Trouble in Paradise?!

Oakland Tribune article

June 13, 1925: The “Oakland Tribune” stokes rumors of the demise of Ursula’s marriage

Uh, oh. Right between “Stone Laid for $61,000 Baby Home” and “Court Lifts Citizen Ban for Ex-Foes,” the headline of a prominently placed article in the June 13, 1925 issue of the Oakland Tribune trumpeted “Summer Tour or Divorce?…U.C. Co-Ed Singer Returning Minus Artist Husband.” A big photo of Ursula in her “Nero” headdress accompanied the article, and the newspaper identified her as the “University of California girl, who took leading feminine role in international courtship.”

Just a few months after saying “I do,” it appears the couple may have been saying “I don’t.” The paper reported that Ursula and her mother were en route back to California—without Sidney.

The article muses, “Is Mrs. Sidney Bartlett enjoying a belated and solitary honeymoon? Or have dreams of a career reawakened to displace the fireside?” It goes on to say:

The "Oakland Tribune," June 13, 1925

“What the plans of the young woman may be, will not be learned until after her arrival…

“Now it has become known that Bartlett is continuing his work in the Paris university. Rumors of incompatibility of temperament are preceding the young bride to the coast…”

Poor Ursula! I feel for the heartbreak she must have felt over the failed relationship, and embarrassment over her personal life being exposed for all to read in the city paper.

Of course, that’s assuming the paper got the story right. But did Ursula and Sidney really split up, or was this article mere speculation? Tune in next time to find out!