In Washington, she met Clyde Jennings, Jr., a US Army officer from Lynchburg, Virginia. They married on October 5, 1946 in Pine Bluff and moved to Rye, New York. Soon after they wed, he was honorably discharged, and he took up work as a traveling handbag salesman. By Jennings, she had a son, Clyde Jay Jennings, on November 2, 1947. Jennings, however, spent a lot of time away from home, and (according to Mitchell) it led to the couple's separation on May 18, 1956 and eventual divorce on August 1, 1957.