Mitchell married Berrien 'Red' Upshaw in Atlanta; the tempestuous marriage ended in divorce in 1924.
On September 2, 1922, Margaret Mitchell married Berrien Kinnard "Red" Upshaw, a charismatic but volatile bootlegger, in Atlanta. The marriage was reportedly turbulent from the start, marked by financial instability and, according to biographers, physical abuse.
Upshaw's inability to hold steady employment and his drinking placed severe strain on the young couple. Mitchell's family, particularly her father, disapproved of the match, and the union unraveled quickly. The marriage was formally dissolved by divorce in 1924, a bold and socially risky move for a woman in the conservative American South of the 1920s.
This brief, difficult first marriage is often cited by scholars as an influence on Mitchell's later depiction of doomed or troubled romantic relationships in Gone with the Wind, including the volatile dynamic between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. Divorcing at a time when it carried significant social stigma also demonstrated Mitchell's independent streak, foreshadowing the strong-willed heroines she would later create.
Notably, Upshaw is believed to have served as one of the inspirations for the character of Rhett Butler, blending charm with recklessness in a way that mirrored Mitchell's own tumultuous experience.