Priscilla Presley says Elvis wanted to hire a hit man to kill her karate instructor lover

LOS ANGELES — Priscilla Presley reveals in her forthcoming memoir that Elvis Presley once contemplated hiring a hit man to kill his wife's karate instructor lover, Mike Stone, a claim tied to the couple’s troubled marriage. In Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis Presley, a copy obtained by Fox News Digital recounts that Presley began taking karate lessons to impress Elvis after learning about his infidelity through 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. … 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."

Elvis’s response to the affair is described in striking terms in the memoir, with Presley writing that the singer found the thought of her with another man unbearable. In the weeks after her departure, Presley says Elvis told his inner circle that Mike Stone had to die and even asked Joe Esposito, his longtime road manager, to locate a hit man. "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. He even asked Joe [Esposito] to find a hit man," she writes.

According to Presley, the idea did not unfold into action, as Elvis’s father and others persuaded him to back off. She writes that, with time and pressure from family and friends, Elvis gradually calmed down and abandoned the plan to kill Stone. The book, she notes, also covers how the couple’s marriage ended and how she navigated life afterward. Presley and Elvis were married from 1967 to 1973 and welcomed one child, Lisa Marie Presley.

In the memoir, Presley also addresses a later chapter of their relationship: she writes that Elvis "forced" himself on her after learning of the affair, but emphasizes that this moment did not drive her decision to divorce. "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," she writes. Earlier comments from Presley, including remarks she previously shared on television, indicated she did not divorce him because she did not love him; she has previously described him as the love of her life while saying she needed to explore life outside their marriage.

The divorce came in 1973, and Presley notes that she remained concerned about their daughter's relationship with both parents. She writes that, after the split, Lisa Marie Presley primarily lived with her mother, adding that she aimed to keep the family together as much as possible. "One way or another, I made sure she saw her daddy," Presley has said of that period.

Presley has also addressed rumors and conspiracy theories that Elvis is still alive. In a separate interview with People, she said there is a lot of misinformation about him and that she nonetheless wishes he were still alive. "There’s been so much that’s untruthful out there — things like Elvis is still alive and hidden somewhere. I wish he was still alive."

Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis Presley is set to be released later this year, with Presley indicating the memoir will be available on Sept. 23. The book collects her memories and reflections on life with the iconic star and the years that followed his death.