Florence Harding, Warren's wife, was furious. She claimed that this was not the first time that her husband had entered into an affair with a woman whom she considered a friend. To separate the two lovers and allow time for the respective marriages to be reconciled, the Phillips family returned to Europe, leaving the Hardings in Marion. While in Germany, Mrs. Phillips became immersed in German culture. She chose to stay in Germany and enrolled their daughter in school there. James Phillips returned to the United States alone. While Mrs. Phillips was in Europe, Harding ran for the United States Senate. As Europe moved closer to the brink of war, Phillips returned to the United States. Her passion for Germany was very well known. Upon returning to Marion, Phillips' affair with Harding reignited. Phillips reportedly threatened to expose the affair if Harding voted in favor of war with Germany. In mid-1920, immediately following his acceptance of the Republican Party nomination, Harding disclosed his affair with Mrs. Phillips to Republican Party officials, also disclosing that Phillips was in the possession of hundreds of love letters he had written to her, many on Senate stationery. Reportedly wary of a scandal involving an affair as well as Phillips' support of the German government, the Republican Party urged Mr. and Mrs. Phillips to keep their travels abroad a private matter. Mrs. Phillips responded by dictating terms under which she would consider the party's wishes. In return for Phillips' silence on the matter, the Republican Party offered to pay the way for an extended tour of Asia and the Pacific Islands, as well as an annual stipend to Phillips for the remainder of her life. After the affair After Mrs. Harding's death, Mrs. Phillips relocated to Germany. Mr. Phillips died on July 3, 1939, at the age of 73, from heart disease. Carrie Fulton Phillips died on February 3, 1960, at the age of 86. She was buried in Marion Cemetery, next to her husband and infant son. Their daughter Isabelle and her husband William Helmuth Mathee are also buried in the family plot. Isabelle and Mathee had a son, also named William Helmuth Mathee (1920–1988). Following Phillips' death, the love letters to Warren Harding became the centerpiece of a court battle that pitted Phillips’ daughter, Isabelle Phillips Mathee, against nephews of Warren G. Harding. The Library of Congress publicly opened letters between Phillips and