Priscilla Presley Dating Again at 80: Elvis’ Ex ‘Wants to Life Life to the Fullest,’ Says Source

Priscilla Presley looked flirty following an early July dinner with ex Nigel Lythgoe in Malibu, Calif. Dressed in a sheer black blouse and flowy pants, Priscilla walked alongside the smiling American Idol producer, who was holding gifts, apparently for his 76th birthday. After the former flames, who dated from 2006 to 2009, were photographed leaving the restaurant together, they shared a warm embrace in the parking lot. “She likes [the] company,” a source tells Star. “Even if it’s just dinner, it’s always nice to reminisce and laugh together.”

But Priscilla is looking for a burning love. The source tells Star that Elvis Presley’s ex-wife has re-entered the dating scene at the age of 80, even asking pals to play matchmaker — and reaching out to old boyfriends for a confidence boost. “Priscilla has a large circle of friends who she trusts and can rely on, and she’s asked them to help set her up,” reveals the source. “At every dinner party she goes to, there are always interesting men seated next to her.”

That’s no coincidence, the source notes. “Her friends want to help. When she goes out to dinner at her familiar haunts, she’s always meeting people, many of them wealthy bachelors or widowers.”

Memory Lane

After her marriage to Elvis ended in 1973, Priscilla all but swore off the idea of walking down the aisle again. (Elvis died at 42 in 1977.) “To be honest with you, I never wanted to marry after him,” she confessed during a Q&A event at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 2023. “I never had any desire. No one could ever match him.” The former actress didn’t close herself off to love, though. Following the divorce, Priscilla was linked to several men, including karate instructor Mike Stone, the late attorney Robert Kardashian Sr. (dad to the reality-star clan), as well as model Michael Edwards. However, her most serious relationship was with producer Marco Garibaldi. The couple met through friends in 1984 and were together for over 20 years, during which time they welcomed son Navarone Garcia, 38, before parting ways in 2006.

It was then Priscilla met Nigel. American Idol was filming at Elvis’ famed Tennessee estate Graceland and the British TV producer had recently separated from his wife, Bonnie Lythgoe. “She got me through a lot,” Nigel gushed of his relationship with Priscilla in 2011. “The divorce devastated me. I tried a therapist but it didn’t work for me. It was easier to go out to dinners with Priscilla. We had many nights of talking.” After their romance ended, the Dallas star dated the late Raquel Welch’s ex-husband, actor Richie Palmer, from 2010 to 2011. In 2013, she made headlines when she was spotted giving radio presenter Toby Anstis, who is 27 years her junior, a smooch on the streets of London.

“Priscilla’s always been the type who thrives on male attention and that hasn’t changed,” says the source. “She gets dolled up whenever she leaves the house and totally lights up if a handsome man gives her attention.” The Dancing With the Stars alum has got no shortage of admirers, either. “A lot of them are years younger than she is, and Priscilla sees nothing wrong with that,” says the source. “Of course, finding something lasting and real would be wonderful, but she’s not limiting herself. She wants to get out and have fun, go for dinners and out to parties.”

Welcome Distrations

Finding a new man to share her life with would certainly help Priscilla take her mind off her troubles. She’s suffered a number of tragic setbacks in recent years, including the loss of her grandson Benjamin, who died by suicide at the age of 27 in 2020, and the loss of her only child with Elvis, daughter Lisa Marie Presley, who unexpectedly passed away from complications from bariatric surgery at the age of 54 in 2023. Priscilla’s also currently embroiled in a legal battle with her former business partners, who she claims misappropriated more than $1 million of her money.

“Priscilla’s been through the wringer, but she’s not sitting around feeling sorry for herself,” says the source. If she’s learned anything from all the loss she’s endured, says the source, it’s that “life is short and she should live in the present and cherish every moment.” Adds the source, “Priscilla still wants to live life to the fullest for as long as she can.