%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
%%
->'''Kagami:''' In those dating sims, all the heroines are cute and have great personalities. Why don't they have boyfriends? It's not like a guy is free to choose any girl he pleases.\\
'''Konata:''' Beats me... If they did, the game wouldn't get anywhere, would it?
-->-- ''Manga/LuckyStar'', Chapter 62

Despite the number of experienced, professional people at the firm/lab/force/whatever, everybody on the staff is single. Some may have once been married, but they are now divorced. It might be mentioned that the hard hours their profession demands cuts out the chance for the standard nuclear family, or they may simply be MarriedToTheJob. Usefully, especially in sitcoms, any attractive guy/girl they meet and try to hit on will also be single, unless them being taken is relevant to the plot.

In reality, though, the writers just want as many people to have as many potential love/lust interests as possible.

This is common in {{Sitcom}}s such as ''Series/{{Friends}}'', but is more jarring and noticeable in dramas such as ''Series/{{ER}}'' and ''Series/{{CSI}}''.

Actors portraying these perpetually single characters are often married themselves, showing how odd the trope is for people of their age.

Note that series are much, much more likely to start this way than end this way. As the years go by and writers add romantic subplots, cast members are more and more likely to pair off, whether with each other or with characters who aren't part of the main cast. Also, the trope is called "everyone is single," not "this guy is single;" it only applies when everyone in the cast is single, or at least the vast majority, not just half the cast.

Compare AllLoveIsUnrequited and NoHuggingNoKissing. The direct opposite to EveryoneMustBePaired.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Double subverted in ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure''. It seemed that, finally, in the sixth season of the SeriesFranchise, a character would be introduced who was already taken... but [[RelativeError the "boyfriend" turned out to be her brother.]]
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': the only married couples are Maes and Gracia Hughes, [[BattleCouple Izumi and Sig Curtis]] and King Bradley and his wife, [[spoiler:and the first is broken up by Maes' murder in the fourth volume]]. Especially notable given that the series is populated with attractive people.
* Most characters in ''Literature/{{Gate}}'' are adult (and several are ReallySevenHundredYearsOld), but none of them is in a relationship. Some used to be: [[spoiler: Itami is a divorcee (he maintains a friendly contact with his ex-wife, though) and Yao Ha Ducy's lover is dead]].
* In fact, most HumongousMecha shows usually play this straight with the pilots & support crew, with a few exceptions, probably the best example of which would be ''Anime/{{Godannar}}'', where the pilots of the titular robot are a husband & wife.
* In ''Literature/HowToRaiseABoringGirlfriend'' not only the whole main cast is single despite having "two most beautiful girls in school" (at least according to Megumi), but also Tomoya insists that Megumi doesn't see any other men, including her cousin, and remains "a heroine who saves herself for the players".
* The only long-term romance shown in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' is Kashiwagi and her boyfriend ([[spoiler:at least until Kaguya and Shirogane finally hook up over Christmas break]]). And despite most of the characters' parents being married, the only one we see with any regularity (Shirogane's father) has been estranged from his wife for seven years. However, most of the characters do have justifications as to why they're single even if they express a desire for a relationship, like Ishigami (considered a pariah due to an incident in middle school), Fujiwara ([[BoyfriendBlockingDad forbidden from being in a relationship by her father]]), or Hayasaka (barely has any free time to speak of due to her job).
* ''Manga/KenganAshura'': Almost none of the characters are in an official romantic relationship, despite most of them being ''at least'' in their late [=20s=] (and more than a few are middle-aged, if not elderly), and some of them even have children. Metsudo's children--Sayaka and Retsudo--are sired by his unseen mistresses. Kazuo and Erioh were married, but Kazuo's wife had left him long before the story begins, while Erioh's has probably passed away. While there are ShipTease between several of the characters, only Nezu and Miki (who aren't really important to the plot anyway) get an explicit RelationshipUpgrade ... [[OffScreenRomance during the time skip]] between ''Ashura'' and ''Omega'', after which Nezu retires as a fighter and disappears from the story altogether.
* Funny thing about ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', despite the fact that a decent part of the cast are parents, the only characters who are currently married are Chrono and Amy. Other parents either adopted their kids while single or lost their mate before the series began.
