History Main / MarriageBeforeRomance

-->Once very near the end I said, 'If you can -- if it is allowed -- come to me when I too am on my death bed.' 'Allowed!' she said. 'Heaven would have a job to hold me; and as for Hell, I'd break it to bits.

* As for non-royals, Creator/CSLewis obtained a civil marriage to American Joy Gresham in order to allow her and her children to remain in England. While good friends, the two didn't fall in love until later and were eventually married in a religious ceremony.

** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor King George V]] of the United Kingdom - grandfather to UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen - married his brother Albert's fiancée Mary of Teck when Albert died of pneumonia. This marriage of convenience became a love match. Both parties were emotionally inarticulate and almost pathologically shy but communicated their mutual feelings in passionate letters and 'understood each other perfectly' as George wrote in one of them. They spawned one of England's most universally beloved monarchies - just about the only monarch seriously complained about from this dynasty is the rather selfish Edward VIII.[[note]]There's something of an expectation that should present heir Charles take the throne there will be some moaning, but unlike Edward, nobody accuses Charles of being a selfish ass--despite his having had an affair, it is, if anything, Charles' sanctimoniousness about being an essentially NiceGuy that annoys people, and to the extent people are bothered by it it's more of a national joke than a serious embarrassment or scandal (though his treatment of his second son's marriage left a bad taste in the mouths of the public in other ways). Particularly with the hindsight that while Charles' affair was with one woman, whom he later married and who is by all accounts (including his own!) [[OneTrueLove the love of his life]], his then-wife Diana retaliated by cheating on him with "half the Army list and the England rugby captain".[[/note]]

-->'''Golde:''' For 25 years I've lived with him, fought with him, starved with him. 25 years my bed is his. If that's not love...what is?\\
'''Tevye:''' Then, you love me?\\

'''Tevye:''' And I suppose I love you too.

* In ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof,'' the marriage of Tevye and Golde was arranged and they have been together for years, having already raised several of their children to adulthood; but it isn't until one of their daughters wants to marry for love that they start thinking about romance with one another. Their {{duet| bonding}} "Do You Love Me?" [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]], [[DiscussedTrope describes]], and plays out the trope.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strictly controlled and even things like kissing or being alone together are often forbidden. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently come up with a device to marry the characters off first, allowing the writer to write said romance novel without having to worry about including things their target audience might see as inappropriate for an unmarried couple. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, centers around a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child who enter into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and it's only after they've been together for a few months that an actual relationship begins to develop between them.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strictly controlled and even things like kissing or being alone together are often forbidden. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently marry the characters off first, allowing the writer to write said romance novel without having to worry about what their target audience might see as inappropriate for an unmarried couple. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, centers around a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child who enter into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and it's only after they've been together for a few months that an actual relationship begins to develop between them.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strictly controlled and even things like kissing or being alone together are often forbidden. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently marry the characters off first, allowing the writer to write a typical romance novel without having to worry that their target audience will be put off by the characters' interactions. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, centers around a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child who enter into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and it's only after they've been together for a few months that an actual relationship begins to develop between them.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strictly controlled and even things like kissing or being alone together are considered problematic. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently marry the characters off first, allowing the writer to write a typical romance novel without having to worry that their target audience will be put off by the characters' interactions. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, centers around a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child who enter into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and it's only after they've been together for a few months that an actual relationship begins to develop between them.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strongly limited. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently marry the characters off first, allowing the writer to write a typical romance novel without having to worry that their target audience will be put off by things like the couple kissing or being alone together. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, centers around a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child who enter into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and it's only after they've been together for a few months that an actual relationship begins to develop between them.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', Irisviel and Kiritsugu are HappilyMarried, despite their union initially being part of the arrangement for Kiritsugu to work for the Einzbern family. Plus, they had a rather rocky start since Kiritsugu wasn't impressed with Iri at first, but once her father/creator cruelly rejected her, Kiritsugu [[RescueRomance rescued and nursed her back to health]], which is what made them grow closer and fall in love in the first place. Their relationship is even happier in the much more light-hearted ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya''.

* In ''Manga/HappyMarriage'' the main couple gets thrown into an ArrangedMarriage but end up falling in love with each other.
* The premise of ''Manga/IMarriedMyBestFriendToShutMyParentsUp'' involves Machi pretending to marry her kohai and friend Hana (who'd previously confessed to her while they were in college and got rejected), in order to satisfy their needs. Machi wants to stop her parents from pressuring her to marry successful men, while Hana needs a place to stay while her apartment is being renovated. Eventually, Machi ends up falling in love with Hana.
* Sun and Nagasumi's marriage in ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid''. After Sun (a mermaid) saves Nagasumi from drowning, mermaid law forces him to either marry into her family or be killed. Naturally, he chooses the former option, and a recurring theme in the series is how despite being initially forced together by circumstance they grow into people who truly care about each other. [[spoiler:On two occasions, one formally proposes to the other and each time it is accepted.]]

* In ''Anime/PleaseTeacher'' high school student Kei Kusanagi marries the alien who is posing as his homeroom teacher in order to protect her {{secret identity}}. They move in together and quickly fall in love with each other.
* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' the title character is [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise betrothed to Akane while they are both teenagers]], and although it's clear that there is a potential for romance between them, romantic progress is constantly derailed by NotWhatItLooksLike situations, other fiancées, a curse that [[GenderBender makes Ranma turn into a girl]] when splashed with cold water, other martial artists coming after Ranma and/or Akane and, most often, the two's own egos. Although the relationship never developed beyond AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther moments and a denied AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, the ending does imply that they will get married of their own will eventually.

* In the ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' franchise the main character, Keiichi Morisato, encounters a goddess who will grant one wish to him. He wishes that she stay with him forever. As far as the universe is concerned from that point on, the two are effectively married. They couldn't leave one another if they tried. In the process of finding a place to live and domestic life, they fall in love with one another. The manga ends with [[spoiler:Belldandy and Keichi being officially married by Belldandy's mother after they pass the trial, and that's when Keiichi is told, straight up, that the wording of his wish in chapter one is explicitly a marriage proposal.]]

* ''Series/The100'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10807881/1/A-Union A Union]]" opens with Clarke and Anya's first meeting on the bridge where Anya proposes that Clarke join her in a peace union, which Clarke only later learns is an actual marriage. Once Anya establishes that Clarke didn't know what she was agreeing to, they agree to maintain the appearance of an actual marriage for the sake of the alliance, but acknowledge deeper feelings for each other by the time they escape from Mount Weather.

* In ''Film/FoolsRushIn'', the couple Isabel and Alex have a one night stand in Las Vegas which results in pregnancy. They decide to get married, move in together, and then actually get to know each other.

* Most of the plot of the rom-com ''Film/TheWeddingPlanner'' revolves around the fact that the father of the eponymous wedding planner made an ArrangedMarriage between her and the son of an old friend of his. Near the end of the movie, [[CallingTheOldManOut she calls him out on this]] evoking his marriage to her late mother, only for him to tell her that was also arranged. He goes on to tell her that when they were younger, he was in love with someone else, and she didn't really like him. They spent the first years of their marriage despising one another (since they lived and got married in Italy, it's heavily implied that societal tradition levied a heavy taboo on divorce.) One day he got incredibly sick and she nursed him back to health, and with that experience, they slowly but surely learned to love one another.

* In ''Literature/DragomirsDiary'', the titular character meets his wife ''after'' they've already been married, and one of the first things she does is threaten to beat on him for arriving a day late. Despite that, they eventually do fall in love - [[spoiler:enough so that Libby is willing to throw herself into a crumbling castle to save Dragomir, and has to be forcefully removed by a ''dragon''.]]

* In the short novel ''[[Literature/BelisariusSeries Islands]]'' by Creator/EricFlint, Calopidius leaves for war shortly after his ArrangedMarriage with Anna. She sets out to visit him to claim a divorce, but they end having a romance via telegraph as she travels.

* Mahir and Nandini in the ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'' series. All right, so he chose her after being offered over a dozen other possibles because she looked a good deal like Georgia, whom Mahir had had romantic feelings for, but the marriage does work out quite well and he falls very much in love with Nandini.
* In ''Literature/TheNightAngelTrilogy,'' Logan and Jenine are shoved awkwardly into marriage because she has a crush and [[spoiler:his fiancée slept with the prince. They spend the next two books separated and convinced the other is dead. Logan almost marries again for political reasons, Jenine becomes the wife of the Godking. However, when Logan ''finds out she's alive and in the hands of the enemy'' he marches to war to rescue her. Cue happy ending.]]

** Philip and Elizabeth. It's mentioned at one point that, when Philip was introduced to Elizabeth for the first time, he was relieved by how pretty she was, but he could tell by her face that she was disappointed by him. It isn't until the third episode that Elizabeth admits that she's starting to feel love for Philip for the first time in their twenty-year marriage.

* In ''Series/GreysAnatomy'', Teddy marries a patient because he has a chronic illness and cannot afford surgery so that he will be covered under her insurance. She originally had no romantic interest in him but they fall in love, though he unfortunately dies shortly after.

* In the MiniSeries ''Queen'', the plantation owner's badgers his son about how it's time for him to find a wife. The son declares that he isn't certain if he loves the girl he's currently courting. The father finds the idea ludicrous, outright saying, "Love has nothing to do with it. It's about sons and land and honor.", then softens slightly, assuring him that he'll come to love the girl eventually, citing how he loves his wife dearly now even if he didn't when they first married.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'' Apu had an arranged marriage he tried to get out of only [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage for himself and his fiancée Manjula to instantly hit it off at their wedding]]. Although, as it turned out, neither of them had liked the idea of being forced to marry a near-total stranger, they decide to go through with the wedding and effectively "date" as husband and wife, since if they're not compatible they can always get divorced.

* The marriage of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth of France started out poorly, not helped by the twenty-year difference in their age and the fact Elizabeth was still physically immature delaying consummation. But Philip was both patient and kind and Elizabeth reciprocated by making an effort to please him and after a few years, they were desperately in love and very happy together. Then she died. Philip was unlucky that way. (For context, this was his ''third'' marriage, and he would eventually have a fourth one after his sole heir died.)

* ''Machinima/LiliumSims2'': Horitio was arranged to marry Estella as children. When they meet as teens, Horitio is initially in love with [[BrotherSisterIncest his sister]]. He pushes aside his feelings and marries Estella due to obligation. Eventually, the two fall mutually in love.

** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor King George V]] of the United Kingdom - grandfather to UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen - married his brother Albert's fiancée Mary of Teck when Albert died of pneumonia. This marriage of convenience became a love match. Both parties were emotionally inarticulate and almost pathologically shy but communicated their mutual feelings in passionate letters and 'understood each other perfectly' as George wrote in one of them. They spawned one of England's most universally beloved monarchies - just about the only monarch seriously complained about from this dynasty is the rather selfish Edward VIII.[[note]]There's something of an expectation that should present heir Charles take the throne there will be some moaning, but unlike Edward, nobody accuses Charles of being a selfish ass--despite his having had an affair, it is, if anything, Charles' sanctimoniousness about being an essentially NiceGuy that annoys people, and to the extent people are bothered by it it's more of a national joke than a serious embarrassment or scandal (though his treatment of his second son's marriage left a bad taste in the mouths of the public in other ways). Particularly with the hindsight that while Charles' affair was with one woman, whom he later married and who is by all accounts (including his own!) [[OneTrueLove the love of his life]], his then-wife Diana retaliated by cheating on him with [[UpToEleven "half the Army list and the England rugby captain"]].[[/note]]

* In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' the title character is [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise betrothed to Akane while they are both teenagers]], and although it's clear that there is a potential for romance between them, romantic progress is constantly derailed by NotWhatItLooksLike situations, other fiancees, a curse that [[GenderBender makes Ranma turn into a girl]] when splashed with cold water, other martial artists coming after Ranma and/or Akane and, most often, the two's own egos. Although the relationship never developed beyond AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther moments and a denied AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, the ending does imply that they will get married of their own will eventually.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21736876/chapters/51854803 Mended Hearts]]'', Oliver and Laurel stage a "fake wedding" to draw out Cupid. Due to Cupid attacking later than they were planning, they are unable to stop the license from going through and wind up genuinely married by accident. While they already still loved each other, each thought the other had moved on. They then learn the other does still love them and rekindle their romance. Leading to the unusual question

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' fanfic ''Question of Honor'', Bruce and Grace have to get married to help her escape her war-torn homeland. They plan on staying together for a few years and then getting a divorce to ensure that Grace can stay in the states. Things take a different turn, however...

