 Before heading back to Dapitan to live with Rizal, Bracken introduced herself to members of his family in Manila.His mother suggested a civil marriage, which she believed to be a lesser "sacrament" but free from hypocrisy—and thus less a burden to Rizal's conscience—than making any sort of political retraction.Nevertheless, Bracken and Rizal lived together as husband and wife in Barangay Talisay, Dapitan, beginning in July 1895.