After 50 Years of Silence, Mike Stone Finally Reveals His Side of the Priscilla Presley Story
For more than five decades, Mike Stone remained one of the most controversial figures connected to the Presley family story.
To many Elvis fans, his name has long been associated with one of the most painful chapters in Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley’s marriage. But Stone says that the public story never showed the entire picture. Now, after more than 50 years, he has finally decided to speak at length about his relationship with Priscilla—and about the little girl he says he came to love deeply, Lisa Marie Presley.
And some of his memories challenge the version of events many Elvis fans have accepted for decades.
In a revealing interview, Stone explained that his relationship with Priscilla did not begin as some carefully planned romance. According to his account, she initially came to him for karate lessons. What began with training gradually became a much closer relationship as they spent more and more time together.
Stone says Priscilla eventually traveled long distances from Beverly Hills to Orange County to train, at first several times a week and eventually almost every day. He admits that he initially struggled to understand why someone who had been married to one of the world’s most famous and wealthy entertainers would become interested in him.
In his own words, he questioned why she had chosen him.
He wasn’t Elvis Presley. He wasn’t a Hollywood star. He wasn’t wealthy or internationally famous.
So why him?
Stone says that uncertainty made him suspicious at first. But as their relationship developed, those doubts disappeared. He recalls the relationship lasting for several years and describes much of that period as a positive experience for himself, Priscilla, and Lisa Marie.
Then came Catalina Island.
Stone describes that day as a major turning point in the relationship. He says it was after several months of knowing Priscilla and spending increasing amounts of time together that their relationship became intimate.
But the most surprising part of Stone’s story isn’t necessarily the romance itself.
It is what he says happened afterward.
Looking back decades later, Stone says he eventually wondered whether he had been used in some way—not necessarily maliciously, but because Priscilla was searching for a way to rebuild her life outside her marriage to Elvis.
He believes his martial arts reputation may have been important to her. Elvis himself had an interest in karate and knew people in the martial arts world, and Stone says this may have given Priscilla a sense that he was someone strong and capable enough to help her through an uncertain period.
Stone also rejects a number of accusations that have followed him for decades.
He strongly denies that he prevented Lisa Marie from seeing her father. He argues that he had neither the authority nor the desire to make such a decision. In his telling, his relationship with Lisa Marie was actually deeply affectionate.
He says Lisa called him “Mickey” and that she would sometimes reach for his hand while they were walking together. Stone also explains that Lisa was almost exactly the same age as his own daughter, making their relationship especially emotional for him.
For Stone, Lisa was not simply Priscilla’s daughter.
She was a child he cared about.
He also disputes the long-standing idea that he profited from his connection to Elvis. Stone insists that he never made money from Elvis’s name and says that, despite decades of opportunities to tell his story, he repeatedly refused to write a book.
That changed much later.
Stone says he finally decided to tell his story after becoming concerned about events surrounding Lisa Marie’s estate and Priscilla’s involvement in the handling of Lisa’s affairs. His decision ultimately resulted in his book, Mike Stone: My Time with Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley.
But perhaps the most haunting part of the interview comes near the end.
When asked what he would say if he could speak to Priscilla and Lisa Marie one more time, Stone struggled to put his feelings into words. More than 50 years had passed. Lives had changed. Elvis was gone. Lisa Marie was gone. And the people he once knew had become part of history.
His answer was essentially a question:
What happened to you?
Stone says he remembers the years they shared and considers himself fortunate to have experienced them. Whatever happened afterward, he says, he cannot take responsibility for choices made after he left their lives.
His story remains his perspective, and some details of his recollections may differ from other accounts of the Presley family’s history. But that is precisely what makes his testimony so intriguing.
For decades, fans heard a story about Elvis, Priscilla, and the man who became involved in their complicated marriage.
Now, after more than half a century, Mike Stone says he is finally telling his side.
And whether readers ultimately agree with him or not, one thing is certain:
The man who stayed silent for 50 years is finally speaking.
