(31 May 1921 - 25 July 1932) (divorced) 2 children
Talmadge married Buster Keaton on May 31, 1921, after an unusual courtship where they did not see each other for two years and exchanged no love letters. She proposed to him in a letter in January of that year by saying, "I am alone now with Mother. If you still care for me just send for me." Keaton went east from Hollywood by train and married her. The reasons for marriage on both sides have never been fully explained. They had dated, but not too seriously. It was believed that Joe Schenck, Keaton's producer and Norma's husband and producer, influenced the match, possibly arguing that it would solve several problems at once and keep the business all in the family. There was also the fact that Natalie was a quite naive young woman (her mother allegedly said that she was "so dumb, her brains rattle") who went to the altar a virgin,[citation needed] while Keaton was a prolific womanizer who had lost count of how many women he had been with. Although Natalie was a practicing Catholic, Keaton was an agnostic who had no interest in religion and did not wish to be married in a church. As a result, the marriage was performed as a civil ceremony.
Their marriage resulted in two sons, James (June 2, 1922-February 14, 2007), and Robert (February 3, 1924-July 19, 2009), but was rocky and tumultuous. Natalie spent prodigious amounts on clothes and ever more elaborate Beverly Hills homes, and after the birth of their second son, she suddenly announced that she no longer wanted sex.
Although accepting of this (imposed for reasons he did not understand), Keaton made it clear that he would not go without sex and would find other partners (he had been faithful to Natalie until she cut him off).
Late in the marriage, Buster's career began to suffer after his contract with Schenck was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and he became more open about his affairs with other women and turned increasingly to drink. He eventually became an unmanageable alcoholic. The marriage finally collapsed after Keaton invited one of his mistresses to their home and told her to help herself to Natalie's huge wardrobe.
Following the much-publicized and acrimonious divorce in 1932, Natalie legally changed their boys' names to Talmadge and denied them any contact with their father. The name change was especially awkward for James, who was ten years old and already accustomed to his last name. Natalie and her family rigorously instructed the boys that they were Talmadges and not Keatons.