Share and Follow
Elvis Presley was famous for much of his life. He was one of the biggest celebrities in the world and grew accustomed to having fans throw themselves at him. Over the course of his life, he had multiple flings with multiple women. According to his friend and bodyguard, though, his fame did not spark the affairs. He was so charming that he would have had a busy love life even if nobody recognized his name.
Elvis Presley would have been a successful flirt even if he wasn’t famous
When people first met Elvis, they took note of the way he could make anyone feel special.
“This guy didn’t have to give me the time of day. But somehow he had that charm, or maybe it was a knack, of making me feel important at a time when it was important for me personally to be made to feel important,” his bodyguard Dave Hebler said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “Perhaps, now, I see it clearer, but there is no getting away from it. I had never met — before or since — never read of, nor heard of, any man who could so totally disarm you with charm, generosity and what appeared to be spontaneous love, as could Elvis Presley. Today they use the word charisma. Well, Presley had it to spare in truckloads.”
Elvis used this charm when speaking to his romantic interests. As a result, he had multiple affairs. His stardom likely helped, but another bodyguard believed Elvis’ charm would have worked on people even if he wasn’t famous.
“Even if Elvis wasn’t who he was, say he was just an old truck driver,” bodyguard Sonny West said, “when he turns on that country-boy charm, he could romance the queen of England.”
Priscilla Presley didn’t think Elvis would ever be happy with just one woman
Elvis’ “country-boy charm” won him many admirers, but it also caused problems in his long-term relationships. Priscilla Presley said that Elvis’ constant cheating wore down their relationship. She didn’t think he would ever be able to be with just one woman at a time.
“He wasn’t faithful, not that he had someone special, but when you’re in the entertainment business there is always that and I tried to turn my back to that, but I just didn’t want to share him. Simple as that,” she said on Sunday Night, per Today. “As much as he wanted to be married and have a family, I don’t know if he was ever cut to be married because I don’t think he could ever be faithful to one woman.”
Elvis Presley didn’t impress 1 date despite being famous
Elvis’ charm did not work on everyone. His girlfriend, Sheila Ryan, found Elvis to be surprisingly uncool on their first date.
“He was just like a little kid, all excited about things, and someone at the show had given him a fire engine hat, someone else had given him a bib — they threw things at him all the time — and he put on this fire hat, and he put on this bib, and this is our first date,” she said in the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “Not very cool at all, is it?”
