Hollywood is a small world fraught with love triangles. And as we’ve come to learn, it’s always been this way. In his new book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, author Jerry Oppenheimer sheds light on a small part of the Kardashian family’s history that is often forgotten about: the love triangle between Priscilla Presley, Elvis, and Robert Kardashian.
Before Kris Jenner and his brood of famous offspring took over the world, Robert Kardashian had a different woman in his life, Priscilla. Following her split from Elvis in the 70s after six years of marriage, Priscilla met Robert through his brother, Tom Kardashian, and the two allegedly fell for each other instantly. What followed was a quickly serious relationship that insiders revealed almost ended in a wedding.
“Priscilla made Robert very happy,” the former couple’s close friend Joni Migdal told Oppenheimer. “He wanted to marry her and have children with her. That was definitely his hope, his plan.”
But it was apparently her long-held affection for her former flame that came between the two.
A close friend recalled to the author that Robert vehemently complained about how Priscilla would answer Elvis’ calls even while they were in the bedroom. Perhaps in an attempt to keep things transparent, the beauty “would put the bedside receiver on the pillow between her and Robert and allow him to listen in on the King’s intimate conversations with his ex-wife.”
Larry Kraines, another close friend of Robert’s, remembered Robert telling him that Priscilla was “terrific” but that “this guy Elvis doesn’t stop controlling her.”
Kardashian also confided in friends that it was difficult for Elvis to accept men in Priscilla’s life “because they had [their daughter] Lisa Marie, and Elvis was very involved in that.”
On top of issues around her ex, Priscilla also reportedly struggled with Robert’s desire for control. Oppenheimer details that the esteemed lawyer was keen to turn Priscilla “into a domesticated Armenian housewife” and that it “infuriated Priscilla,” according to Migdal. Naturally, the Brooklyn native, who had left Elvis for his womanising ways, wasn’t having a bar of it.
“Priscilla once tried to make dinner for Robert because he kept asking her, so Priscilla said that one night she cooked asparagus, and she made this, and she made that, and she went out of her way to make it perfect, and he hated it,” said Migdal. “She said that after that meal, he never suggested she make dinner for him again.”
Priscilla then made it clear to Robert that she wasn’t going to marry anyone while Elvis was still alive.
Robert Kardashian, of course, went on to wed Kris Jenner and have Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob, before passing away in 2003.
At the time, Elvis, who would pass away two years after the relationship with Robert and Priscilla in 1976, was struggling personally with addiction. This story gets a little serendipitous as he was dating Linda Thompson during this time.
And in case you’re not aptly across the Kar-Jenner universe, Thompson then notably went on to marry and have children with Caitlyn Jenner, former spouse of Kris Jenner and parent to Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
And if you needed any more proof of just how small Hollywood is, Thompson went on to marry David Foster, who, as many will recall, was a stepfather to Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid—friends of the Kardashian clan.
It gets even smaller when you recall that Lisa Marie Presley—the daughter of Priscilla and Elvis, who tragically passed away in January 2023—was briefly married to Michael Jackson. And who has Kim Kardashian revealed to be the first person she was ever *ahem* intimate with? Tito Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew.
Honestly, these connections go way back, but we’re still trying to keep up.
