In a new book, Joe DiMaggio’s longtime foot doctor, Rock Positano, shares never-before-heard stories about the baseball star’s passionate and tumultuous relationship with Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.
The couple’s high-profile marriage captivated the nation in the 1950s, but behind closed doors, their love story was filled with both intensity and challenges.
Dr. Positano first met DiMaggio in 1990 when the retired athlete sought treatment for bone spurs.
The two quickly formed a close bond, and over countless coffee dates and dinners, DiMaggio began to open up about his personal life, particularly his marriage to Monroe.
According to Dr. Positano, DiMaggio spoke glowingly of his ex-wife, praising her intelligence, talent, and professionalism.
He recalled how he would help her rehearse scripts and marveled at her dedication to her craft.
However, it was the couple’s electric chemistry that DiMaggio remembered most vividly.
“When we got together in the bedroom, it was like the gods were fighting; there were thunder clouds and lightning,” DiMaggio once confided in Dr. Positano.
“Doc, Marilyn told me that no man ever satisfied her like I did.”
Monroe herself was reportedly equally impressed with DiMaggio’s prowess as a lover, once telling author Truman Capote, “Joe’s biggest bat isn’t the one he used at the plate.”
Despite their undeniable passion, DiMaggio and Monroe’s marriage was short-lived, lasting only nine months.
Over the years, various theories have circulated about the cause of their split, from DiMaggio’s alleged physical abuse to his humiliation over Monroe’s iconic skirt scene in “The Seven Year Itch.”
However, according to Dr. Positano, DiMaggio revealed that the real reason for their divorce was Monroe’s inability to have children and her struggles with depression, which led to issues with personal hygiene.
DiMaggio, who was known for his cleanliness, reportedly complained that Monroe would sometimes go days without bathing.
After their divorce, Monroe went on to marry playwright Arthur Miller, but DiMaggio claimed that she never truly got over him.
“Marilyn told Frank Sinatra that she always thought of me when she made love with Miller,” DiMaggio told Dr. Positano.
“She kept a picture of me hidden in one of her closets. That drove Miller crazy and right to the divorce court.”
Though DiMaggio never remarried, he did develop a crush on supermodel Elle Macpherson later in life.
He would often ask Dr. Positano, who also treated Macpherson, to accompany him on walks past her Upper East Side apartment building.
Sadly, DiMaggio’s own health began to decline in his later years.
A surgery left him impotent, and he confessed to Dr. Positano, “I don’t want conversation, I want s–.
If I had a d**k that worked for just an hour, I would be one happy fella.”
DiMaggio passed away from lung cancer in 1999 at the age of 84.
Dr. Positano believes that the baseball legend shared these intimate stories with him so that they could one day be shared with the world.
“Joe told me outright that he’d tell me these stories so ‘maybe they’ll be of good use one day,’ which means to me that Joe knew someday I’d respect his wishes and write a respectable memoir on him,” Dr. Positano explains.
“The purpose of writing this book was to bring him to life again, as many kids today don’t even know his name.”
Through Dr. Positano’s book, fans of both DiMaggio and Monroe can gain a deeper understanding of their complex and passionate relationship, as well as a rare glimpse into the private life of one of baseball’s most iconic figures.
