"But she still felt something was missing in her life."
It was a husband and kids.
Indeed. I've often suspected that one of the reasons Scalia is so unflinchingly conservative is that he has a wife and children. Marriage and fatherhood (or motherhood) tend to have that effect on most people. You don't have to be married and have children to understand the deep-felt needs and vulnerabilities of the traditional family, but it sure does help.