Before leaving the United States Eliot told Emily Hale that he was in love with her. They exchanged letters from Oxford during 1914 and 1915 but did not meet again until 1927. Less than four months after writing to Conrad Aiken about his dependence on women Scofield Thayer introduced Eliot to Vivienne Haigh-Wood. They were married at Hampstead Register Office on the 26th of June 1915.
The marriage proved markedly unhappy partly because of Vivienne's health problems. In a letter addressed to Ezra Pound she listed symptoms including recurrent high temperature fatigue insomnia migraines and colitis. Apparent mental instability meant doctors sent her away for extended periods hoping to improve her condition. As time passed Eliot became increasingly detached from her. Witnesses reported both partners complained frequently of physical and mental illness while Eliot drank excessively and Vivienne developed a liking for opium and ether prescribed for medical issues.
The couple separated in 1932 and formally separated in 1933. In 1938 Vivienne's brother Maurice had her committed to a mental hospital against her will where she remained until her death from heart disease in 1947. When told via phone call from the asylum that Vivienne had died unexpectedly during the night Eliot is said to have buried his face in his hands and cried out Oh God oh God. Their relationship later became the subject of a 1984 play titled Tom & Viv which was adapted as a film in 1994.
In a private paper written in his sixties Eliot confessed he came to persuade himself that he was in love with Vivienne simply because he wanted to burn his boats and commit himself to staying in England. He added that she persuaded herself under the influence of Ezra Pound that she would save the poet by keeping him in England. To her the marriage brought no happiness while to him it brought the state of mind out of which came The Waste Land.