* Played largely straight in the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', which isn't surprising, since most of the main cast are junior officers still in their late teens. Averted in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'', with two couples from the original who had gotten married in the intervening years (although the wives had left the EFF to raise their children), and with lead protagonist Kamille Bidan's own parents. Most Gundam shows play it straight, though.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'''s cast is made up mostly of singles. All the Host Club members and their customers are single (as far as we know), as is Haruhi's father (widower), Tamaki's father (divorced, and forcibly separated from his lover and mistress), Tamaki's grandmother (widow), and Ranka's co-worker and friend Misuzu (divorced). The only couples in the series are the Hitachiin's parents, Kyouya's parents, Kyouya's sister and her husband, and a few students at the school who are in [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage perfectly arranged marriages]]. [[spoiler: And, [[OfficialCouple Tamaki and Haruhi]] at the end of the manga.]]
* Downplayed in ''Franchise/{{Patlabor}}'', as Shinshi often mentions having a wife at home. The rest of the main cast are single, but considering their personalities, that's hardly surprising.
* Discussed in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul[=:Re=]''. Ghoul Investigators seem to fall into one extreme or the other, with those that ''do'' settle down doing so fairly young while everyone else is MarriedToTheJob. One reason is because of the high mortality rate for their line of work, and the lack of chances to even ''meet'' a potential mate.
* ''Anime/VariableGeo'' features an entire cast of über hot waitresses, most of whom are still single. The lone exceptions are Reimi who's in a SecretRelationship with her personal aide, Washio, and Yuuki's unrequited lust for Satomi. The rest seemingly have no interest in dating as the subject is never even mentioned once.
* ''Manga/WorldTrigger'': While there are crushes, nobody is known to be in a relationship. Even Kinuta, who has a daughter, is separated from his wife. It's a notable pattern in the [[AllThereInTheManual ''BBF'']] Q&A, where Ashihara is frequently asked if [x] and [y] are dating, to which the answer is always, "They probably aren't." He elaborates in another answer that if anyone ''is'' in a relationship, it's probably not with a Border agent (and therefore named character), as there tend to be issues with dating a coworker.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Any superhero comic book character. Expect any long-term relationship with other superheroes to fall victim to NoGoingSteady and for non-superpowered spouses to end up killed off.
** Notably averted by ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. He managed to hang onto Mary Jane for decades. At least until the relationship was {{retcon}}ned out of existence in the ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' storyline. That, and Comicbook/LoisLane and [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]], whose relationship resulted in a marriage. Spider-Man is particularly notable, since both his comic and ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' were explicitly made to be an extremely convoluted series of {{Retcon}}s all for the purpose of making Spider-Man single again. This backfired ''monumentally'' with the fans (Mary Jane was really popular with them, and Creator/StanLee), and the flaws can be summed up in [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara's]] tirade on reviewing ''One More Day''.
** Averted in the DCU by the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] [[Franchise/TheFlash Flash]], Jay Garrick and his wife Joan.
** The second Flash was in a stable relationship as well. [[spoiler: Then she died, but then she turned out to be alive. Then ''he'' died.]]
** Wally West (the third Flash) eventually got married and had children.
** Invincible and Atom Eve are a good example or an aversion.
** Averted by Reed and Sue Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour''.
* Most of the faculty in ComicBook/ArchieComics, with the exception of Coach Clayton. And he's possibly the only subversion because his kid attends the school and is friends with Archie.
* Seemed to have creeped up on Franchise/TheDCU with the ''ComicBook/New52''. [[ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen]] was no longer in any kind of relationship with Iris West (effectively wiping out Wally West in the process), and {{Franchise/Superman}} was no longer married to or interested in Lois Lane. [[ComicBook/DCRebirth Eventually]], these relationships were restored, though.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch|STO}}'' uses this for the characters whose marital status we know, although in the case of security officer Dul'krah, Clan Korekh it's because his species doesn't actually ''practice'' marriage. According to [[http://memory-gamma.wikia.com/wiki/Dul%27krah,_Clan_Korekh his bio]] on the Memory Gamma {{fanon}} wiki, Dul'krah has a son and daughter by two different women. Also, in ''Fanfic/RealityIsFluid'' Eleya and Gaarra become a couple, although they're still unmarried.
* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': The author seems committed to this, despite the large quantity of one-night stands for both protagonists. Over fourteen stories, neither Haara nor Spectra have ever committed to a relationship with any of the many people they sleep with, and every GuestStarPartyMember goes their separate way at the end of the current adventure. Fiora even comments on this when she expresses an interest in settling down with Haara, but wistfully adds she can already tell Haara isn't the sort to accept.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/TheGamePlan'': Not only is almost the entire team of professional sports stars unmarried and single, all but one (besides Johnson's character) aren't parents either, and are merciless with their teasing about his new status. In real life, of course, a '''lot''' of professional sports stars are married and/or parents.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures novels, the decision to give ex-companion Literature/BerniceSummerfield her own spin-off series -- in which, as lead character, she would be expected to participate in romantic-interest subplots -- led directly to the messy collapse of her marriage in ''Eternity Weeps'', which upstaged the violent deaths of a tenth of the Earth's population. This, ''less than a year'' after [[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresHappyEndings an entire novel was devoted to the wedding]] and much effort was expended in assuring readers that it was HappilyEverAfter-type True Love.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** None of the staff at Hogwarts seem to be married or indeed to ever have been able to sustain a proper relationship. The only counterexample is in the future, with [[spoiler:Neville being Herbology professor and married to Hannah Abbot.]]
** Pottermore reveals Professor [=McGonagall=] was briefly married. They lived in Hogsmeade, so [=McGonagall=] would have an easy commute to Hogwarts every day.
* The ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series has this in the earlier stories as a common issue. While there are many couples, the main character is very single with romance subplots.
* All seven Friends of Narnia in ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' are single. None of them married either in Narnia or England. Although this is justified by the fact that most of them are barely adults.
* In ''Literature/StarTrekTitan'', both Will's first officer and his superiors are concerned about his wife Deanna serving aboard ''Titan'' as Senior Diplomatic Officer because it puts her directly in the chain of command (as just Ship's Counselor, she was not an officer of the line).
* Subverted in ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'', in which the protagonist is married... but still eligible for a love interest subplot, as it's a group marriage. In fact, four spouses (three male/one female), get added to the marriage over the course of the book, two of which are main characters. The new wife is the protagonist's new love interest (and all the other spouses grow to love her too), one of the new husbands is a friend protagonist and love interest acquired during the plot, who thoroughly charms all the other spouses.
* Creator/JasperFforde married off the character of ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' in her first book, [[AvertedTrope specifically to avoid romantic subplots]] in the rest of the series, and get on with the main story.
* Seems to be the case with the guardians in ''Literature/VampireAcademy''. There are guardians in sexual relationships, but the series never introduces an active guardian who is married. Instead there are two cases of guardians who [[QuittingToGetMarried resigned to marry]]. Probably an indication of how dedicated the guardians are to their jobs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
** This is universally true at CTU -- however, this is partly because of ''Series/TwentyFour'''s recurring theme of the conflict between family vs. duty. Hence, there are a lot of divorcees and widows featured on ''Series/TwentyFour''.
** In season 8, this was averted by Cole and Dana [[spoiler:until, as you might expect, Dana turned out to be TheMole.]]
* At the beginning of the ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' miniseries, almost every member of the main and supporting cast is single, but by the end of Season 2 everyone is already hooked up or on their way there. During the year-long gap in the timeline between the Season 2 finale and the beginning Season 3, the LoveDodecahedron of the previous season has resolved itself into four reasonably HappilyMarried couples.
* Initially true in ''Series/{{Bones}}'', but they all date throughout the show. Eventually, the on-again/off-again [[spoiler: Hodgins and Angela get married]], and by the time they get to [[spoiler: season 6, most of the cast are in committed relationships with children]].
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'':
** The only married character divorces in the third season. Newcomer Alex Blake is the only exception, though she hardly got to see her husband, James, due to the fact that he was almost always abroad with Doctors Without Borders. In "#6", though, we find that he took a job as a professor at Harvard and asked Alex to join him. [[spoiler: Alex says no, but agrees to visit him during the weekend and on holidays.]]
