History Main / TheBeard

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]", before meeting Lestat de Lioncourt, Louis de Pointe du Lac tries to maintain his straight credentials by seeing a prostitute named Lily.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Before meeting Lestat, Louis tries to maintain his straight credentials by seeing a prostitute named Lily.

* Shows up in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' much more blatantly than the vague, scattered hints in the book version. Margaery Tyrell is this for King Renly Baratheon; he made her his Queen after he allies himself with House Tyrell. However, he is romantically involved with her brother Loras, and the three are perfectly happy with this arrangement.[[note]]Reportedly there were some who thought the show writers had invented this plot, but WordOfGod says that it was supposed to be obvious in the books[[/note]]. The trope is later {{Deconstructed}} long after Renly's death when Margaery is questioned on why they never had children; she dances around the fact that his gayness made him unable to have sex with her.

* In ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', Cuuko uses Mahiro this way in order to drive off her cousin Cuune, who wants to drag Cuuko home to space and [[LesYay marry her]]. This is mostly PlayedForLaughs, with Mahiro and Cuuko's poor attempts to look lovey-dovey that ''still'' trigger ClingyJealousGirl reactions in both Cuune and Mahiro's own LoveInterest Nyarko. It stops being funny when after a whole day of watching this, combined with Mahiro's unintentionally harsh response when she begs him to call it off, sends Nyarko into a HeroicBSOD and later leads to an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove. Note that while Cuuko is attracted to Nyarko, the fake relationship isn't to hide her homosexuality[[note]]or bisexuality, since she starts developing feelings for Mahiro[[/note]] as is usually the case with this trope. According to Nyarko herself, their two races are mortal enemies and if word of Cuuko's crush became public it would destroy her family's reputation.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Rain}}'', Gavin [[https://www.deviantart.com/jocelynsamara/art/RAIN-p-41-Smokescreen-199413259 is this]] for Maria who is a lesbian.

* In the second season of ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'', Than dates Brittnay in an attempt to prove he's straight. The two actually have a decent amount in common and he does make an effort to be a good boyfriend, but it's very clear he isn't interested in her sexually, despite his claims to the contrary. She eventually figures out what's going on, and breaks up with him.

* Light in ''Manga/DeathNote'' pretended that Misa was his girlfriend in order to A) appear more normal and B) convince Misa to help him kill L. He also told his mother and sister that he had a girlfriend before he met Misa, as an excuse for being out of the house so often. In fact, during college, he used at least four or five other girls (one of which was the infamous Kiyomi Takada) for this purpose, either [[{{Polyamory}} with]] or without their knowledge. Takada later plays this role unknowingly, after being duped by Light into thinking she'd become the Goddess of Kira's [[ConspiracyTheories/HToN New World Order]].

* According to the celebrity gossip blogs and their commenters, any woman who dates a handsome young Hollywood celebrity is a beard, because every last one of them is gay. Even when these men are serial monogamists who eventually marry, they're still gay, and the women they date are sniffily referred to as "the professional beard" and given the side-eye from there on in. Not surprisingly, Hollywood doesn't seem to have a large population of sexually active women (straight or lesbian) or conventionally unattractive gay men, as the wishfully thinking gays and SlashFic-type RealPersonFic fangirls that populate these boards don't have any use for them.
** Spoofed by Creator/KathyGriffin in her special ''Strong Black Woman'': "I love how the gay guys only want hot guys to be gay, right? They want Gyllenhaal, they want Ledger, they want Colin Farrell. Here's what you'll never hear from one of the gays: 'Oh, girl. Don't be naive. Don't tell me you don't know about Miss Gene Hackman.'"

* A secondary character in ''Series/{{Bridgerton}}'' is a gay nobleman who is married to a woman. She's aware of his sexuality and that he's in love with another man, but goes along with it for the freedom and status that being a married woman grants her, and because he doesn't mind her having lovers of her own. She has a brief affair with Beckett, who is massively uncomfortable when her husband tries to have an amiable chat with him about it.

* In many {{Fandom}}s, characters [[{{Shipping}} falling in love]] after one character forces the other to pretend to be their boyfriend/girlfriend because they accidentally told their family that they had one, is ''extremely'' common. No less [[HilarityEnsues hilarious]], though.
* It's also a common trope for any canonical female love interest that's "in the way" of an author's favorite male/male slash pairing to be dismissed as one of these.

