She and Abraham Van Buren married in 1838. After marriage they took a long tour of Europe. When they came back to the US in 1839, she took up the role of the First Lady during the presidency of her father-in-law. In 1841, Martin Van Buren was defeated, she and her husband shifted to Kinderhook, Lindenwald. During the winter, they lived in their family home in South Carolina. From 1848 until her death in 1877, she lived in New York City.