Natalie Talmadge

Talmadge and Buster Keaton on their wedding day, May 31, 1921

Talmadge married Buster Keaton on May 31, 1921. 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. It's possible that Joe Schenck, Keaton's producer and Norma's husband and producer, influenced the match, arguing that it would solve several problems at once and keep the business all in the family, although Keaton and Talmadge had dated in the past.

Talmadge was Roman Catholic, but the marriage was performed as a civil ceremony. Their marriage resulted in two sons, Joseph "Jimmy" Talmadge Keaton (June 2, 1922 – February 14, 2007),[1][2] and Robert "Bob" Talmadge Keaton (February 3, 1924 – July 19, 2009).[3] Talmadge spent prodigious amounts on clothes and the Keatons lived in ever more elaborate Beverly Hills homes. After the birth of their second son, Talmadge decided not to have any more children, resulting in the couple staying in separate rooms.[1] Keaton was accepting of this, and the Talmadges agreed that he should keep any affairs discreet.[1] Late in the marriage, Keaton's career began to suffer after his contract with Schenck was sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and in the early '30s he began to struggle with alcoholism and become more open about his affairs with other women. Following the much-publicized divorce in 1932, Talmadge legally changed their boys' names to Talmadge and denied them any contact with their father. The name change was especially awkward for Joseph, who was ten years old and already accustomed to his last name.

She became involved with the actor Larry Kent. They lived together for a while in a house bought for her by her sister Constance after the famous Italian villa mansion which Keaton had built for her had been sold in 1933. They also took vacations together on occasion, but the romance did not last.