Elvis Presley had many girlfriends in his lifetime. While his most well-known relationship was with Priscilla Presley — she was the only woman he ever married — he dated around while still with her. He became involved with co-stars and collaborators. When his girlfriend and backup singer, Kathy Westmoreland, turned 30, he told her he’d have to start introducing her as an old woman.
Elvis told his girlfriend that she was getting old after her 30th birthday
Westmoreland was one of Elvis’ backup singers, and he quickly took an interest in her.
“So he sat with me on the sofa, and he still had his arm around me, and he told me how much he cared about me, you know, that he was interested in me and liked me, and when he kissed me, I crossed my eyes,” she said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “I mean, with all his glamorous women, I just wasn’t his type — you know, How in the world? What is this? It just didn’t make sense to me.”
They began an on-and-off-again relationship. He began introducing her to people as “the little girl with the beautiful high voice.” He told her he’d have to adjust this greeting on her birthday, though.
“But when I turned 30, he said, ‘Kathy how old are you today?’ ’30,’” she told CBS News. “He said, ‘Oh my Lord, I’m gonna have to introduce as ‘the old woman with the beautiful high voice’ from now on.’”
Elvis belittled this girlfriend onstage in front of the audience
During one of Elvis and Westmoreland’s “off” periods, she began dating a musician in his band. Elvis did not take kindly to this. During a show, he made a crude remark about her to the audience.
“She will take affection from anybody, any place, any time,” he said. “In fact, she gets it from the whole band.”
After he repeated the line in another concert, Westmoreland demanded that he stop.
“After the show in Nassau I grabbed the nearest bodyguard … and said, ‘Get the word to him, tell Elvis to stop doing this to me,” she said. “‘Tell him I’ve had it.’”
Unfortunately, her anger only further incensed Elvis. He began insulting all of his backup singers during the next performance.
The musician liked that Priscilla Presley was much younger than him
Westmoreland was 25 when she began singing with Elvis. In other relationships, Elvis’ girlfriends were much younger. Priscilla, for example, was only 14 when she met Elvis. While he told her parents that he liked Priscilla because she was mature for her age, he reportedly appreciated her youth. Per Biography, Elvis allegedly told his friend Rex Mansfield that Priscilla was “young enough that I can train her any way I want.”
This became a common theme in their relationship. Elvis shaped the way she dressed, wore her hair and makeup, and how she behaved.
