When people ask "who is Natalie Wood married to," it's usually because they’ve stumbled across one of those grainy, glamorous photos of her on a yacht or a red carpet and realized the math doesn't quite add up. She wasn't just married once. She was married three times, but—and here is the kicker—only to two different men.
Honestly, the Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner saga is the kind of stuff modern screenwriters wouldn't even try to pitch because it feels too "Hollywood." It’s a loop of young love, a messy breakup, a whole other marriage in the middle, and a reunion that ended in a tragedy we are still talking about forty years later.
Who is Natalie Wood Married To? The Robert Wagner Years
Basically, the most important name you need to know is Robert Wagner. Everyone called him "R.J." If you’re looking for the short answer to who she was married to at the time of her death in 1981, it was him.
Their first go-around started in 1957. Natalie was only 19, and Wagner was 27. It was the "it" couple moment of the decade. She’d actually had a crush on him since she was ten years old. Seriously, she reportedly told her mother, "I'm going to marry him," the first time she saw him on the 20th Century Fox lot.
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They tied the knot in Scottsdale, Arizona, but the dream didn't last. By 1962, they were divorced. There’s been a ton of gossip over why—rumors of infidelity, studio pressure, you name it—but they both moved on to other people for a while.
The "Other" Husband: Richard Gregson
You sort of forget there was someone else in the mix. Between her two stints with Wagner, Natalie Wood married Richard Gregson.
Gregson was a British screenwriter and producer. They married in 1969 in a beautiful Russian Orthodox ceremony—Natalie’s family was of Russian descent, so this was a big deal for her. It wasn't just a rebound; they had a daughter together, Natasha Gregson Wagner.
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But distance and the pressures of two different worlds (London vs. LA) eventually pulled them apart. They split in 1971, and the divorce was finalized in early 1972.
The Remarriage That Shook Hollywood
What happened next is what really cements Natalie Wood’s place in celebrity lore. Just months after her divorce from Gregson, she didn't just date someone new—she went back to R.J.
They remarried in July 1972 on a boat called the Ramblin' Rose. It felt like a second chance that actually worked. They had a daughter, Courtney Wagner, in 1974 and created a blended family that, by all accounts from their children, was actually quite happy for a long time. They were the golden couple again, staying together until that final, fateful night in November 1981 off the coast of Catalina Island.
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What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that her marriage to Wagner was always perfect or always a disaster. It was both. They were two people who grew up in the studio system and had to learn how to be adults while the whole world watched.
When you look at who Natalie Wood was married to, you're looking at a woman who clearly valued loyalty and history. She went back to the man she loved as a teenager, for better or worse.
Key Takeaways on Natalie Wood's Marriages
- First Marriage: Robert Wagner (1957–1962).
- Second Marriage: Richard Gregson (1969–1972).
- Third Marriage: Robert Wagner (1972–1981).
- Children: Natasha (with Gregson) and Courtney (with Wagner).
- The Legend: She is the only major star to have married the same A-list actor twice with a completely different marriage in between.
If you’re looking to understand her better, your next steps should be to watch the 2020 documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. It was produced by her daughter Natasha and features some pretty raw interviews with Robert Wagner himself. It gives a much more personal look at their home life than any tabloid ever could. You might also want to check out her final film, Brainstorm, to see the talent that was cut short just as she was entering a new phase of her life and marriage.