Linda Thompson was romantically involved with Elvis Presley during the 1970s, ending their relationship roughly a year before the legendary musician passed away at the age of 42.
Recently, she shared insights about her time with Elvis and revealed the real reasons behind her decision to leave.
Meeting Elvis Presley
While Linda Thompson was participating in beauty pageants, Elvis Presley was becoming a global sensation. In 1970, he dropped his 12th studio album, That’s the Way It Is. At the time, he was still married to Priscilla Presley.
Two years earlier, the couple had welcomed their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. However, by 1970, their relationship had begun to crumble.
In 1972, Elvis and Priscilla officially ended their marriage. But it didn’t take long for Elvis to find someone new to shower with affection.
Not long after his split, at a private movie screening, Elvis crossed paths with Linda Thompson. Speaking at last year’s Las Vegas Elvis Festival, Linda recalled how Elvis approached her during the event.
He greeted her with: “Well, hello honey!”
“At the time, I thought he was still married, so I didn’t think much of it,” she shared, as reported by Express. “I was just thrilled to meet my idol.”
When the film started, Elvis made his way over to sit beside her. Although Linda initially believed he was still married, it didn’t take long for her to realize that wasn’t true.
Move to Graceland
“He started pulling the old yawn, put the hand around the seat,” Linda recalled.
“He said, ‘I’ve been separated since the end of the year. We’re getting a divorce. She’s met somebody else and she’s moved on’. I said, ‘Oh, well I’m sorry to hear that but you should have married a southern girl’. And he never forgot that.”
Not long after that conversation, Linda Thompson and Elvis Presley began a romantic relationship. Over the next four years, Linda would experience a whirlwind of emotions before eventually deciding to part ways with him.
“I was always a fan, but I didn’t think he would transcend time and space and become the iconic, almost religion he is now,” Linda shared with Closer.
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Linda eventually moved into Graceland, Elvis’s legendary estate. However, it wasn’t long before she witnessed firsthand the troubling path Elvis was heading down, marked by what she described as “self-destructive” behaviors.
In 1973, during their first year together, Linda had the chance to watch Elvis make history. After performing two benefit concerts to support a Cancer Fund, his TV special Aloha from Hawaii became the first solo artist concert to be broadcast to audiences all over the world.
Elvis Presley – medication
In the final years of their relationship, Linda witnessed firsthand how Elvis’s health deteriorated rapidly. The iconic rockstar was struggling, relying on sleeping pills, which he sometimes combined with “other things,” as Linda revealed.
She would stay by his side, keeping watch until he drifted off to sleep, often waking up multiple times throughout the night just to ensure he was still breathing.
“It was exhausting, I have to admit,” Linda shared. “I was a young girl but it was still exhausting when you’re not sleeping. And also just ‘exhausting because this is a person that I loved more than my own life and watching him slowly self-destruct and not being able to do anything about it …”
In early 1975, Elvis was rushed to the hospital for what news outlets described as “several days of tests,” according to the Associated Press. Linda had discovered him in bed, gasping for air, and he was quickly taken to a Memphis hospital.
At that point, he was dealing with liver complications, though it wasn’t related to alcohol. Instead, Elvis’s health struggles stemmed from his use of prescription medications.
Linda Thompson – Elvis relationship
The following months were rough. Elvis bought Linda a house near Graceland, but by October of 1975, she simply couldn’t do it anymore.
After Elvis was him treated at hospital once again, Linda left him to focus on her career in Los Angeles.
She struggled to cope with his “self-destructive” downwards spiral. They stayed in touch, but why?
“I had this haunting feeling, I just thought, I don’t know if anybody’s going to take care of him the way I did,” Linda explained.
“I felt very attuned to his habits and his needs. When you’re with someone for that many years and that closely living with them, I felt very attuned to his habits and his needs and I thought, nobody else is going to know that.”
Then, on Aug 16, 1977, a tragedy shook the entire world. Elvis Presley had passed away, age 42.
Just a few days earlier, Linda had tried reaching Elvis in what would be their last call. She called Graceland, where Elvis’s best friend and guitarist Charlie Hodge picked up.
Linda wanted to make sure that Elvis was OK and asked Charlie to go upstairs to check on him.
Elvis Presley’s last days
Linda recalled, “Charlie was a little impatient with me. He said, ‘He’s fine honey. He’s asleep.’ I said, ‘Just humour me and please go up there and just check on his breathing.'”
Charlie went upstairs to check on Elvis and confirmed he was breathing. It was then that Linda shared her last words to Elvis through his best friend, while Elvis was still alive.
“I said, ‘Okay, just tell him that I called and I love him and I was just checking on him,’” she recalled. “He said, ‘I’ll let him know. That’ll make him happy.’”
On August 16, 1977, Linda was at her apartment in Los Angeles when she received the news. Elvis Presley had been found unconscious on the bathroom floor and rushed to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He was buried in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.
That night, it was Linda who was the first person nine-year-old Lisa Marie Presley called after her father’s passing.
Pictures of Linda Thompson and Elvis
Whenever photos of Linda Thompson and Elvis Presley surface, it’s surprising to see the same comments repeatedly made. Many people comment that Linda wasn’t as beautiful as Priscilla and that Elvis should have stayed with his first wife.
Honestly, this kind of commentary feels disrespectful. Linda played a significant role in Elvis’s life during a time when he truly needed love and support. Their relationship was meaningful, yet it’s as if people can’t avoid making comparisons, judging her without truly appreciating who she was.
Elvis Presley’s legacy will never be forgotten, and his incredible music will always be cherished.
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