Although Edna Diefenbaker had been devoted to advancing her husband's career, in the mid-1940s she began to suffer mental illness, and was placed in a private mental hospital for a time. She later fell ill from leukemia, and died in 1951. In 1953, Diefenbaker married Olive Palmer (formerly Olive Freeman), whom he had courted while living in Wakaw. Olive Diefenbaker became a great source of strength to her husband. There were no children born of either marriage. In 2013, claims were made that he fathered at least two sons out of wedlock, based on DNA testing showing a relationship between the two individuals, and that Diefenbaker employed both mothers.