History Main / SexlessMarriage

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Cersei reveals to Sansa that she and Robert never had any sexual intercourse since their first son had died. He mostly spent his nights with prostitutes while she preferred the company of [[{{Twincest}} her own brother]]. In the extremely rare instance that he would drunkenly burst into [[SleepingSingle her bedchamber]] demanding sex, she used other means to get him off, and he'd wake up the next morning with no memory of what happened. This is why he never realized his three children with Cersei weren't biologically his (their first was, among all of them, the only one fathered by Robert).

* ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate'': Carl, a Terminator that has GrewBeyondTheirProgramming and assimilated into humanity, is married to a human woman. The heroes are mildly disturbed by the [[{{Robosexual}} implications]], prompting Carl to explain that their relationship is not physical in anyway. In this case, it's not because of any problems in the marriage; they're a perfectly happy couple. They just physically ''can't'' have sex, given that [[{{Asexuality}} Carl is a robot with no genitals or sex drive]] that weighs 400 pounds, while his wife had traumatic experiences with her previous husband that left her largely disinterested in sex. A purely emotional relationship suits them both.

* Emperor Paul Muad'Dib and Princess Irulan in ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', while Paul's "real" wife, Chani, is a HotConsort who is his wife in everything but name. Of course, Paul and Irulan were never in love in the first place (at least on Paul's side) and they both knew that the marriage was purely political, not to mention that Paul knew that sleeping with her would just play into the [[EvilutionaryBiologist Bene Gesserit's]] plans. Despite mostly ignoring her he does seem to at least somewhat care for her, and in ''Literature/DuneMessiah'' [[spoiler:spares her when the details of the conspiracy she was involved in, in particular Chani's infertility due to Irulan feeding her contraceptives and later DeathByChildbirth, come out into the open, and he has to talk Chani out of having Irulan killed with the rest of the conspirators]]. It seems that at the very least he values her as an adviser, and after [[spoiler:he exiles himself]] Irulan refers to him with some affection and helps raise his children.

* Karl Oskar and Kristina in ''[[Literature/TheEmigrants The Last Letter Home]]'' after it becomes clear that Kristina won't survive another pregnancy. It doesn't last for long, however.

* Scarlett in ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind'' decides that she doesn't want any more children (she also, bizarrely, wants to somehow stay faithful to ''Ashley'', the man she's loved for years even though he's married to Melanie), and tells Rhett that their marriage should become this. [[spoiler: It does… mostly.]] Melanie has a delivery go ''very'' badly, and is warned not to have more children; consequently, she and her husband sleep apart. [[spoiler:We discover--[[DeathByChildbirth tragically]]--that Melanie and Ashley weren't entirely sexless either]].
* Aragon alludes to this with the Duke of Richelieu in ''La Semaine Sainte''. Probably TruthInTelevision, as the Duke and his wife barely lived together even when they were not at opposite ends of Europe, and both were famously disinterested in sex.

* In ''Fanfic/DauntlessAlloraGale'' Lelouch is forced into a political marriage by the Emperor but refuses to consummate the relationship. [[spoiler:He's eventually coaxed into having sex as the price of getting her political support]].
* Bruce and Grace's marriage in ''The Dark Knight'' fanfic ''Question of Honor'' starts out like this. Which makes sense because [[CitizenshipMarriage Bruce married her to get her out of her war-torn homeland]] and they plan on getting an annulment in a few years so Grace can stay in the States.

* In the movie ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'', it was revealed before the main characters arrived in town, sex was a concept no one could understand. When the mother was told teenagers were having sex, she had to be given a talk from her teenage daughter about what it was. This is because Pleasantville is an amalgamation of [[TrappedInTVLand old TV show concepts and tropes]] from a time when sex was a taboo subject, and so a mother having a child without ever having sex isn't the only thing very off about this place.

* In ''Film/CitySlickers'' Phil had an affair with one of his employees because he and his wife hadn't had sex for twelve years.

* Dr. Menville in ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'' is, ahem, physically unable to sleep with his wife.

* Lester and Carolyn Burnham in ''Film/AmericanBeauty'', hence Lester's [[ADateWithRosiePalms morning habit]] (and Carolyn's afternoon habit). They ''do'' attempt to get it on once, but Carolyn's desire to keep the sofa clean puts the kibosh on that.

