Elsie left the cast of "The Count of Luxembourg" to marry 6' 3" Major John Ian Bullough (1885–1936), the son of a wealthy textile manufacturer, but the marriage was reported to be mostly unhappy. In addition, Elsie often suffered from ill health, including anaemia, among other ailments, and had several operations during her years onstage. The gossip column in "The Pelican" called her "the occasional actress". Bullough wanted his wife to retire from the stage. The publicity shy and exhausted Elsie was happy to leave the stage for the next several years, except for charity performances to benefit the war effort. She returned in the title role of Louis Parker's comedy play "Malvourneen" with Herbert Beerbohm Tree at His Majesty's Theatre, as Lady Catherine Lazenby in "The Admirable Crichton" in 1916 and in the title role in "Pamela" written by Arthur Wimperis, with songs by Frederic Norton (1917; with Owen Nares). "The Tatler" wrote of her performance in "Malvourneen", "Everyone should see Miss Lily Elsie in this play, for it shows us that her comedy is as good as her musical comedy, which is saying a great deal."