Still, his love for her was sincere and yes, after her untimely death, he did arrange a very private funeral and placed flowers on her grave for most of the remainer of his life (Joe died in 1999). Their story is eternally compelling because they were both 'larger than life', although Marilyn was the ostensible extrovert while Joe was the introvert, adverse to publicity. We like to think that had Joe and Marilyn stayed together, she would have lived and they could have enjoyed a long, happy life together - but who really knows? Still, it's fun to speculate and does no harm. Besides, a photo of the lovely Marilyn Monroe is always a welcome sight. Even on FR.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Joe loved her for herself, but Marilyn didn’t take to it. I think at the root, Marilyn was a sex bomb and didn’t know how else to be. Joe didn’t want her to be exploited, but Marilyn couldn’t get herself together enough to properly balance a life in entertainment with a life as a wife.