* In ''Film/GreenCard'' Georges and Bronte join in a sham marriage to get a green card to the US and a good apartment respectively. They can't stand each other and are hunted by the INS before they realise they love each other.

* The movie ''Film/LadyJane'' depicts this between Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley. Jane is not happy with the proposed marriage and must be forced into it through corporal punishment by her parents. At first, Jane and Guildford decide to treat their union purely as a MarriageOfConvenience, but then they fall deeply in love.
* A movie called ''Loco Love'' revolves around a renowned chef who loses his restaurant after his wife took it, the money, and most everything else in the divorce proceeding. Hearing of his plight, his gardener, who recently won the lottery, tells the chef he'll give him the capital to start a new restaurant on the condition he marries his sister [[CitizenshipMarriage so she can stay in the U.S.,]] and allows him and his family to move in with him. The marriage is rocky, to put it mildly, but after a while, they do start to love each other, and after the ex-wife tries to win him back, the chef smoothes things over with his second wife, and they do end up happily ever after.

* ''Literature/ThatIrresistiblePoison'' by AlessandraHazard: On the planet of Calluvia, romantic love is expected to come after marriage, since Calluvians are betrothed from birth. Seyn and Ksar, the princes of The Third Grand Clan and the Second Grand Clan respectively, were also engaged to each other in an arranged marriage. [[spoiler:While they do fall in love eventually, they had some unconventional twists and turns. Seyn and Ksar were betrothed, then they broke their engagement because Ksar wanted to help his brother Harry to be free of his fiancee, so that lovesick Harry could be with Adam. Crown Prince Ksar is even more high profile than Harry, so Harry's fiancee Leylen was more than happy to switch betrotheds. However, Seyn and Ksar find their mutual attraction irresistible, and soon realize that they love each other. In the end, Ksar breaks off his engagement with Leylen, and marries Seyn, his original intended spouse and love of his life.]]

* In ''Literature/TheNightAngelTrilogy'' Logan and Jenine are shoved awkwardly into marriage because she has a crush and [[spoiler:his fiance slept with the prince. They spend the next two books separated and convinced the other is dead. Logan almost marries again for political reasons, Jenine becomes the wife of the Godking. However, when Logan ''finds out she's alive and in the hands of the enemy'' he marches to war to rescue her. Cue happy ending.]]

* In ''Literature/SpocksWorld'', a Franchise/StarTrek novel by Creator/DianeDuane, one of the stories from Vulcan's history is of a girl who is able to kill with her mind when she is angry. She has killed two potential husbands this way. She is forced into a third marriage for political reasons and is sure he will end up as the other two. Then they meet and argue and [[SlapSlapKiss fall in love]]. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge What happens]] when her husband is killed is the main reason Vulcans have discouraged marrying for love.

** Philip and Elizabeth. It's mentioned at one point that when Philip was introduced to Elizabeth for the first time he was relieved by how pretty she was, but he could tell by her face that she was disappointed by him. It isn't until the third episode that Elizabeth admits that she's starting to feel love for Philip for the first time in their twenty-year marriage.

