Marilyn Monroe, the iconic Hollywood star, and Joe DiMaggio, the legendary baseball player, shared a brief yet intense marriage.

Despite their highly publicized divorce, Joe’s deep affection for Marilyn endured long after her tragic death in 1962.

In a touching and mysterious gesture, he arranged for roses to be delivered to her grave three times a week for over two decades.

But what was the secret behind his unbreakable promise?

When Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio met on a blind date in 1952, a year after the Yankees legend retired from professional baseball, it was the beginning of a romance that would soon become one of Hollywood’s most famous love stories.

But their paths almost never crossed, as the blonde movie star was very hesitant to start dating Joltin’ Joe. Marilyn feared he might be that stereotypical, self-centered athlete. And unfortunately, her initial apprehensions about DiMaggio proved to be well-founded.

But let’s start from the beginning.

Chaotic wedding
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s love story is considered epic because it brought together two of the most iconic figures of their time — Hollywood’s brightest star and baseball’s greatest hero.

Their wedding in San Francisco, in 1954, seemed like a fairytale come true, as it symbolized the pinnacle of Hollywood glamour and the American Dream.

The New York Times described their relationship as “one of America’s ultimate romantic fantasies: the tall, dark, and handsome baseball hero wooing and winning the woman who epitomized Hollywood beauty, glamour, and sexuality.”

Even though they were two of the most famous faces in the world, they were also just two normal people who happened to fall in love with each other.

Joe was a conservative Roman Catholic Italian boy who cherished the comfort of his close-knit family and home, while she was a free-spirited woman with a past shaped by foster homes. Hollywood’s glamorous life didn’t appeal to him, and baseball was a mystery to her, yet their paths crossed, and sparks flew.

”I expected a flashy New York sports type, and instead I met this reserved guy who didn’t make a pass at me right away,” Marilyn said of DiMaggio in Spoto’s 1993 biography of her. ”He treated me like something special.”

The famed ex-New York Yankee slugger saw Marilyn as ”a beautiful blonde showgirl who might double as a devoted mother and homemaker.”

Both came from previous marriages, and not everyone was thrilled about Marilyn and DiMaggio’s romance. The church, in particular, had plenty to say. As a result, their wedding was a bit more understated than it might have been if it were their first time tying the knot.

”That was something I had never planned on or dreamed about — becoming the wife of a great man. Anymore than Joe had ever thought of marrying a woman who seemed eighty per cent publicity. The truth is that we were very much alike. My publicity, like Joe’s greatness, is something on the outside. It has nothing to do with what we actually are,” Marilyn said.

”I don’t want to rush you..”
Back in 1954, weeks of speculation had surrounded the couple’s wedding plans, with the press buzzing about potential locations. Many believed the pair would exchange vows in the glitzy setting of Las Vegas.

However, the couple chose Joe DiMaggio’s hometown San Francisco, selecting Judge Charles S. Peery’s City Hall for their nuptials. Despite their efforts to keep the location under wraps, journalists managed to uncover the venue and gathered outside the building well before the couple’s arrival.

When Monroe and DiMaggio finally appeared, they were greeted by a throng of reporters and photographers. Ever the professional, Marilyn answered their questions. In contrast, the notoriously private DiMaggio remained reserved, offering few comments to the eager press.

“All right fellas, I don’t want to rush you,” DiMaggio said and continued: “but we’ve got to get on with the ceremony.”

The intimate ceremony, attended by a select few, saw the stars exchange their vows. But the real test came when they tried to leave City Hall.

Throngs of people nearly mobbed the newlyweds in the corridors, and outside, over 300 well-wishers had gathered, clamoring for autographs or just a glimpse of the superstar couple. Reporters were also desperate to know where DiMaggio and Monroe would spend their honeymoon. The Yankees star, however, gave a cryptic response before the couple hopped into a waiting Cadillac.

”North, south, west and east,” DiMaggio replied.

Later, it was revealed that the couple spent their honeymoon in Idyllwild, California, and then traveled to Japan.

Despite being newlyweds, they couldn’t completely set aside their careers. In Japan, DiMaggio assisted in training Japanese baseball players. Meanwhile, Marilyn Monroe flew to Korea, where she performed and sang for 100,000 U.S. Marines. Joe, for the first time, realized how much Marilyn’s fame overshadowed his own.

Accustomed to being the center of attention as a sports legend and American hero, he now found that it was Marilyn who captivated everyone’s interest and curiosity.

When she returned from Korea, she excitedly told DiMaggio.

