By the time Monroe met New York Yankees baseball player Joe DiMaggio in 1952, she was one of Hollywood's biggest stars. According to Biography, DiMaggio requested a friend to arrange a date between him and Monroe, and the two connected right away. For the next two years, the couple dated and by 1954 DiMaggio was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Monroe recalled their decision to get married in her 1960 memoir "My Story," saying (via ESPN), "Joe and I had been talking about getting married for some months… We knew it wouldn't be an easy marriage. On the other hand, we couldn't keep on going forever as a pair of cross-country lovers. It might begin to hurt both our careers." The pair married on Jan. 14, 1954, and honeymooned in Japan while DiMaggio handled business affairs.
Monroe's sex symbol image was a point of contention for the couple. While DiMaggio wanted a stay-at-home wife to start a family with, Monroe did not want to be exclusively confined to that role and instead wanted to grow her career and perhaps a family at the same time. By October 1954, the pair's whirlwind marriage had disintegrated, and they filed for divorce. The icon's famous scene in "The Seven Year Itch," in which her flowy white dress is blown up above her knees, was allegedly their breaking point, with Monroe saying (via People), "[DiMaggio] said ... exposing my legs and thighs, even my crotch — that was the last straw."
Despite their marriage ending on rocky terms, DiMaggio and Monroe remained friends until her death in 1962. Devastated by the loss, the baseball player not only handled her funeral arrangements, but he also sent roses to her grave three times a week for over two decades, according to The New York Times.