Editing Billy Tipton (section)

== Personal life ==
Tipton was never legally married, but five women called themselves Mrs. Tipton during his life.<ref name="TDN" /> In 1934,<ref name="TDN" /> Tipton began living with a woman named Non Earl Harrell.<ref name="DOPE" /> The relationship ended in 1942.<ref name="DOPE">{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Cecil |url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_009.html |title=What's the story on the female jazz musician who lived as a man?|website=[[The Straight Dope]] |date=June 5, 1998 |access-date=February 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218172937/http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_009.html |archive-date=February 18, 2007}}</ref><ref name="TRANSFORMATION">{{cite news|last=Susannah |first=Francesca |url=http://www.mountainpridemedia.com/oitm/issues/2003/03mar2003/col05_likethat.htm |title=Women Like That: The Transformation of Dorothy Tipton |publisher=Out in the Mountains |access-date=February 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928084633/http://www.mountainpridemedia.com/oitm/issues/2003/03mar2003/col05_likethat.htm |archive-date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> Tipton's sex was reportedly concealed from the four women who would later call themselves "Mrs. Tipton".<ref name="TDN" /> Tipton kept the secret of his extrinsic sexual characteristics from them by telling them he had been in a serious car accident that resulted in damaged genitals and broken ribs.<ref name="HIST" />

Tipton's next relationship, with a singer known only as "June", lasted for several years.<ref name="TRANSFORMATION"/> For seven years, Tipton lived with Betty Cox, who was 18 or 19 years old when they first met, and eventually became involved. Cox remembered Tipton as "the most fantastic love of my life".<ref name="REMEMBERED"/><ref name="SALON">{{cite news |last=Vollers |first=Maryanne |url=http://www.salon.com/books/sneaks/1998/05/18sneaks.html |title=Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton |work=[[Salon.com]] |date=May 18, 1998 |access-date=February 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516002031/http://www.salon.com/books/sneaks/1998/05/18sneaks.html |archive-date=May 16, 2007 }}</ref> In 1954, Tipton's relationship with Cox ended, and he then entered a relationship with a woman named Maryann.<ref name="TRANSFORMATION"/> The pair moved to Spokane, Washington, in 1958. Maryann later stated that in 1960, she discovered that Tipton had become involved with nightclub dancer Kathleen "Kitty" Kelly.<ref name="TRANSFORMATION"/>

Tipton and Kelly settled down together in 1961.<ref name="TRANSFORMATION"/> They adopted three sons, John, Scott, and William;<ref name="REMEMBERED"/> the adoptions were not legally recognised.<ref name="Seattle" /> After they separated around 1977, Tipton resumed a relationship with Maryann.<ref name="TRANSFORMATION"/> Maryann reportedly discovered Tipton's birth certificate and asked Tipton about it once, but was given no reply other than a "terrible look".<ref name="TRANSFORMATION"/>