The Tragic Life of the Talented Natalie Wood

#23: Her Marriage To Richard Gregson Ended After His Affair

The peace didn’t last. In 1972, she discovered that Gregson was having an affair with his secretary. The betrayal devastated her and shattered the fragile sense of safety she had begun to build. She filed for divorce soon after, returning to a life of single motherhood and uncertainty.

The experience deepened her mistrust of relationships. Friends said she felt humiliated and weary, convinced that emotional security might never last. Yet she kept her composure publicly, refusing to let heartbreak define her image. In private, however, she began reconnecting with a familiar figure from her past—Robert Wagner.