In 1729, when she was sixteen, she was courted by the composer and violinist Richard Charke, and the two were married on 4 February 1730, only six months after. A short-lived marriage since she believed Mr. Charke only wanted to reap the rewards of being "Mr Colley Cibber's son-in-law", due to a disastrous financial status. Once married, Charlotte, no longer a minor to her parents, began to appear on stage.
She had to stop performing soon thereafter, however, when she discovered that she was pregnant. Her daughter, Catherine (also known as Kitty), was born in December 1730.
He quarreled incessantly with Charlotte. Only a few months into their marriage, he began to pursue affairs with other women. He also had a penchant for gambling and for spending money frivolously. In the summer of 1736, he fled England for Jamaica in order to avoid his gambling debts and debtor's prison. He became ill shortly after arriving in Jamaica, dying in either late 1737 or early 1738.
Charlotte was suddenly without either occupation or husband, alienated from her powerful father, and herself a single mother, all at the age of twenty-four. It was at this point that Charlotte Charke began wearing male clothes with frequency even off the stage.