on february 26, 1933, gomez married june o’dea (1912–1992). a broadway headliner who starred in "of thee i sing", she gave up her career in 1936. by 1937 the marriage was on shaky ground. gomez traveled to hollywood that april and june returned to massachusetts to stay with family. through the tabloids, she learned in december that gomez was filing divorce papers in mexico, charging incompatibility. being a devout catholic, june refused a divorce but agreed to a formal separation, citing abandonment and cruel and inhuman treatment. publicly, gomez said the whole idea of divorce was absurd, but after the first of the year he moved to reno to get a six-week divorce. it was his intention for the divorce to be finalized by the time he began spring training in florida. separation proceedings continued for months, but were called off in may 1938. gomez and o'dea had two daughters and two sons.