Early success put a strain on Estée and Joe’s marriage. The couple divorced in 1939, but four years later, when Leonard fell ill with the mumps, the couple came together to care for him—and never parted. “We were never to be separate for longer than a few days ever again,” said Estée. They soon remarried and had another son, Ronald, in 1944. Estée Lauder the brand officially became the family business.