** [[spoiler: Everyone's favorite tech kitten Garcia starts dating Kevin, but they eventually split up in Season 7.]]
** [[spoiler: JJ starts living with and dating Will in season three, and the two of them eventually marry and have a son together.]]
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'':
** Everyone working at the bar is initially unmarried. Sam and Carla are divorced, and Coach is widowed. Of the customers, Cliff remains single, Norm is married, to the [[TheGhost never seen]] Vera, and Frasier and Lilith marry each other during the course of the series. This caused a problem when Rhea Perlman (Carla) who in real life is married to Danny [=DeVito=], got pregnant. Since her character was shown as a trollop they just had her get pregnant by one of the guys she was dating. However, at the same time Shelly Long (Diane), who was also married (to a stockbroker) in real life, got pregnant, and it would look ridiculous to show both bar maids as pregnant, so they mostly hid Diane behind various fixtures to disguise her pregnancy.
** Averted with Woody, who marries Kelly during the tenth season and is still happily married to her many years later according to SpinOff ''Series/{{Frasier}}''.
* All of the main cast of ''Series/ColdCase'' are single, widowed, or divorced.
* As mentioned in the summary, ''Series/{{CSI}}'' is this to a ridiculous extent. Subverted with Grissom and Sara, who are married, but since neither one is a regular character anymore, we're right back where we started. (There have been rumblings about Wendy/Hodges and Catherine/Vartann, but neither are canon as of yet.)
** [[spoiler: Catherine/Vartann is canon for a time, but then Catherine left, and Wendy/Hodges is... sorta canon. She kissed him, but it was never really said if they're in a relationship. Maybe we'll find out in the premiere, right around the same time that we never see Wendy again because they fired Liz Vassey...]]
** D.B. Russell was an exception until he revealed after moving to ''Series/CSICyber'' that he and his wife had split
** Warrick got married which surprised all the other characters since they did not even know that he was seeing anyone. The marriage is rarely mentioned on the show with the implication that Warrick is trying very hard to keep his professional life separate from his private one. When he gets divorced it comes equally out of the blue and then [[spoiler: he is killed]]. The audience does not really get to see the wife.
** The revival is the same. Grissom and Sara appear as a couple but the new characters are all either single or in one case a divorced single parent.
* ''Series/CSIMiami'' was the most blatant of the three. Opens with no one married. Jesse is a widower. Horatio is the only one who ties the knot and it only lasts [[spoiler: one day due to Marisol being shot to death.]] A few characters date, but nothing seems to be too serious...unless Calleigh and Eric got back together after the series ended.
* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': The series opens with no one on the team even in a serious dating relationship, much less being married. Mac was, but is a widower and isn't in a truly committed relationship until halfway thru the 8th of the 9 seasons. Subverted with Danny & Lindsay finally getting married in season 5, after an on-again/off-again period. M.E. Sid Hammerback is married when he shows up in season 2, but ends up twice divorced by the series end. Don has a serious relationship with a fellow officer, but it ends when [[spoiler: she is killed in the line of duty.]] As of the finale, Mac is engaged to an old friend; while Don is dating yet another officer, and Sheldon and Adam are seeing minor recurring characters, but it is unknown how serious any of those three relationships will turn out to be.
* By the end of ''Series/{{Friends}}'', only Joey is single. In the first half of the series the cast all has short relationships that usually only last a handful of episodes. (Joey and Kate/Kathy, Chandler and Janice/Kathy, Monica and Bobby/Richard/Pete, Phoebe and David, Rachel and Paolo/Ross/Joshua, Ross and Julie/Rachel/Emily) but are mostly single. From Season 5 onwards Monica and Chandler are the only two in a long-term relationship and the others continue with short relationships. (Gary, Janine, Mona, Tag, Parker, Gavin, Charlie etc.)
* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' begins with all of the young employees of Seattle Grace at least nominally single.
** The Chief and Bailey were both stressfully married, [=McDreamy=] had just split with Redheaded Doctor after banging [=McSteamy=], so the grown-ups weren't even coping. In fact given the state of Izzie-Alex, George-Callie and Yang-Burke GA is not really an advert for the medical profession.
** In later seasons we get more stable relationships. Meredith and Darek are happily married and Owen and Christina are giving marriage a fair shot. Alex and Izzie got married but that ended badly when Izzie was written out. Even Mark seems to be looking for a stable relationship. Arizona has proposed to Callie even with the entire Callie-carrying-Mark's-baby debacle.
* All of the doctors in ''Series/{{House}}, M.D.'' (with the exception of Wilson, who eventually gets a divorce from his third wife during the run of the show) are single. A patient does a LampshadeHanging by saying this is why he's not interested in a medical career.
** Taub, Cameron, Chase, Foreman and Thirteen are all doctors and none of them are single. This only leaves Cuddy, House and Wilson single in the primary cast. Kutner doesn't count.
** And then everyone breaks up except for Taub and his wife (until they divorce later in the series). On the other hand, Cuddy gets a boyfriend breaks up with him. Then she dates House for a while and then broke up with him.
* Subverted in the first episode of the British sitcom ''Series/TheITCrowd'' in a blatant parody (Jen even says it's just like ''Series/AllyMcBeal''): "That's the sort of place this is, Jen. Lots of sexy people not doing much work and having affairs." Of course, Moss and Roy are both single because they're extremely nerdy.
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In a first season episode, Harm and Meg are investigating the death of a Marine recruit. While investigating an alibi, Harm discovers that one of the female Drill Instructors (who had recently applied for Officer Candidate School) is romantically involved with the CO of the base. At the end of the episode, the DI asks if he's going to report them for fraternization. Harm replies he'll overlook it, if she gets her commission within the next 6 months.
%% ** Also true, with the exception of [[HappilyMarried Bud and Harriet]].
* The central characters in ''Las Vegas'', except for Ed Deline, mostly stay out of serious relationships. Samantha is AllergicToLove (although we later learn that she was married), Mary wants to settle down but can't make it last, Mike and Danny date multiple girls, and Delinda flits from man to man until she and Danny get together near the end. In season 5, new owner A.J. Cooper had a wife that he never talks about.
* ''Series/TheMentalist'':
** Viewers know little of Lisbon and Cho's personal lives (except Cho's seems to consist largely of working steadily through very thick books), with the impression they're too consumed with their work to bother. Rigsby loves van Pelt, but van Pelt initially runs like a frightened rabbit from the idea because as the junior member of the team, she'd get transferred out if she started dating a coworker (and she doesn't come off as that into Rigsby anyway). Jane, meanwhile, lost his wife and daughter to a pissed off serial killer he was helping to hunt, and still hasn't recovered emotionally.
** Cho was revealed to have a girlfriend and [[spoiler: Rigsby and Van Pelt finally give in, not without fear]]. The impression of consumption with work, however, remains strong, and social lives outside of work seem virtually nonexistent.
* The ''NCIS'' franchise:
** ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': As of Season 18, only Tim [=McGee=] is married (to Delilah). Vance and Jimmy Palmer have both been widowed during the course of the show; Bishop is divorced; Gibbs is widowed ''and'' divorced; and Torres, Kasie and Ducky are single.
** ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'': Kensi and Deeks are married to each other, Sam was married (and now widowed since Season 8's finale), and Eric and Nell are in an on again/off again relationship, but otherwise everyone has been single. Callen is starting to get serious with Anna Kolcheck in recent years though.
** ''Series/NCISNewOrleans'': Pride, Patton and Gregorio are all divorced, Khury is separated from her husband, and everyone else is single. Pride starts a relationship with Rita Devereux and they decide to get married in the final season.
* All versions are represented in ''Series/NewTricks''; the boss is a single workaholic, one of the detectives is a multiple-divorcee and another is a widower. Ironically, however, the most psychologically-screwed up of them all is also the only one who is happily married, and has been for a good long time.
* On ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', every character with the exception of David Wallace has at some point been single. All the ones with kids are divorced and while a few have been married or are in relationships, none have been for the entire run of the series.
