Priscilla Presley Confesses Elvis Wanted to Hire a Hit Man to Kill Her Karate Instructor After She Had an Affair

Rockstar or devil in disguise?

In her new memoir, Softly, as I Leave You: Life After Elvis Presley, Priscilla Presley revealed ex-husband Elvis' violent reaction to her affair with karate instructor Mike Stone.

Upon finding out their "close friendship" had "turned into an affair," Elvis reportedly wanted to end Mike's life.

"Elvis found the thought of me with another man unbearable. In the weeks after my departure, he told the guys that Mike had to die," Priscilla wrote in the book, which was released on Tuesday, September 23. "He even asked [road manager] Joe [Esposito] to find a hit man."

Joe warned the businesswoman to be wary of Elvis in case he made any rash decisions.

"When I offered to bring Lisa [Marie Presley] to Vegas for one of Elvis’s shows, Joe advised against it," she recalled, referring to their daughter. "Seeing me might set Elvis off. Over time, and with a lot of persuasion from his father and the guys, Elvis gradually calmed down and gave up the idea of killing Mike, thank God."

After the "Jailhouse Rock" singer learned of her affair, he "forced" himself on her. However, this wasn't what prompted Priscilla to file for divorce in 1972.

"I didn’t leave because of Mike Stone. And I didn’t leave because Elvis had forced himself on me when he found out about Mike. He had not. Elvis had felt emasculated," she revealed. "He’d needed to prove to himself and to me that he could make love ‘like a real man,’ the way he imagined a karate master doing it."

Priscilla added, "Elvis made love to me forcefully, not forcibly. His usual tenderness and consideration for me were missing. It was emotionally hurtful, and it left me with an unhappy memory of my last experience of sexual intimacy with Elvis. But it was not the reason I left."

The duo met in 1959 and got married in 1967. They shared daughter Lisa Marie, who passed away at age 54 in 2023 from a small bowel obstruction following bariatric surgery.

Ironically, Priscilla first began karate lessons when she found out Elvis was receiving handwritten letters from other women.

"When I turned the key in the mailbox, however, what poured out wasn’t bills or junk mail. The mailbox was stuffed full of letters from girls," she explained of her former lover's infidelity. "I finally held written proof of what I’d always feared. I was deeply hurt, but I was also furious. I called Elvis and demanded an explanation. When that tactic failed, he resorted to saying the girls were all lying."

She continued, "This time, though, turning the tables didn’t work. If Elvis was having affairs that were none of my business, then it was none of his business what I was doing."