DOTD For Wednesday, January 14, 2026

A Drink To Salute Love, & What Could Have Been

Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Divorce Papers Cocktail inspired by the day that Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio began their short lived marriage, on January 14, 1954.

Monroe & DiMaggio were the superstars of their time, a glamorous siren-like movie star and a just-retired baseball player already called the greatest ever. Their union was brief, but along the way it caught the hearts. minds, & media attention of the nation.

Every baseball fan knows who Joe DiMaggio is. As center fielder for the New York Yankees, he became a legend. He was an All-Star every season over his 13 year career during which the Yankees won the World Series nine times. He was considered the best and earned such nicknames as ‘Joltin’ Joe’ and ‘The Yankee Clipper.’ But saying ‘Joe D’ or just ‘DiMaggio’ was enough that everyone knew who you were talking about.

Marilyn Monroe (originally Norma Jean Mortenson) spent most of her childhood in foster homes and an orphanage. But by 1945 when she would have been 19 years old, she started modeling and was deemed more appropriate for pinups than fashion. She straightened her hair, dyed it blonde, and signed an acting agency contract in 1946. By 1953, Monroe was an unparalleled sex symbol and one of the most marketable Hollywood stars ever. She was THE original ‘Blonde Bombshell.’

DiMaggio retired from baseball after the 1951 season and in 1952 asked a friend to arrange a dinner date with Monroe. She initially resisted, but they met and the sparks flew. The two courted one another from across the country, with Marilyn in Hollywood and DiMaggio on the east coast. Then on January 14, 1954, they got married at San Francisco City Hall.

Their fans and the press went wild. A newspaper called them “the Legend and the Goddess.” It looked good, but trouble was lurking. Monroe was asked to travel to Korea to perform for American soldiers while the couple was on their honeymoon in Japan. She agreed to do this, but DiMaggio was not happy about it. But she was proud to be asked to do, and upon her return said “Joe, you never heard such cheering.” DiMaggio’s sardonic response was simply, “Yes, I have.”

It was downhill from there. DiMaggio struggled with his wife’s public image. He went ballistic when he witnessed a scene from The Seven Year Itch being filmed in New York. Standing on a subway grating, as air blew her white dress up, the resulting photo became iconic and a staple of Monroe’s career. For DiMaggio however, that was apparently the last straw.

DiMaggio wanted a stay-at-home wife while Monroe wanted a husband who was interested in her work. She filed divorce papers just nine months after their wedding. Monroe went on to remarry (and get divorced), but a few years later, Monroe and DiMaggio reconciled, remaining friends for the rest of her regrettably short life. Near the end of her life, Joe and Marilyn were photographed spending time together again. DiMaggio even told his friends that the two were going to get remarried. Sadly, that second marriage was not to be, as Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 from a drug overdose at the age of 36.

Monroe sadly died alone, and when the authorities discovered her body, they didn’t know what to do or who to call, as Monroe had no family. So they called DiMaggio. DiMaggio. like the gentleman he was, stepped in and orchestrated his ex-wife’s funeral.

DiMaggio barred the public and almost all the Hollywood glitterati, including producers, directors, actors, & media from the funeral. The studio executives tried to convince DiMaggio that they and their people should be at the funeral. DiMaggio’s reply was as biting as any line Monroe had ever delivered: "Tell them," he said, "if it wasn't for them, she'd still be here."

Even after her death, their bond endured, with DiMaggio famously sending roses to Monroe’s grave twice a week for decades after her death, symbolizing a their deep, complex love.

Actor & director Brad Dexter, a close friend of Monroe’s, told PBS’ ‘American Experience about the couple, "I firmly believe that all the years that [DiMaggio] made those visitations to her grave site and left flowers. . . he was still in love with her, but also [did it] out of a great sense of guilt. Because I think he believed he helped contribute to her demise. I’m firmly convinced that if he had behaved differently, they would have had a good marriage. He destroyed it—and he felt that guilt."

As a salute to Monroe & DiMaggio, what could have been, and what was, we present today’s Drink Of The Day, a Divorce Papers Cocktail.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink: