In 1872, Roqu married Luis Duprey, a well-off landowner and slaveowner. As a condition for her marriage, Roqu requested that she be permitted to educate the enslaved persons and that they not be forced to bow before their masters. (Slavery was abolished in Puerto Rico the following year.) She and Duprey had five children, though only three survived into adulthood. The family moved to San Juan in 1878. Duprey died two years later, leaving her a widow with young children.