* The ''Series/OneChicago'' franchise:
** Averted in part in ''Series/ChicagoFire''. When the series started only Hermann was married, but as the series has gone on Boden, Mouch and Cruz have all married (Mouch to Trudy Platt in ''Chicago PD''), and Severide and Kidd are in a relationship. Casey and Dawson did marry, but have since divorced after she left the show.
** ''Series/ChicagoPD'': Only Olinsky and Dawson are married at the start of the series, and the latter gets divorced after Season 1. Voight is widowed, Platt gets married (to Mouch, see above), and Burgess and Ruzek get engaged but break it off.
** ''Series/ChicagoMed'': At the start of the series Dr Charles is twice divorced, Dr Manning is widowed, Goodwin is married (but gets divorced after her husband leaves her) and everyone else is single. Maggie gets married to Ben, a fellow cancer patient, in Season 6. There are various hookups between the doctors but none have yet led to marriage, although Drs Halstead and Manning came close, and April was also engaged before calling it off.
* When ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' started, Ann and Andy are the only ones in a relationship (though it's quickly broken up at the first season finale). Tom is married to a woman named Wendy, but it's nothing more than a [[CitizenshipMarriage green card marriage]] and thus Tom acted as if he was single anyway, and the two of them eventually divorce (in an episode titled "Tom's Divorce", no less). Jerry is later revealed to be in a [[HappilyMarried very happy, long and stable marriage]] of his own once his character was fleshed out more. By the end of the series, every major character ends up married.
* This was the premise of ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' for the first several seasons. Near the end, though, they all wind up either married (Miranda & Charlotte) or in serious relationships (Samantha & Carrie).
* Everyone in the mayor's office in ''Series/SpinCity'' is single, except for the mayor himself, and he gets divorced during the series. Paul does attain a happy marriage at one point, but his wife later leaves him to become a nun.
* Occurs in ''Series/StargateSG1'' even though Sam and Jack clearly have feelings for each other (and do eventually admit to them) due to their ranks and roles. Various SG team members start dating at different points throughout the series, but nothing serious ever comes of it. Daniel is initially married, but since his wife gets possessed by the Goa'uld in the first episode [[spoiler:and later dies]], he might as well be single. This trope is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when everyone expresses extreme surprise that Teal'c has a wife and son, but that's mostly because earlier he told them he hadn't left anyone important behind when he defected.
** The show's USAF technical advisers put the kibosh on a proposed Sam-Jack relationship that the writers had been planning.
** There is the Daniel/Vala pairing, and it sorta did happen, but then didn't since there was time travel.
** Carter also manages to maintain a relationship with Pete Shanahan for most of a season.
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'':
** Almost all of the expedition members are single. Justified as they were chosen ''because'' they didn't have significant people waiting for them. (It was a one-way mission to another galaxy). Elizabeth who is initially the exception, breaks up with her boyfriend expressly for this reason.
** Subverted later as Rodney, Teyla, Ronon, Keller and possibly Carson all hook up with someone by the finale. John's still single, but much like Sam and Jack, it's implied he and Elizabeth had feelings for each other but were unable to admit them
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' is actually an aversion. The show features four married couples total, three of which involve a soldier married to a civilian. This is likely because the characters live on a space station instead of a starship, making it much easier to form relationships outside the ranks (although one of the couples, Miles and Keiko, actually did meet and get married on a starship).
** It's rather telling though that the ''one'' main character in a lasting nuclear family is the character the writers have confessed to [[TheChewToy enjoy torturing]].
** Other Franchise/StarTrek series play it pretty straight. On ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries TOS]]'' and ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]'' all of the main cast were single, or at least appeared to be. We never saw anything of Uhura's or Sulu's personal lives, while each of the others had at least one romance story.
** On ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' Janeway had been in a relationship and Tuvok was married prior to getting lost in the Delta Quadrant, their situation made them essentially single. Eventually, Janeway found out he boyfriend had moved on believing her to have died, but Tom and B'Elanna get married, so it evens out. Janeway does toy with the idea of dating in... odd places, namely the Holodeck, but Tuvok never even considers straying from his wife.
* Only Gwen in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' has a partner, Rhys. Captain Jack encourages her to stay with him and not let her work consume her... it doesn't go well. [[spoiler:On the other hand, they're still together at the end of series 4, so...]]
