternate taking them on tour with him,” West said. “One time he would take Linda, then the next time he would take Sheila. If ever Linda made a fuss about him alternating her with another girl, I would always hear Elvis tell her over the telephone, ‘Woman, take that knife out of my damn back.’ I really think Linda wants to get married to Elvis and you can’t blame her for wanting marriage, but I don’t think Elvis will ever make the step.”
Elvis and Thompson had a serious relationship for several years before he began dating and proposed to Ginger Alden.
