This season started with quite a funny moment when I met with the producer to be prepped before meeting my celebrity. While sitting in the office the producer put a picture of my celebrity in front of me facing down. The smirk on his face made me anxious and it became clear he was pranking me when I flipped over the picture. It was a picture of Angelina Jolie. Haha, It would have been amazing if this wasn’t a prank. Anyway, when he told me that Priscilla Presley was my actual partner I was still elated. I was already a huge fan of her in Dallas and the Naked Gun movies and the fact that she was Elvis Presley’s ex-wife put more pressure on my shoulders. At first, I was so intimidated by her, but after a few rehearsals I was in awe of Priscilla’s demeanor, and sincerity, and she was so grounded. I don’t know how she was able to stay so ‘normal’ living such a roller coaster public life. This is the season where I saw how intense paparazzi can be. It became a fun project to avoid them. Between Priscilla, her assistant, and myself, we would find ways to outsmart them before or after rehearsals.
In season 3 I was lucky enough to join Monique to London, with Priscilla I also had the pleasure of traveling. During the 2nd week of rehearsal, Priscilla apologized that she had to travel, and I had to join her because she still wanted to rehearse. I laughed out loud when she told me in an apologetic way that we had to visit Graceland and Memphis due to a horse adoption that would otherwise be euthanized. Are you kidding me? Not only did we go to Graceland, but I also got a private tour before the home opened and the staff made me Elvis’s favorite sandwich, a peanut butter and banana sandwich. What a special experience to walk through Graceland with Priscilla and hear so many fantastic stories from her perspective.
The dance rehearsals were so easy and flew by. Priscilla took learning to dance so seriously and improved week after week. Even though on the outside Priscilla is an absolute lady and moves so gracefully, there is also an adventurous and sassy side to her, which I loved revealing.
Priscilla made it to week 5 and I was so proud of her for not using Elvis’s name or fans to make it to the finals. The producers were also pressing me to convince Priscilla to use not only his music but also to get her dressed in his famous catsuit. Priscilla made it clear from the beginning that she chose to do ‘Dancing with the Stars’ for herself and was not willing to take advantage. She told me that when she was with Elvis he was always on stage while she was backstage watching or in the audience. Priscilla wanted to experience what it was like to be in front of millions performing live. Dancing with the Stars was the perfect opportunity. I respected her so much for not wanting to use Elvis, even though secretly it would have been amazing for me to dance with Priscilla to a song by Elvis. However, integrity, respect, and loyalty are everything to me and it was my job to protect Priscilla, not take advantage to create sensationalism.
Most celebrities who join DWTS know how important the press is. Well, not Priscilla. She was so committed to learning how to dance, that she didn’t realize that she was expected to do ET, Access Hollywood, E!, etc. A year after season 6 while we had dinner Priscilla laughed and said ‘I was wondering why all these other celebrities were spending so much time on press instead of learning how to dance. If I would have known, we could have done every single news outlet every week’. It was endearing to see a celebrity such as Priscilla be naive and innocent in a way.