She met Captain Frédéric Rimbaud (1814–1878), a French infantry officer, in October 1852 and married him the following February.

[1] They had five children: Though the marriage lasted seven years, her husband lived continuously in the matrimonial home for less than three months, from February to May 1853.

[4] The rest of the time Captain Rimbaud's military postings – including service in the Crimean War and the Sardinian Campaign[5] – meant he returned home to Charleville only when on leave.

[4] He was not at home for his children's births, nor their baptisms.

[4] After Isabelle's birth in 1860, Captain Rimbaud never returned to the family home.