Priscilla Presley Reflects on Elvis’ Death and His Inner ‘Demons’

08/31/2017 03:42 pm EDT

While Priscilla Presley and Elvis split up shortly before his death, the famous ex-wife is reflecting on the iconic crooner's life on the 40th anniversary of his death and getting candid about his "demons."

In an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain, Presley reveals there was no way of ever knowing or thinking Elvis would die from a heart attack at the age of 42. Moreover, if he had survived, the 72-year-old admits he could never have fought his demons and continue to suffer.

"No, I don't [think he would have]," she says quietly. "I think that he would always have his demons. Elvis was a thinker. He was a searcher. His mother had demons. His father had demons. We all have demons, obviously. I don't want to make it bigger than it is. They were a close family, but there was always a little bit of sadness in them."

Presley reveals that this sadness eventually overwhelmed him in his final years, as he had no one to really help him figure it out.

"I wish that I could share with him knowledge," she remarked. "Because he really was alone. He really didn't have a peer, not with a group and not really with anyone."

Despite their divorce, Presley says she has a "very big responsibility to the family."

"Even now there's such a connection," she says. "We have so many memories, so many things that you can't share with anyone else."

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Presley says she still can't come over the fact that he has passed, saying the every August is a "devastating time" for herself and the world, taking them back to that fateful day upon hearing the news.

But there is a silver lining, with Presley saying, "It's still unbelievable because he's so much a part of our lives — my life and my daughter's life and everyone around him. When we get together, we talk about it, and the impact it made ... for myself, and for my cohorts, who of course knew Elvis so well, we never thought he'd pass. We just never, ever had that in our minds."

Photo credit: Frank Caroll / Sygma via Getty Images

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