Sullivan married Nancy Toffoloni in 1985. In an example of life imitating art, Nancy left him in favor of his rival, Chris Benoit, in 1997. The situation began in late 1996, when Sullivan conceived a storyline angle in WCW where Nancy, who under the ring name Woman was his manager, would leave him for Chris Benoit. Sullivan insisted that the two should travel together, share hotel rooms and hold hands in public to preserve kayfabe for the general public and to make the affair look real, but the storyline affair between Chris and Nancy became real in early 1997. Nancy ultimately married Benoit in November 2000. As a result, Sullivan and Benoit had a contentious backstage relationship at best, and Benoit defeated Sullivan in a Retirement match at Bash at the Beach in July 1997. Benoit did, however, admit to having a certain amount of respect for Sullivan, saying on the DVD "" that Sullivan never took undue liberties in the ring during their feud, even though he blamed Benoit for breaking up his marriage. Sullivan later publicly paid tribute to Chris and Nancy after their deaths in June 2007.