When Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe got accustomed to Joe DiMaggio's constant need for control in their marriage
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe's love story has made quite a few people teary eyed. The couple met in 1952 after DiMaggio asked an acquaintance to arrange a dinner date with Monroe.
The actress was on her way to stardom, while the center fielder had just retired from MLB in 1951.
Monroe and DiMaggio were both previously married and divorced. Monroe married James Dougherty, who was a police officer when she was only 16 years old. After five years of marriage, the two divorced in 1946. Joe DiMaggio was married to Dorothy Arnold, a former American film actress, from 1939 to 1944. The former couple had a son together named "Joe Jr.".
Monroe wrote in her memoir that before the meeting, she had a preconception of DiMaggio, thinking of him as a typical athlete who had too much ego. However, Monroe began to like the MLB star after their first date.
Monroe's parentage was always questioned as her mother reportedly had an affair during the time she was conceived. Monroe's close friend, Lotte Goslar, told the New York Post in a 2014 article that it might have been the want for a proper father figure that had attracted Monroe toward DiMaggio.
“She’d grown accustomed to his paternalistic guidance and the protective side of his personality,” said Monroe’s close friend Goslar. “And here was a father figure with whom she could have sex. And the sex was pretty damn good, if she had to say so herself.”
Joe DiMaggio & Marilyn Monroe https://t.co/LpXhzqyTjS
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio married in 1954 and divorced in 1955 only nine months after their marriage due to the physical abuse Monroe suffered from DiMaggio. Monroe went on to marry Arthur Miller, an American playwright.
When Marilyn Monroe admitted she would have died earlier if it wasn't for Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s https://t.co/gMioPyHCe6
Marilyn Monroe died on Aug. 4, 1962, of a drug overdose that many, including Joe DiMaggio, believed was a suicide.
Marilyn suffered from mental health issues, which was what led to her untimely death. DiMaggio was a fixture in Marilyn's life after her divorce from her third husband. He wanted to remarry the actress, according to Maury Allen's biography of him.
He stood by her side during rough times and was with her when her mental health deteriorated. In a New York Post article, a close friend of Marilyn confirmed that if it wasn't for the Yankees legend, Marilyn Monroe would have left the world sooner.
“If it weren’t for Joe, I’d probably have killed myself years ago.” Monroe said to her close friend
Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe, January 14, 1954 https://t.co/6Q32GuLwC0
After her death, Joe DiMaggio continued to send flowers to her grave every week until his own death in 1999.