“It was wonderful, Joe. You never heard such cheering.”

“Yes, I have,” he replied.

Joe DiMaggio & Marilyn Monroe children
From the start of their marriage, DiMaggio made it clear he intended to stay out of the spotlight. The superstars dreamt of creating a family, but being a housewife wasn’t one of Marilyn’s priorities.

In her autobiography, Monroe shared that she and DiMaggio had some common interests, including a desire to have children, even though she suffered from endometriosis.

Upon returning to the States, the couple settled in Beverly Hills and attempted to lead a normal life. However, early signs suggested that their situation was far from perfect or normal. DiMaggio, an intensely private individual, never felt truly at home in Los Angeles – though that was hardly the biggest issue of the marriage.

Instead, DiMaggio’s jealousy, drinking, and inability to handle Monroe’s celebrity ultimately tore their marriage apart. To make matters worse, he also physically abused Marilyn.

DiMaggio, once described by sportswriter Jim Cannon as ”the shyest public man I ever met,” reportedly wanted a stay at home wife.

He disliked being photographed or interviewed, and struggled with Marilyn’s rising stardom. Monroe, on the other hand, wanted to expand her cultural horizons with a husband who was interested in her work.

The climax came in September 1954 when Monroe began filming Billy Wilder’s comedy The Seven Year Itch, where she plays a woman who becomes the object of her married neighbor’s (Tom Ewell) sexual fantasies. The film was shot in Hollywood, but to generate more exposure, the studio staged a famous scene on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.

Marilyn stood over a subway grate as air from the passing trains blew her white dress upwards. The iconic shoot lasted for several hours and drew a crowd of nearly 2,000 spectators. The subway grate scene became one of Monroe’s most famous moments, and The Seven Year Itch emerged as one of the year’s biggest commercial successes when it premiered in June 1955.

The last straw
Her husband, however, was deeply unsettled by the iconic scene. Eyewitnesses from the time reported that DiMaggio stood on the sidelines as spectators gaped at Monroe’s famous legs. His friends later revealed that he hated the whole thing.

Some people say he showed no public emotion during the shooting, but director Billy Wilder recalled that the baseball legend “had the look of death”.

And obviously, the skirt-blowing scene bothered him. Because just moments after the filming wrapped, Joltin’ Joe lost his temper completely. A fierce argument erupted in the theater lobby, turning into a heated shouting match between Monroe and DiMaggio.

”He said … exposing my legs and thighs, even my crotch — that was the last straw,” Monroe later shared.

Reason for divorce
Their private turmoil after the The Seven Year Itch shooting was a stark contrast to the public image of their glamorous lives. No one really knows what happened later that evening except for the two people involved. But the next day, Monroe was seen with bruises on her arms, sparking rumors that DiMaggio had become violent.

On October 6, 1954, a visibly tearful and upset Monroe stepped out of her North Palm Drive home in Beverly Hills to announce she was splitting up from DiMaggio.

She filed for divorce from the former baseball star, citing ”mental cruelty.” He was then 39, she was 27.

Weeks later, the iconic blonde, her voice often breaking with emotion, told Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Orlando Rhodes that the former New York Yankee star was moody and even forbade her from having friends over.

The courtroom was packed with spectators, press, and attorneys who had come from other sections of the courthouse to witness the 29-year-old movie star’s testimony. Her makeup was streaked with tears as she spoke.

Dressed in a tight-fitting black wool suit with a plunging neckline, Monroe explained, ”I voluntarily offered to give up my work in hopes that it would solve our problems—but it didn’t change his attitude.”

Judge Rhodes granted the divorce after just 15 minutes of testimony.

”He was cold”
”The Yankee Clipper” didn’t contest the divorce, but he was devastated and wrote letters to Monroe, apologizing and confessing his undying love for her.

“I love you and want to be with you … There is nothing I would like better than to restore your confidence in me … My heart split even wider seeing you cry in front of all those people,” DiMaggio wrote and continued:

“Don’t know what your thoughts are about me, but I can tell you I love you sincerely — way deep in my heart, irregardless of anything.”

Some time after the divorce, Marilyn Monroe was asked about the real reason she wanted to end the marriage.

”For the reasons I gave in court. I know a lot of women when they’re getting a divorce they put out reasons which are not the true reasons. But I said the truth.”

”He didn’t talk to me. He was cold. He was indifferent to me as a human being and an artist. He didn’t want me to have friends of my own. Hr didn’t want me to do my work. He watched television instead of talking to me,” she told The Sacramento Union i 1960.