While in MacDowell Colony, New Hampshire, Chang met and became involved with the American screenwriter Ferdinand Reyher, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the time they were briefly apart in New York (Chang in New York City, Reyher in Saratoga), Chang wrote to Reyher that she was pregnant with his child. Reyher wrote back to propose. Although Chang did not receive the letter, she telephoned the following morning to inform Reyher she was arriving in Saratoga. Reyher had a chance to propose to her in person, but insisted that he did not want the child.

Chang suffered a miscarriage shortly thereafter. On August 14, 1956, the couple married in New York City. After the wedding, the couple moved back to New Hampshire. After suffering a series of strokes, Reyher eventually became paralyzed before his death on October 8, 1967.

In MacDowell Colony, Chang met her second husband, the American screenwriter Ferdinand Reyher, whom she married on August 14, 1956. While they were briefly apart (Chang in New York City, Reyher in Saratoga, New York), Chang wrote to Reyher that she was pregnant with his child. Reyher wrote back to propose. Although Chang did not receive the letter, she called the next day telling Reyher she was going up to Saratoga. Reyher got a chance to propose to her in person, but insisted that he did not want the child.

After their marriage, they stayed in New York City until October 1956 before moving back to MacDowell Colony. Chang became a U.S. citizen in July 1960, then went to Taiwan to look for more opportunities (October 1961 - March 1962). Reyher had been hit by strokes from time to time, and eventually became paralyzed. Reyher died on October 8, 1967. After Reyher's death, Chang held short-term jobs at Radcliffe College (1967) and UC Berkeley (1969-1972).