After divorcing Priscilla, Elvis dated Linda Thompson for over four years, followed by Mindi Miller, the King started seeing Ginger in 1976 and soon after asked her not to see anyone else.
Although his entourage. the Memphis Mafia, disregarded their relationship, Elvis actually proposed to Ginger with an enormous diamond ring.
Alden was the last person to see Presley alive. And she’s also recalled what her final vacation to Hawaii was like with him. Here’s what she said about her tropical trip and why it was cut short.
Presley wasn't as overweight as some thought he was, Ginger says: "He would oversalt his food, and at times he would appear more puffy — or bloated, if you want to call it that — on camera. But he was never fat," Alden said. "I thought he was a handsome man; he just wasn't 20 anymore."
Elvis proposed to Alden on Jan. 26, 1977 in his favorite room at Graceland: the palatial master bathroom. It "was his sanctuary," Alden recalled. "(He) seated me in a chair and said many beautiful words to me and asked me to marry him."
On the night Elvis died in August 1977, he had taken two "sleep packets" — medications his doctors prescribed for his chronic insomnia. Alden is unsure what those packets contained or whether the drugs played a role in the singer's death (officially ruled to have been caused by a heart attack). "Sometimes (the doctors) had given Elvis placebos, because he had a dependency on sleep medication," Alden said.
Alden was the one to find him. On the night of his death, Presley told Alden he was heading into the bathroom to read — and Alden noticed Presley was still there several hours later. She finally opened the bathroom door and found him slumped over.
I spoke with my mother at one point, which I wrote about in 'Elvis and Ginger'. My parents and friends were happy for me as long as I was happy.
I felt feel generally accepted by Elvis' family and friends. Most were usually cordial and I hoped his family and friends would like me. I was quite shy and spending so much time with Elvis and focusing on him, that I didn't get to really know others well, nor they me, during our time together.
“My time with Elvis was so special and the Hawaiian vacation was a lot of fun,” Alden explained. “Elvis knew I had never been to Hawaii and wanted to take my whole family but only my sisters could go at this time. … My sisters and I stayed with Elvis in the back of the Lisa Marie during the flight as he joked, laughed, and sang.”
Unfortunately, the Hawaiian vacation was interrupted by a medical issue. “The trip was so beautiful but unfortunately cut short when Elvis irritated one of his eyes and we had to return to Memphis,” Alden added. “I stayed at Graceland and administered eye cream for a few days so I could help him be prepared for his next tour.”