* Averted in ''Theatre/AnneOfTheThousandDays''. The marriage of Henry VIII and Katharine of Aragon was thorny from the outset and deteriorated thereafter. One scene shows Henry VIII grousing about this: "I do not love that woman. That was a marriage of state: England married Spain."[[note]]This is emphatically ''not'' true to real-life history: Henry, then a headstrong new king of only seventeen, quite defiantly married Catherine -- his late brother Prince Arthur's widow -- ''because'' he was in love with her, despite a number of people telling him not to do it. It was only later on, after a series of disappointing miscarriages, that their marriage really began to fall apart.[[/note]]
* In ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' the marriage of Tevye and Golde was arranged and they have been together for years, having already raised several of their children to adulthood, but it isn't until one of their daughters wants to marry for love that they start thinking about romance with one another. Their {{duet| bonding}} "Do You Love Me?" [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]], [[DiscussedTrope describes]], and plays out the trope.
* In ''Theatre/TheYeomenOfTheGuard'' Fairfax marries Elise in order to prevent his property being inherited by those who have falsely accused him. She is blindfolded for the ceremony and he is too distracted to remember her face so that when they meet later neither recognizes the other. They then proceed to fall in love.

** Edward I of England married twice, both for strictly political reasons. Firstly at fifteen to the thirteen-year-old Eleanor of Castile. They proved a devoted couple with Eleanor following Edward on his military campaigns including a Crusade. When she died Edward was devastated and the famous Eleanor Crosses are a lasting monument to his grief. Nine years later Edward married again, Margaret of France. Despite an age difference of forty years, this marriage was just as happy as his first with Eleanor. When Edward died after six years of marriage Margaret declared that 'All men' were dead to her.

* On an appearance on ''Series/TheGrahamNortonShow'', ''Series/GreatBritishBakeOff'' alum Nadiya Hussein talked about how her marriage was arranged and that she and her husband gradually fell in love afterward. They had a vow renewal ceremony in order to declare their commitment to one another on their own terms.

* ''Webcomic/MarryMe''. Pop-idol who doesn't want to go back into the dating scene impulsively accepts a marriage proposal by sign and gets married to him on stage that minute. But the guy who was holding the sign didn't especially want to get married to her - it wasn't even his sign. Eventually, they fall in love.

* Columbia Pictures 2006 bio-drama ''Film/MarieAntoinette'' starts with the marriage of King Louis XVI of France to Princess Marie of Austria. The two had never met until their wedding, which was made to solidify a treaty between France and Austria. Nevertheless, Marie and Louis grew to love each other during their short reign.

* Zane and Danica in ''[[Literature/KieshaRa Hawksong]]'' by Creator/AmeliaAtwaterRhodes. It's a political match -- their peoples have been at war for generations, they're the royal heirs, and they decide that they can make peace via a marriage alliance. It works, and they fall in love later.
* ''Moonraker's Bride'' by Creator/MadeleineBrent: The heroine enters a marriage of convenience with a man who's about to be executed; complications (and eventually romance) ensue when he's not executed after all.
* ''Sarah Plain and Tall'', a children's book published in 1985, later made into a movie and stage play, is about Sarah, a mail-order bride to a widower named Caleb who has two young children. Their courtship happens after they are already living as man and wife.
* In the novel ''Promised Land'' by Creator/ConnieWillis and Cynthia Felice the main character, Delanna, returns to her home planet to inherit a large tract of land, but finds out that according to the planet's backward property laws, she has been legally married to her neighbor, and before she can divorce him, she must live together with him for one year. Rom-com ensues.

* The ''Never Veil'' series is set in a cursed village where, upon puberty, every man is magically brainwashed into [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul "loving"]] a random woman. This explicitly has '''nothing''' to do with the feelings, compatibility, or consent of the people involved (the woman can technically refuse, but no other villager will ever be interested in her, and the rejected man will die of despair): it's more like a CosmicHorrorStory than any version of the [[OneTrueLove soulmate]] trope. In book 2 the curse is broken, and most couples eagerly [[note]]among the curse's downsides is that its victims ''cannot'' ever disobey their "goddess", even if she abuses them, or truly care about any other human being[[/note]] break up...but Elweard and Vena are still happy with each other (if in a different way than before), and get remarried within a day.

* In the short novel ''[[Literature/BelisariusSeries Islands]]'' by Creator/EricFlint, Calopidius leaves for war shortly after his ArrangedMarriage with Anna. She sets out to visit him to claim a divorce, but they end having a romance via telegraph as she travels.

