History Main / SexlessMarriage

* [[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]].]]

* In the Colleen [=McCullough=] novel ''The Touch'', Elizabeth and Alexander settle for this. Ostensibly because it's too dangerous for her to conceive again--she suffered eclampsia in both pregnancies and nearly died in childbirth both times--but Elizabeth is relieved, as she doesn't love Alexander and hates sleeping with him anyway.

There are a few times where this trope can be in play for other reasons. Sometimes there are uncomfortable sleep issues involved (snoring, etc.) and one side will be [[ExiledToTheCouch banished from the bed]]. The trope will also occur with either a CitizenshipMarriage or someone who has SettledForGay, although in those cases this may be the default state of the marriage. In neither case does this trope suggest the romantic problems that it will under the more stereotypical circumstances. In one case because the romance is fine -- it's just the sleeping patterns that are bad, and in the other because there wasn't supposed to be any romance to begin with. Another possibility is that one or both of the couple are having medical or other problems that interfere with having a sex life.

* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' novel series, First Lord Gaius Sextus has one of these with his much younger wife. She doesn't even know what a passionate kiss from him is like since clearly, their marriage was for political reasons. Later in the series, [[spoiler:Maximus of all people makes Gaius subvert this]].

* 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.

* 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.

* As of 2002 in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', [[EternalLove Firo and Ennis]] take TwiceShy beyond humanly possible levels: they have lived under the same roof for seventy-two years, have been married for about twenty of those, and still haven't gotten as far as second base.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', the marriage Saber (aka [[Myth/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.

* 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.

* 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.

* ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'' focuses on a MarriageOfConvenience between Loid/Twilight and Yor, who are on good terms and take being parents to Anya seriously, but don't see their relationship as sexual and [[SleepingSingle sleep in different beds]]. [[RomanticFakeRealTurn Some romantic feelings do begin to develop]] between the two, but they're not remotely close to having sex--Loid would be fine with it just to advance his personal goals, but Yor is [[ParalyzingFearOfSexuality near catatonic]] when they just have to ''kiss'' to make their marriage seem legitimate.

* At the start of ''Film/BadBoys'', one of our protagonists is griping about this.
-->"Please man, I'm not getting my sex at home. Don't deny me this [burger]."
-->"What are you talking about? You sleep with a beautiful woman every night!"
-->"That's what being married means. You sleep together, but you can't get none."

** Tyrek Lannister and Lady Ermasinde, [[{{Squick}} due to the fact that the latter is less than a year old]].

** Stannis Baratheon and Selyse Florent, while not quite as dysfunctional as Robert and Cersei, have a very blatantly cold and loveless marriage. It is noted by multiple characters that Stannis seems wholly uninterested in sharing Selyse's bed, and unlike his brother it has nothing to do with him sleeping around, but simply that he [[UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} finds the act of sex undesirable]]. He sleeps with Selyse often enough to fulfill his nobleman's duty to sire heirs, and nothing more.

* Discussed but then ultimately averted in an episode of ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'': Marie claims that she and Frank have gotten to a point in their marriage (both are in their sixties) where this trope simply comes about naturally, only having sex once or twice a year "on average". However, when Frank is interrogated on this, he claims that they are in fact still quite active and have sex multiple times a week. In the end Marie admits she was simply lying because she found the topic inappropriate, but now that it's out in the open she decides to embrace it, [[ParentalSexualitySquick much to her son's displeasure]].

** Stannis Baratheon and Selyse Florent, while not quite as dysfunctional as Robert and Cersei, have a very blatantly cold and loveless marriage. It is noted by multiple characters that Stannis seems wholly uninterested in sharing Selyse's bed, and unlike his brother it has nothing to do with him sleeping around, but simply that he [[UsefulNotes/Asexuality finds the act of sex undesirable]]. He sleeps with Selyse often enough to fulfill his nobleman's duty to sire heirs, and nothing more.

* ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate'': Carl, a Terminator who 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 any way. 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.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Cersei reveals to Sansa that she and Robert never had any sexual intercourse since their first son had died.[[note]]In the books, she aborted Robert's baby, but in the tv show it was changed to a natural death[[/note]] 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 non-vaginal 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, as the only one he actually sired was the one that died.