Betances met his lifelong companion, Simplicia Isolina Jiménez Carlo, in 1864. Jiménez apparently was born in what would later become the Dominican Republic, on July 28, 1842. Her mother's last name, Carlo, rather common in Cabo Rojo, implies that her family had ties to the town. She worked for one of Betances' sisters between 1863 and 1864, and he met her once at his sister's house. Apparently she was infatuated with him strongly enough to appear at his door with a pair of suitcases, asking him to give her shelter, since "no gentleman would leave a woman alone on the street at night." Jiménez then became Betances' common-law wife for thirty-five years, and survived his death in 1898. They would not have any children. Their godchild, Magdalena Caraguel, was eventually adopted by the couple as their daughter. Little else is documented about Jiménez in history books, and Betances rarely mentions her in his works and correspondence.