* ''Literature/ThatIrresistiblePoison'' by AlessandraHazard: On the planet of Calluvia, romantic love is expected to come after marriage, since Calluvians are betrothed from birth. Seyn and Ksar, the princes of The Third Grand Clan and the Second Grand Clan respectively, were also engaged to each other in an arranged marriage. [[spoiler:While they do fall in love eventually, they had some unconventional twists and turns. Seyn and Ksar were betrothed, then they broke their engagement because Ksar wanted to help his brother Harry to be free of his fiancee, so that lovesick Harry could be with Adam. Crown Prince Ksar is even more high profile than Harry, so Harry's fiancee Leylen was more than happy to switch betrotheds. However, Seyn and Ksar find their mutual attraction irresistible, and soon realize that they love each other. In the end, Ksar breaks off his engagement with Leylen, and marries Seyn, his original intended spouse and love of his life.]]

* ''Literature/ThatIrresistiblePoison'' by AlessandraHazard: On the planet of Calluvia, romantic love is expected to come after marriage, since Calluvians are betrothed from birth. Seyn and Ksar, the princes of The Third Grand Clan and the Second Grand Clan respectively, were also engaged to each other in an arranged marriage. [[spoiler:While they do fall in love eventually, they had some unconventional twists and turns. Seyn and Ksar were betrothed, then they broke their engagement because Ksar wanted to help his brother Harry to be free of his fiancee, so that lovesick Harry could be with Adam. Crown Prince Ksar is even more high profile than Harry, so Harry's fiancee Leylen was more than happy to switch betrotheds. However, Seyn and Ksar find their mutual attraction irresistible, and soon realize that they love each other. In the end, Ksar breaks off his engagement with Leylen, and marries Seyn, his original intended spouse and love of his life.]]

* Zane and Danica in ''[[Literature/KieshaRa Hawksong]]'' by Creator/AmeliaAtwaterRhodes. It's a political match -- their peoples have been at war for generations, they're the royal heirs, and they decide that they can make peace via a marriage alliance. It works, and they fall in love later.

* In the short novel ''[[Literature/BelisariusSeries Islands]]'' by Creator/EricFlint, Calopidius leaves for war shortly after his ArrangedMarriage with Anna. She sets out to visit him to claim a divorce, but they end having a romance via telegraph as she travels.

* In ''Film/FoolsRushIn'' the couple Isabel & Alex have a one-night stand in Las Vegas which results in pregnancy. They decide to get married, move in together, and then actually get to know each other.

* The movie ''Lady Jane'' depicts this between Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley. Jane is not happy with the proposed marriage and must be forced into it through corporal punishment by her parents. At first, Jane and Guildford decide to treat their union purely as a MarriageOfConvenience, but then they fall deeply in love.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strongly limited. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently marry the characters off first, allowing the writer to write a typical romance novel without having to worry that their target audience will be put off by, say, an unmarried couple kissing. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, centers around a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child who enter into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and it's only after they've been together for a few months that an actual relationship begins to develop between them.

* A certain subset of evangelical Christian fiction relies on this trope because it's written for a subculture where romantic relationships between unmarried people are strongly limited. In order to allow a typical romance arc to play out, these books frequently marry the characters off first so that any romantic affection between them will be acceptable to their reader base. For example, Janette Oke’s ''Love Comes Softly'', set circa 1850, involves a pregnant widow and a widower with a young child entering into a MarriageOfConvenience so that she can be provided for and he can have someone to take care of his daughter (this being an era when women were considered inherently better than men at caring for children), and only then beginning to develop an actual relationship. This allows the writer to write a typical romance novel without having to worry about issues of impropriety.

* Emperor Pedro I of Brazil had a notoriously hard marriage to his first wife, but his second marriage, to Amélie of Leuchtenberg in 1829, was very happy, she became a motherly figure to her stepchildren and managed to make Pedro drop his [[HandsomeLech notoriously lecherous behaviour]] (although, this can also be attributed to his trauma over blaming himself for the death of his first wife), they remained married until his death by tuberculosis in 1834. She never remarried.