* Lloyd and Caroline from ''Film/TheRef'' have had a sexless marriage for years, apparently.

* ''Film/{{Tristana}}'': Young innocent Tristana lets Don Lope have sex with her, but when a more worldly Tristana marries Don Lope, she won't let him touch her.

* Julia and Pete Thomas in ''Film/LustForGold''. When the audience first sees Pete, he is lying on Julia's bed. Julia angrily tells him off, saying the he knows he is not allowed in her bedroom. He attempts to insist on his conjugal rights, but is given the cold shoulder. The implication is that she has cut off sex ever since he lost all their money in a land scam, stranding them in Phoenix, which she regards as a backwater. The situation becomes worse when Julia banishes Pete from the house as part of her plan to seduce Walz.

* ''Film/Carrie2013'': Margaret indicates that she had this with Carrie's father (by her choice), until he snapped, raping her and conceiving Carrie.
* ''Film/FaceOff'': Eve's diary relates that she and Archer haven't had sex in months when the film begins, as he's always busy at work, each "date night" fizzling due to this. Castor, reading this, calls Archer a loser.

* Emperor Paul Muad'Dib and Princess Irulan in ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', while Paul's "real" wife, Chani, is a HotConsort who is his wife in everything but name. Of course, Paul and Irulan were never in love in the first place (at least on Paul's side) and they both knew that the marriage was purely political, not to mention that Paul knew that sleeping with her would just play into the [[EvilutionaryBiologist Bene Gesserit's]] plans. Despite mostly ignoring her he does seem to at least somewhat care for her, and in ''Literature/DuneMessiah'' [[spoiler:spares her when the details of the conspiracy she was involved in, in particular Chani's infertility due to Irulan feeding her contraceptives and later DeathByChildbirth, come out into the open, and he has to talk Chani out of having Irulan killed with the rest of the conspirators]]. It seems that at the very least he values her as an adviser, and after [[spoiler:he exiles himself]] Irulan refers to him with some affection and helps raise his children.
** There is also [[Literature/ChildrenOfDune marriage between Leto II and his twin sister Ghanima]]. Said union is purely symbolic and since Leto II becomes sterile after his transformation, Ghanima has to take another man as her real mate to ensure the continuation of the Atreides line. Later in ''Literature/GodEmperorOfDune'', Leto prepares to marry Hwi Noree out of mutual love, but it's obviously going to be sexless because, in addition to being sterile, Leto is now also a giant sandworm with a human face. [[spoiler:They end up dying together on their planned wedding day anyway.]]
** Count Fenring and his Bene Gesserit wife Margot are HappilyMarried, but because [[spoiler: the Count is a failed Kwisatz Haderach]], he's a gene-eunuch who is physically incapable of sex. It's why he's okay with Margot seducing Feyd-Rautha to preserve his genes before the final duel with Paul.

* In ''Literature/WizardAndGlass'' from ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series, mayor Thorin and his wife Olive stopped sleeping together a long time ago, as he began pursuing younger women.
* In ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', Carrie's Christian fundamentalist parents wanted to have a marriage like this, because they believed that SexIsEvil. Her father once couldn't resist the temptation, and raped her mother; that's how she was conceived.

* In ''Literature/TobaccoRoad'', Lov's wife Pearl refuses to sleep in the same bed with him, and often sleeps outdoors to avoid his presence; she even tries to avoid making eye contact with him. Her response to any and all of Lov's attempts to persuade her to be more friendly towards him is [[ElectiveMute deliberate total silence]].

* Implied to be the case in Laura's ArrangedMarriage in ''Literature/TheWomanInWhite''--her GoldDigger of a husband assures his friend there's no chance of his wife limiting his access to her money by producing heirs.

* In Philippa Gregory's ''[[Literature/TheCousinsWarSeries Cousins' War]]'' series, the Duke of Bedford arranges one of these with the much younger Jacquetta of Luxembourg because he believes a [[VirginPower young virgin girl]] can help him with his alchemical experiments. There's no RealLife evidence to suggest this, although their marriage was short and childless (and it certainly wasn't due to infertility on Jacquetta's part, as her second marriage produced ''fourteen'' children).
* [[spoiler:Jacky]] and Higgins in ''[[Literature/BloodyJack The Wake Of The Lorelei Lee]]''--which is to be expected, since Higgins is [[AmbiguouslyGay gay]] and [[spoiler:Jacky is [[CatchPhrase promised to another]].]]
* ''Literature/InDeath'' series: ''Imitation In Death'' reveals that [[spoiler: Pamela and Niles]] have this sort of marriage. They pretty much hate each other's guts. Here's the kicker… [[spoiler:Pamela is an IceQueen with a total LackOfEmpathy who knows that her husband is the psychopath and a SerialKiller, as well as knowing that he rapes the nanny, using his wife's frigidness as an excuse. Pamela does not care, because at least it doesn't affect her own little world. To add to the heinousness of the situation, they have a kid, and while the kid hasn't been harmed, Pamela didn't even think about kid's safety and well-being once]]!
* In ''Literature/TalesOfKolmar'', Lanen's cousin offers one of these to her after her father dies; he's the one with the passion to run the horse farm, she's the one who inherited. Lanen is offended by this and hits him, then decides to turn the farm over to him, keep a share of the profits, and go adventuring.
* In A.S. Byatt's ''Literature/{{Possession}}'', the wife of Randolph Ash is terrified of sex and can't bring herself to sleep with her husband. Later when she agrees to try he's careful, but she has vaginismus (painful cramping of interior muscles, often stress-related). He's actually pretty accepting of it, and though he later has an affair with the poetess Christabel LaMotte (which makes up the crux of the book) he never considers leaving his wife, and ultimately tells her that they had a successful marriage since never once in all those years did they have an argument.
* This is the premise of Julia Valerian's relationship with her third husband in ''[[Literature/TheMarkOfTheLion A Voice in the Wind]]''--he is [[IncompatibleOrientation gay]] and has a live-in [[AllGaysArePedophiles catamite]], and she is using the marriage as a cover to carry on an affair with a gladiator. It is superficially beneficial to them both ([[spoiler:although it backfires on Julia; her lover isn't exactly thrilled to hear that she's gotten married]]), but they hardly interact with one another at all.
* One of the leading couples in Creator/LarryNiven's novel ''The Legacy of Heorot'' becomes this after the husband is rendered paraplegic in a fight with an alien monster. He ends up giving her permission to seek "outside assistance" when it came to her physical needs, as long as she didn't sleep with the book's main character. She keeps the promise until the climax of the book: a massive battle against thousands of the monsters during which the paralyzed character dies in a HeroicSacrifice. In the sequel, ''Beowulf's Children'', which takes place nearly twenty years later, it's revealed that she went ahead and married the hero in-between books.
* Such marriages are common in the alternate world in Gene Wolfe's ''There Are Doors''. Due to that world's biology, men die if they reproduce, so asexual or celibate men are married to help raise children.
* This is a possibility in the marriage between Sasha and Joe in ''Literature/TheTenetsOfFutilism''. They do sleep separately at the beginning of their marriage, but that's understandable given they were more or less forced to get married. It's not explicitly said whether or not their relationship becomes physical after they fall in 'love', but its hinted that it might not have. They're not prudes in the traditional sense. However, said hints combined with their romantic awkwardness and Sasha's resentment for men wanting her only for sex makes this trope rather likely.
* In ''Literature/TheGiver'', every marriage is this, since sexual desires are suppressed by pills.

* Aragon alludes to this with the Duke of Richelieu in ''La Semaine Sainte''. Probably TruthInTelevision, as the Duke and his wife barely lived together even when they were not at opposite ends of Europe, and both were famously disinterested in sex.
* In ''Literature/PetalsOnTheWind'', Paul reveals to Cathy that his wife Julia cut him off after they had their son, having always hated sex thanks to "a cousin who'd done something to her when she was four".

* ''Literature/TheCrownerJohnMysteries'': At the start of their ArrangedMarriage, John and Matilda attempted to have children, but this only resulted in several miscarriages. Since then, they have not slept together (more-or-less by mutual agreement). John deals with his urges by having a string of mistresses scattered across the county, while Matilda concentrates on her ruthless social climbing.
* Macon Dead II and his wife Ruth in Creator/ToniMorrison's ''Literature/SongOfSolomon'' are believed to have this kind of marriage after the births of their two daughters First Corinthians and Magdalene (called Lena), both of whom were suspected to be children of ParentalIncest between Ruth and her father. After a long while of not having had any pleasure, Ruth sought out her husband's sister Pilate, who has her make up a love potion of sorts to give to Macon so that they could have sex. Soon afterward, Ruth conceives and is carrying her next child, which turns out to be her son Macon Dead III (or Milkman), but Macon II after finding out forces Ruth to abort the child. Pilate in turn threatens her brother with a VoodooDoll, which makes him back off from ever threatening his wife in that fashion. From then on the marriage remained pretty much sexless, with Ruth settling for [[DomesticAbuse her husband to hit her]] just so she could feel something from him.
* Darrow/Dundee and Claire in ''Literature/TheAnubisGates''. She's not at all happy that he apparently hasn't even tried to consummate their marriage. (He fully intended to have sex with her -- siring an heir was a large part of what he married her for in the first place -- but he has a physiological impediment. And he can't tell her that's the reason, because explaining the nature of the impediment would reveal too much about his past.)
* ''Literature/NakedCameTheStranger'': Morton Earbrow and his wife Gloria live in a house that's in such bad shape that they spend virtually all their free time fixing it, leaving Gloria too tired for sex.

* In ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Niles and Maris don't even sleep in the same room.
* In ''Series/{{Devious Maids}}'', Evelyn and Adrian share a bed but don't sleep together for over a decade, which is why Adrian resorts to [[TheOldestProfession "his disgusting little hobby"]].
* In ''Series/{{Kaamelott}}'', Arthur hasn't touched Gueneviere since they met (that is, even during the wedding night), which hasn't stopped him from sleeping with just about every other woman in the castle or his in-laws from repeatedly slipping them fertility potions. [[spoiler:It turns out that he does this out of faithfulness to the woman he truly loved and wanted to marry, though she did allow him to take mistresses.]] And while he's briefly married to one of his flings, LoveRuinsTheRealm to such a degree that he quickly backs down.
* Series/{{Monk}} is a highly germophobic man, and it was implied that he didn't have sex with his wife, though they loved each other. Note that later in the series he regrets never having children with her. Also later in the series, when Monk is reunited with an old crush, he tells her that he was married and that they "went all the way." So it's probably a safe bet that they did it at least once.
* Ned and Chuck's relationship in ''Series/PushingDaisies''. [[CantHaveSexEver For special reasons…]]
* Most likely, Basil and Sybil in ''Series/FawltyTowers''. They sleep in [[SleepingSingle separate beds]], and once, when he kisses her on the cheek (to throw her off), she tells him not to. In "The Psychiatrist", Basil claims that they have sex two or three times per week, but he's probably lying.
* Trey and Charlotte from ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. Early in their marriage, it becomes apparent that Trey struggles with impotency, and they sleep in the same bed but don't do anything with it. Over time, their situation becomes more strained, particularly as the struggle shifts from Trey's impotency to Charlotte's infertility, and in the weeks before their separation, Trey moves to the guest room.
* Jack's CitizenshipMarriage to Rosario in ''Series/WillAndGrace''.
** Also, Grace's mother tried to push Will and Grace themselves into this. When both of them try to explain why this won't work, she simply says that sex in a marriage will disappear anyway and, apart from that, they were perfect for each other.

* Heavily implied between Salvatore Romano and his wife in ''Series/MadMen''. In fact, it appears that the two of them barely even speak.
* Klinger and his first wife, Leverne, from ''Series/{{MASH}}''. Klinger marries his Toledo sweetheart while in Korea, and the divorce happened before Klinger has a chance to return.

* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', this happened to Robin's boyfriend Don and his ex-wife, and they eventually got [[SleepingSingle separate twin beds]]. He then found out she was cheating on him with her personal trainer. Lily and Marshall decided to get twin beds for themselves because they found it to be more comfortable, though they were still sleeping together (euphemistically), and [[StatusQuoIsGod went back to]] sleeping together (literally) at the end of the episode.
* Horace and Hilda Rumpole in ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'' had sex once on their honeymoon, which produced their son. They still share a bed, but that's it.
* In ''Series/TheGoodWife'', Alicia and Peter's marriage went through a number of rough patches, especially after it was publicly revealed that he had sexual relations with several women on his staff. After he is released from prison, they reconcile, but then Alicia finds out that one of those women was [[spoiler:her new best friend Kalinda]]. She immediately buys him an apartment and forces him to move out. She even has a brief sexual relationship with [[spoiler:her boss Will]]. They then get back together until [[spoiler:Will is shot and killed by a client]], causing Alicia to suddenly lash out at Peter that she has never forgiven him about his earlier indiscretions. They resolve to stay married for their careers and show up for each other's official functions, but that's it. Their son even calls them Bill and Hillary.[[note]]Ironically, in real life it is quite obvious that Bill Clinton is still absolutely besotted with his wife, his history of philandering notwithstanding -- not that this stops the tabloids from speculating otherwise.[[/note]]
* In the ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'', Inspector Robinson reveals half-way through the first season to be in one such marriage, with the implication that he changed a great deal during the Great War and his wife wasn't happy about it. [[spoiler: They eventually divorce.]]
* Emma and Carl on ''Series/{{Glee}}'', mostly because Emma's OCD has made her afraid of sex.

* In ''Series/{{Bramwell}}'', the title character's colleague admits that his wife stopped sleeping with him after the death of their infant son, thus explaining (a) how he never noticed the mass in her breast, and (b) why he regularly visits a brothel.

* In ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', although Al and Peggy's marriage is not entirely sexless, in a few episodes Peggy has stated that she and Al have often gone several months without sex.

* In the first series of ''Series/BlackAdder'' Edmund is married off to princess [[ShoutOut Leia]] of Hungary... who is ten years old at the time, and their marriage is purely one of political necessity. However, all's well that ends well; Edmund quickly becomes a big brother-surrogate to Leia and his apparently deep and genuine affection for her is one of his very few PetTheDog-traits. The episode where she is introduced ends with Edmund sitting at Leia's bedside, telling her a bedtime story.
* PlayedForLaughs with the Ropers on ''Series/ThreesCompany'' (as well as their own SpinOff, ''Series/TheRopers''), though they weren't entirely sexless--there were several instances where it was implied that Helen was able to guilt Stanley into sex (still played for laughs, of course), and on at least one occasion, Stanley was even in the mood for it and initiated it himself.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Cersei reveals to Sansa that she and Robert never had any sexual intercourse since their first son had died. He mostly spent his nights with prostitutes while she preferred the company of [[{{Twincest}} her own brother]]. In the extremely rare instance that he would drunkenly burst into [[SleepingSingle her bedchamber]] demanding sex, she used other means to get him off, and he'd wake up the next morning with no memory of what happened. This is why he never realized his three children with Cersei weren't biologically his (their first was, among all of them, the only one fathered by Robert).
* ''Series/AFrenchVillage'': Hortense mentions to Daniel that they haven't been having sex for a while. He rebuffs her advance, and this seems to be the reason she cheats on him.
* ''Series/SexLife'': By the time of the series' start, Billie and Cooper's marriage has become largely this, to Billie's unhappiness. This is the reason she starts getting tempted by her ex-boyfriend Brad.

* In ''Theatre/TheLittleFoxes'', Regina has not let her husband sleep with her since ten years before the events of the play. She claimed that there was something medically wrong with her, and hated him for believing her lie.

* Eirik and Blodeuwedd from ''VideoGame/DeadInVinland'' have been mostly this for many years, which is why they only have one child in a time period where that was uncommon. [[spoiler: Depending on how you play, they may rectify this with an OptionalSexualEncounter explicitly stated to be their first since arriving on the island.]]

* Double D's parents in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', based on the single beds in their bedroom and Double D's statement that "displays of affection aren't allowed in his parents' bedroom". If they're anything like their son, it's related to germophobia.
* WesternAnimation/MoralOrel's parents are this. They even sleep with a ''wall'' between them.
** Clay's own parents were like this too-because he was his mother's first child after ''ten'' miscarriages, she lavished him with attention at the expense of her husband. This led to Clay having a strained relationship with this father, which only got worse after he accidentally caused his mother's death when he was 12.

* Dexter's parents in ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' are heavily implied to have this kind of romance. One episode has Dee Dee disguised as her mom and when her dad gets romantic with her she gets understandably grossed out. Her dad simply shuffles away and grumbles "What else is new?". Another episode has Dad mistaking Mandark for his wife and asking her to go to bed, but when Mandark declines he says she "always says the same things". It's unknown if it's related to Mom's mysophobia but they're a fairly affectionate couple. That explains the cheatings joke and [[ADateWithRosiePalms "special bathroom privacy time"]] line.
* Dale and Nancy's marriage was like this in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', with the two sleeping in different rooms and only having sex on birthdays and Christmas because Dale felt that abstaining from sex would help him live longer. Nancy, however, was getting plenty of sex from John Redcorn. At least until a double date with Hank and Peggy reminds Nancy of why she fell for Dale in the first place.

* Darrow/Dundee and Claire in ''Literature/TheAnubisGates''. She's not at all happy that he apparently hasn't even tried to consummate their marriage.

** Like Margaery, Sansa is still a virgin in spite of having been married to two different men. Her first husband, Joffrey, doesn't get to exercise his MaritalRapeLicense, in spite of threatening her with it, as he elects to divorce her after the Lannisters forge an alliance with the Tyrells. Her second husband, Tyrion Lannister, is the polar opposite. She's unwilling to consummate the marriage and he won't exercise the MaritalRapeLicense to force the issue. While age is sometimes cited (Sansa is thirteen), it should be noted that Daenerys Targaryen loses her virginity at age fourteen and no one makes a big deal about it.

* Catholic belief is also that Mary and Joseph had a marriage like this, declaring that she was a perpetual virgin. Jesus' brothers mentioned in some verses are explained as being born to a prior wife of Joseph (thus his ''half''-brothers). Some later Catholics who decided to follow this idea thus have what's called "Josephite marriages" (i.e. they get married but vow to not have sex). In this case, though, the marriage would have to be consummated at least once for validity under Catholic canon law (or else it could be annulled). So most such couples agree at some point to stop having sex, rather than simply never doing it to begin with. In fact, mutual agreement is required to have a Josephite marriage since, under Catholic doctrine, neither spouse can just require it of the other.

%%* At the end of ''Anime/TurnAGundam'' this is how Loran and Dianna end up.

* The royal marriage of the Kingdom of Midland in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is shown to be this. The King's first wife died young, and [[TheLostLenore he has not been able to get over it]] and consummate his marriage with the new Queen of Midland. This makes the Queen cheat behind his back with his younger brother, Julius. This comes up as a minor plot point when [[spoiler: Griffith assassinates Julius]], and a ''major'' plot point later on when the [[spoiler: King himself is turned out to be a [[MoralEventHorizon paedophile]] lusting after ''[[ParentalIncest his own daughter]]''. [[StrongFamilyResemblance Said daughter is near-identical to her mother]], by the way.]]

** Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark also qualify. She's unwilling and he won't exercise the MaritalRapeLicense to force the issue. Age is also a problem, as Sansa is thirteen.

** Margaery Tyrell has so far married three different men and remains a virgin. Her first marriage is to [[StraightGay Renly Baratheon]], who is [[TheBeard more interested in Margaery's brother, Loras]]. Her second marriage is to Joffrey Baratheon, [[spoiler:who dies at his own wedding]]. Her third marriage is to Tommen Baratheon, who is eight years old.
** Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark qualify for a different reason: she's unwilling and he won't exercise the MaritalRapeLicense to force the issue. Age is also a problem, as Sansa is thirteen.

* A number of the political marriages in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' due to one of the parties being too young to consummate the marriage. Notable examples include Tyrek Lannister and Lady Ermasinde ([[{{Squick}} due to the fact that the latter is less than a year old]]) and [[spoiler: Tommen and Margaery]]. [[spoiler:Tyrion and Sansa]] qualify for a different reason: she's unwilling and he won't exercise the MaritalRapeLicense to force the issue. (Also like the others, age is a semi-reason.)