* ''Fanfic/TheAlarmaverse'': In ''Beauty Will Tear Us Apart]]'': Ditzy preemptively tries to fend off Trixie's unrequited affection by claiming that Time Turner is her boyfriend.

* In ''[[Literature/BloodyJack The Wake Of The Lorelei Lee]]'', the titular ship is taking a group of female convicts to Australia. Since they have a cool captain, the crew of the ''Lorelei Lee'' are allowed to get married to the prisoners, if the women agree. Pretty much everyone on board likes this idea, so they all pair off... except for Jacky, who is [[CatchPhrase promised to another]], and [[spoiler:Higgins, because he's gay]]. The two of them act as the beard for each other.
* In ''Literature/KillTheBoyBand'', this is the true nature of [[spoiler:Rupert P. and Michelle Hornsbury's]] relationship; he's actually gay and in a relationship with his stylist. He pays little attention to her, including stranding her in New York without a hotel room; [[spoiler: this is the last straw for her, and her motive to murder him.]]
* ''Literature/TheLoveAndLiesOfRukhsanaAli'': Rukhsana and Sohail, a man whom she's matched with, both decide to temporarily be this for each other. She's a lesbian, while he's gay, which their traditional families would never accept, so they agree to be engaged then run away to the US on the eve of the wedding so it's unexpected.
* ''Literature/ElementalSeriesKemmerer'': Quinn becomes a pretend girlfriend for Nick, who is gay.

* ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'': Piscatella mentions that he brought one to his senior prom when he makes it clear to Chapman that flirting with him won't get her anything, since he's actually gay.

* ''Theatre/AngHulingElBimbo'': Anthony marries a woman at the behest of his homophobic father, leading to an unhappy and unfulfilling marriage.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', Guybrush and Morgan [=LeFlay=] have to do this in order to convince Coronado De Cava that Guybrush is not trying to steal his lover, the Voodoo Lady, away from him. De Cava is a little...unhinged...from being stuck in a giant manatee for a long time.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories'' has Toshiko Kasen, wife of Yakuza boss Kazuki Kasen, who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a man who "prefers the company of his men". To that end she hires Toni Cipriani to dismantle his organization and eventually kill him. After the deed is finally done Toshiko decides to truly "free herself" by [[spoiler:jumping out of a window]].

* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Kanon is this to Jessica during the school festival in [=EP2=], since her friends have been teasing her about not having a boyfriend (though Jessica does in fact have a crush on Kanon). However [[spoiler:the series heavily implies that Kanon and his "sister" Shannon (who's also Jessica's oldest friend) are actually the same person.]]

* LipstickLesbian Julia Gordon from ''WebVideo/DecadesOfDarkness'' has a husband who's gay himself. They even have a child together (it's set in the 19th century).

* In the second season of ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'', Than dates Brittnay in an attempt to prove he's straight. The two actually have a decent amount in common and he does make an effort to be a good boyfriend, but it's very clear he isn't interested in her sexually, despite his claims to the contrary. She eventually figures out what's going on, and breaks up with him.
-->'''Brittnay:''' Look, Than, it's fine if you're gay. Just like it's fine if I'm famous now. We just can't date. Like, ever again.

* The "FakeOutMakeOut" from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''.

** The VictimOfTheWeek of a much later episode is an MMA fighter who is quickly revealed to be gay and preparing to come out. When the detectives question his wife she reveals that she knows he's gay and has known for years. They've been best friends since childhood and started "dating" in high school so because he was afraid of coming out in the small midwestern town they grew up in. The actual attacker turns out to be his boyfriend[=/=]trainer, who was angry that he had no intentions of divorcing his wife even after he came out, because he loves her platonically even if he's not sexually attracted to her

* Prince Geordo of ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' originally got engaged to Katarina mostly to avoid the hassle of people trying to use him in politics. Both he and Katarina were originally game characters and he wasn't interested in her at all, finding her stupid and annoying while pretending to cherish her. However, after a girl who has already played this game reincarnates as Katarina, she manages to utterly charm him while now she isn't interested in the slightest since she knows he's secretly a jerk as well as having met him when he was just a kid from her perspective. When she tries to call off the engagement later by pointing out the reason for it[[note]]he accidentally scarred her forehead[[/note]] was no longer meaningful, he refuses. She assumes he's still just using her to avoid unwanted suitors because she's still a total moron who can't take a hint.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Touma is forced by Mikoto to help her to fend off a potential suitor (the grandson of the Tokiwadai Chairman) that she's not able to fend off [[ShockAndAwe her usual way]]. Of course, the act just ends up flaring the feelings she's already been growing for Touma [[spoiler:and the "grandson" is actually a spy from the Magic Side who's been sent to potentially kill her (although he ''is'' [[InLoveWithTheMark in love with her]]).]]

* Prince Geordo of ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' originally got engaged to Katarina mostly to avoid the hassle of people trying to use him in politics. Both he and Katarina were originally game characters and he wasn't interested in her at all, finding her stupid and annoying while pretending to cherish her. However, after a girl who has already played this game reincarnates as Katarina, she manages to utterly charm him while now she isn't interested in the slightest since she knows he's secretly a jerk as well as having met him when he was just a kid from her perspective. When she tries to call off the engagement later by pointing out the reason for it[[note]]he accidentally scarred her forehead[[/note]] was no longer meaningful, he refuses. She assumes he's still just using her to avoid unwanted suitors because she's still a total moron who can't take a hint.

* In ''LightNovel/SoImASpiderSoWhat'' Kanata was an ArmouredClosetGay in Japan and also smitten with his classmate Shun. In an attempt to hide his actual interest, he very publicly confessed to the one girl in class certain to turn him down, Wakaba Hiiro. If anyone suspected he was gay, he could use his unrequited love for Wakaba as a beard. [[spoiler:Wabaka, aka D, did not like the false confession and decided to "help" Kanata get together with Shun by reincarnating him as a girl]].

* ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'' example: after rumor goes along the school of [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya Kyon]] is engaged, most of the "unclaimed" girls of the SOS Brigade get one to prevent unwanted romantic attention: [[PseudoRomanticFriendship Haruhi and Kanae have each other]], while Mikuru has Shutaro. Ultimately, the trope gets ZigZagged as [[spoiler: all the aforementioned girls, Kyon's fiancee and Yuki are working together towards a MarryThemAll scenario with Kyon (with Shutaro being actually [[MasterOfDisguise Kyon in disguise]])]], meaning nobody is actually faking their relationship.

* In ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'', Krulcifer asks Lux to pretend to be her boyfriend for a week, in order to fool a butler from her family who's coming to pressure her about political marriage. This proves unnecessary when the man that Krulcifer was being pressured into marrying is arrested for various crimes - and, in the same incident, Lux is deemed an acceptable partner.

* In Franchise/{{Batman}}, Bruce Wayne's public girlfriends are little more than an endless string of beards, allowing him to keep up the façade of being a RichIdiotWithNoDayJob.

* A few years ago, Ian Wishart claimed that the then-Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, was a lesbian with a gay husband. Controversy ensued.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', Doctor Vivian Porter's boyfriend Oliver was actually an android she created to accept credit for her ideas because people had trouble accepting that [[HotScientist someone with supermodel looks]] could also be a genius. When the truth is revealed, Doctor James Possible immediately offers her a job.

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith GrowingTheBeard, where a show significantly improves at some point. Nor is it to be confused The Beard and The Suit setup of a technology startup, the Beard who handles the technology, and the Suit who handles the business side and [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder stops the Beard from walking into traffic or excitedly explaining his proprietary secrets to the first person who expresses an interest]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': Shake and Meatwad make out in order to deceive the Marines into thinking that they're gay, the idea being that the "Don't ask don't tell" policy would save them from serving. It works.

* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': Shake and Meatwad make out in order to deceive the Navy into thinking that they're gay, the idea being that the "Don't ask don't tell" policy would save them from serving. It works.

* In Jasmine Cresswell's ''Love for Hire'' the main character made up an imaginary boyfriend to avoid her mother's concern about her love life. Faced with being forced to produce said boyfriend as an escort to her unrequited love's wedding to her sister, she told a regular customer at the bakery she owned that she'd pay him for agreeing to play the role.