Unhappy with her marriage and wanting a separation, Didrikson began to travel openly with nineteen year old golfer Betty Dodd to golf tournaments in 1950. Unwilling to grant her wish, Zaharias and his wife apparently came to an agreement, and Dodd moved in with the couple, living there until Didrikson's death in 1956. Dodd and Didrikson even appeared together in 1953 on The Ed Sullivan Show, with Didrikson playing the harmonica and Dodd playing guitar. When Didrikson announced she had cancer in 1953, Dodd acted as her caretaker, and that seemed to mollify the public as to why Dodd was constantly with Didrikson.