In the United States she sewed and was very successful at it. When she returned to Zagreb, Jelinek found out that her husband had left her for a servant-girl. She continued to work hard and traveled the world. That however bothered Josip Broz Tito. Tito called her and said that she could not continue travel and promote her models as Žuži Jelinek, because he considered it not to be beneficial for the Yugoslavia workers' self-management. He offered to make her the director of the Macedonian fashion company Teteks. Jelinek refused this offer and in 1962, during a speech, Tito named her as a negative element in Yugoslavia.  She was told to leave. She then moved with her children and parents to Geneva. Upon her arrival, Jelinek traveled to a street and asked for the cheapest apartment for her family.  At the time of her death on that very same street, she was the owner of four houses.  She returned to Zagreb in 1964, when Tito invited her to come home. After her arrival, she sewed fashion creations for Tito's wife, Jovanka Broz. During her career, Jelinek sold fashion creations in the United States, Japan and all of Europe.