Priscilla Presley's Memoir 'Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis' Revelations — Including Secret Affairs and Why She Despised Michael Jackson
Priscilla Presley's new memoir includes head-turning revelations.
Sept. 26 2025, Published 9:00 p.m. ET
Priscilla Presley poured her heart onto the pages of her new memoir, Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis.
In the new book, out on September 23, the 80-year-old The Naked Gun actress reflected on the tragedies she went through, including the day Lisa Marie Presley was taken off life support.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the biggest revelations from the memoir.
Taking Lisa Marie Presley Off Life Support Was 'Unbearable'
Priscilla wrote about Lisa Marie's death in her new memoir.
"It was the second saddest day of my life, other than losing Elvis [Presley]," Priscilla says. "It took a long time to come to terms with the fact that Lisa was gone."
According to Priscilla, she knew her daughter was "gone" from "the first moment" she went into her late daughter's hospital room.
"She was hooked to a machine that was breathing for her, and she had a heartbeat," she writes. "There was little brain activity. Her spirit, always so vital, wasn't there. Riley [Keough] later told us that while she was still on her flight, she had felt her mother's spirit pass. But none of us was ready to give up yet."
Following a code blue, Lisa Marie's doctor asked the matriarch what she wanted him to do.
"They had restarted Lisa's heart, but there was no guarantee it would keep beating. I asked the doctor, 'What kind of life will she have if we keep her on that machine?'" she recalled.
After the doctor said there would be "no quality of life at all," she made the hard decision to end her daughter's suffering.
"It was unbearable," Priscilla writes of taking Lisa Marie off the machine. "I began to sob. I don't remember falling. I know that Ivy caught me. After that, everything went dark. I can't remember. I don't want to remember."
Lisa Marie Presley 'Did Not Want to Be Here Anymore' After Son Benjamin Keough's Suicide
Priscilla's 'Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis' hit bookshelves on September 23.
In her new memoir, Priscilla brought Lisa Marie's suffering to light, revealing the late singer-songwriter's life was altered irreversibly following her son Benjamin Keough's suicide in 2020.
"[Ben] was absolutely the love of her life," Priscilla writes. "She didn't want to be here anymore [after his suicide]. She wanted to be with Ben ... I'd tell her, 'Lisa, you've got the twins. You have to take care of the twins.' She tried. She really did."
Priscilla Presley Hid Her Relationship With Robert Kardashian From Elvis Presley
Priscilla met Robert Kardashian through his brother Tom Kardashian.
Priscilla dropped a bombshell in Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, reminiscing about the night Elvis called her while she was with Robert Kardashian Sr.
"It hadn't crossed [Elvis'] mind that I might have been asleep. It had certainly never occurred to him that I might be with another man," she writes. "Despite our divorce, he still couldn't wrap his head around my being with someone else. He'd have gone ballistic, maybe literally, if he'd known Robert was in my bedroom. Elvis always carried a loaded gun, sometimes more than one."
Fortunately, the Kardashian patriarch was a "sound sleeper," so Priscilla managed to go to the guest bedroom to answer her ex-husband's call.
The Dallas alum described Robert as a "sweet man" who wanted to "get married." However, she admitted she was not ready to marry again during the time they were dating.
Priscilla Presley Opened Up About Her Son's Struggles With Drug Addiction
Navarone Garibaldi is Priscilla's son with Marco Garibaldi.
In addition to Lisa Marie, Priscilla is also a mother to Navarone Garibaldi, whom she welcomed in 1987 with her ex Marco Garibaldi.
In her memoir, she talked about her son's struggles with drug addiction and the withdrawals he went through.
"My son says that withdrawing from fentanyl was a 10," Priscilla writes in the book. "Withdrawing from heroin was a 6.5. Whatever the numbers, the second withdrawal was bad enough. Again, we marshaled the troops ... And again, my son pulled through."
Priscilla Presley Hoped to Keep Her Family Together
Elvis and Priscilla finalized their divorce in 1973.
Despite divorcing the King of Rock and Roll, Priscilla worked hard to hold their family close.
"I wanted to keep the family together as much as I could. One way or another, I made sure she saw her daddy," she says of letting Lisa Marie spend time with her father.
Priscilla Presley Reflected on Elvis Presley's Death
Elvis and Priscilla separated in 1972.
In an excerpt shared by CBS News, Priscilla looked back at the time she learned about Elvis' death.
"On August 16, 1977, I was meeting my sister for lunch on Melrose Avenue. It was a strangely cold and damp day for summer in Los Angeles. As I neared the restaurant, Michelle was flagging me down from the corner across the street," she writes. "When I came to a stop, she rushed over to the car. She told me that she'd just had a call from Dad.
"Joe Esposito was phoning all over, trying to get a hold of me. It was something about Elvis being in the hospital. My heart stopped. I knew Joe wouldn't be doing that if it was just another of Elvis's hospital stays. Something must be terribly wrong."
When she reached home, she broke down as she learned what had happened to her ex-husband – how Ginger Alden found Elvis unconscious, face down on the floor of the bathroom. Although he was rushed to the hospital, he was declared dead due to a heart attack.
Priscilla Presley Was Not Ready to Lose Elvis Presley
Elvis died on August 16, 1977.
After Priscilla and Lisa Marie returned home to Los Angeles, the matriarch said she still could not fill the void as she could not accept the fact that Elvis had passed.
"It was a constant battle to accept that he was gone. Every morning, I would wake up and remember, 'Oh God, Elvis isn't here anymore. How can I live knowing that?' I was frightened to be in a world without Elvis in it," she admitted.
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Lisa Marie Presley Gave Elvis Presley Something Before the Funeral Procession
Elvis was laid to rest in the Meditation Garden of Graceland.
Priscilla described Elvis' funeral as an "international event." After finally getting the chance to be alone with Elvis, Lisa Marie was finally able to give her father a silver bracelet engraved with the words, "I love you, Daddy."
She recalled: "I helped her put it around his wrist. Then we each kissed him one last time. I'm not sure it hit me until then that he was really gone. The body I had held and caressed so many times was now stiff and empty. It was an eerie, aching feeling."
Priscilla Presley Called Michael Jackson a 'Manipulative Man'
Lisa Marie and Michael Jackson were married for over two years.
Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis also shared a glimpse of Lisa Marie's marriage to Michael Jackson, who Priscilla called a "manipulative man."
In the book, she claimed she was "appalled" when Lisa Marie called her about her plans to marry the King of Pop in 1994.
"I knew in my bones that Michael wasn't marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty," Priscilla expressed.
She alleged the Billie Jean singer needed positive coverage after he was dealt a blow amid child molestation accusations.
"Michael was a manipulative man, and I think he had his sights set on her long before she realized it," Priscilla continued. "The childlike innocence he projected was part of his public mask."
Lisa Marie and Jackson were married from 1994 to 1996. When they divorced, Priscilla reportedly "could practically hear Elvis sigh with relief."
