Marilyn Monroe’s shortest and perhaps most highly-publicized marriage was to baseball player Joe DiMaggio. It was front page news when the couple tied the knot on Jan. 14, 1954, but they would only be married for nine months before Monroe filed for divorce.
Throughout their relationship, DiMaggio was jealous, controlling and alleged physically abusive. A publicity stunt intended to promote “The Seven Year Itch” led to the dissolution of their marriage. In the now iconic scene, Monroe stands over a subway grate as the skirt of her dress blows in the air. It was filmed in front of a crowd on Lexington Avenue in New York, causing DiMaggio to spiral into a fit of rage.
Despite their tumultuous marriage, Monroe and DiMaggio remained friends until her death. He helped her recover after multiple surgeries and DiMaggio even picked his ex-wife up from a psychiatric clinic after she was hospitalized for depression. There were briefly rumors of a reunion between the couple, though she went on to marry playwright Arthur Miller.
Here, we take a look at their wedding day and marriage through the years.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in the judge’s chambers where they were married in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio press through a crowd of newsmen after their marriage at San Francisco City Hall in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Newlyweds Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio receive flower bouquets upon their arrival in Tokyo, where the couple spent their honeymoon.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio look at beached sailboats in Japan while on their honeymoon in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe arrive back in San Francisco in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio having dinner at El Morocco in September 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Joe DiMaggio visits Marilyn Monroe, on location in the Canadian wilderness, while filming “River of No Return” in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe as they board a plane
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio in 1954.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe at the premiere of her movie “The Seven Year Itch” in 1955.
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A Closer Look at Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio’s Relationship
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio arriving in New York from Tampa, Florida in 1961.