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Cersei reveals to Sansa that she and Robert never had penis-in-vagina intercourse once in their entire marriage. He mostly spent his nights with prostitutes while she preferred the company of [[{{Twincest}} her own brother]]. In the extremely rare instance that he would drunkenly burst into [[SleepingSingle her bedchamber]] demanding sex, she used other means to get him off, and he'd wake up the next morning with no memory of what happened. This is why he never realized his three children with Cersei weren't biologically his.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', the marriage Saber (aka [[KingArthur Arturia Pendragon]]) had with Guinevere was devoid of sex due to the fact that [[SweetPollyOliver Saber had to conceal her gender in order to be King]]. It was because of this that Guinevere started looking for love in other places--Lancelot, for example. Saber was actually alright with Guinevere's affair [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy because she wanted her to be happy]] but was forced to act when it became public to preserve her image and authority. In the end, all three suffered as a result.

* Most likely, Basil and Sybil in ''Series/FawltyTowers''. They sleep in [[SleepingSingle separate beds]], and once, when he kisses her on the cheek (to throw her off), she tells him not to. In "The Psychiatrist", Basil claims that they [[UnusualEuphemism "go for a walk"]] together two or three times per week, but he's probably lying.

* In ''Film/{{Superdome}}'', football player Dave Walecki hasn't had sex with his wife in ages, due to his drug addiction and the fact that he's MarriedToTheJob.

* In the French comic ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}'', the second arc features the chief of police who's part of a white(-furred) supremacist group, about whom rumors of pedophilia abound, because of further rumors that he and his wife have never slept together. [[spoiler: The former rumors are false, but the latter ones are most definitely true: It's because ''she'' knows, but ''he'' doesn't, that he's actually her father; their marriage was part of an elaborate plan by the daughter to get revenge on him for the way he treated her black mother after he started buying into white supremacist rhetoric. In this case, the romantic implications ''are'' brought up, but that was kind of the idea to begin with.]]

* Julia and Pete Thomas in ''Film/LustForGold''. When the audience first sees Pete, he is lying on Julia's bed. Julia angrily tells him off, saying the he knows he is not allowed in her bedroom. He attempts to insist of his conjugal rights, but is given the cold shoulder. The implication is that she has cut off sex ever since he lost all their money in a land scam, stranding them in Phoenix, which she regards as a backwater. The situation becomes worse when Julia banishes Pete from the house as part of her plan to seduce Walz.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', the marriage Saber (aka [[KingArthur Arturia Pendragon]]) had with Guinevere was devoid of sex due to the fact that [[SweetPollyOliver Saber had to conceal her gender in order to be King]]. It was because of this that Guinevere [[YourCheatingHeart started looking for love in other places]]--Lancelot, for example. Saber was actually alright with Guinevere's affair [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy because she wanted her to be happy]] but was forced to act when it became public to preserve her image and authority. In the end, all three suffered as a result.

* Lester and Carolyn Burnham in ''Film/AmericanBeauty'', hence Lester's [[ADateWithRosiePalms morning habit]] (and [[YourCheatingHeart Carolyn's afternoon habit]]). They ''do'' attempt to get it on once, but Carolyn's desire to keep the sofa clean puts the kibosh on that.

* Dexter's parents in ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' are heavily implied to have this kind of romance. One episode has Dee Dee disguised as her mom and when her dad gets romantic with her she gets understandably grossed out. Her dad simply shuffles away and grumbles "What else is new?". Another episode has Dad mistaking Mandark for his wife and asking her to go to bed, but when Mandark declines he says she "always says the same things". It's unknown if it's related to Mom's mysophobia but they're a fairly affectionate couple. That explains the [[YourCheatingHeart cheatings]] joke and [[ADateWithRosiePalms "special bathroom privacy time"]] line.

* Implied in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonIslandOfHappiness'' with Alicia, the only bachelorette in the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons series whom you can marry, but not have children with.

* ''Film/MeanGirls'': One of the secrets that Gretchen lets slip about Regina is "her parents totally don't sleep in the same bed anymore".