** Although Ianto and Jack later officially became a couple, so it's was subverted in series 3 when all of the Torchwood team were in a relationship at the same time.
** In series 4, ''[[Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay Miracle Day]]'', the new Torchwood team and the DarkMessiah hired by [=PhiCorp=] are single as well.
* On ''Series/TheWestWing'', the president and vice-president are the only people in the entire administration who can hang on to a spouse. The show [[JustifiedTrope suggests]] that this is one of the sacrifices you make by working for the President. Leo [=McGarry=]'s marriage falls apart because of the demands of his position as White House Chief of Staff, Sam leaves his fiancee to work for the Bartlet campaign, CJ fails to get it on with at least four men during the show and Leo's lawyer girlfriend vanishes during season four.
** Averted somewhat in the final season when [[spoiler: Josh and Donna hook up, and at the end of the series seem to be successfully holding things together. CJ and Danny don't just get together, but have children together, and Sam returns with a new fiancee in tow.]]
** Santos is also notoriously happily married with his wife often delaying him for a hook-up.
** This is true of all of Sorkin's movies and TV shows; he just can't write couples very well.
* Almost averted in ''Series/TheXFiles'', Scully was originally supposed to have a boyfriend named Ethan. A scene with him in the pilot was filmed but cut when the idea was scrapped before the show premiered. Mulder and Scully instead remained single until finally hooking up with each other sometime in the later seasons. Skinner is shown to be married but we only find out about this in the episode where he gets divorced.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Used constantly in ProfessionalWrestling, except in cases where a spouse and/or children would add drama to the angle.
** Averted a little with Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon, as their marriage is frequently used in feuds.
** There are the two classic examples of [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho Man Randy Savage]] being married to Wrestling/MissElizabeth for years before an on-screen wedding, then still using her as a valet for years after their divorce, and Wrestling/KevinSullivan pairing his wife up with Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and [[RealitySubtext booking his own divorce]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', nobody studying or working at the summer school class is in a relationship. Justified for pretty much all the characters: Johanna and Tamara are attracted to their brother, the protagonist has spent the last few months shut away in his room, Dennis is a stereotypical nerd, Lauren, Morgan, Amy, and Rachel are all socially isolated, Ms. Walsh is new to the country, and Dr. Mosely is [[spoiler:a scientist who covertly travels the world to perform experiments]].
* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'':
** Throughout the series, only 3 of the clients, and none of the victims or main characters, are married/have married parents (possible exception for flashbacks to Nick and Edgy as a kid, even though his parents aren't mentioned). Some (like Ms. von Karma) are never even mentioned, the Feys (Mia, Maya, Pearl, and [[spoiler:Dahlia and Iris]] are specifically said to come from unstable families, and Trucy's mother is missing from an accident. But none of the main characters (possibly excluding Manfred) have ever been married.
** Manfred seems to subvert this even further, in that he mentions having a granddaughter. Neither Edgeworth or Franziska are ever mentioned to have children, and it's very unlikely so he's probably got another (perfect) kid. [[ShipTease Ship teasing]] is probably the main reason here. There's pretty strong hints for Phoenix wanting to be with multiple different characters.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''[[VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo Advanced V.G.]]'' is an all-girl fighting game series featuring a cast of hotties ranging from their sophomore year in highschool, to college freshmen. Yet, they're all still single and don't seem to care. The only exceptions are Reimi who's secretly engaged to her personal assistant, Washio. Whereas Tamao and Yuuki each harbor [[IncompatibleOrientation unrequited lust]] for Yuka and Satomi respectively.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', despite the {{Love Dodecahedron}}s, AllLoveIsUnrequited is in effect and of the giant cast very few are capable of getting into a relationship at all, let alone keeping it without breaking up or [[AnyoneCanDie dying]]. The fact that most of the characters are between 13 and 16 helps, but you'd think at least some of them would manage it, and even the adults are pretty uniformly single as well. [[spoiler:Dad and Mom started going out at one point, but...well, here's where that 'without dying' catch comes in.]] This changes in Act 6, when [[spoiler:Rose and Kanaya]] start dating and manage to stay together even through [[spoiler: dying and being resurrected by a CosmicRetcon]], leading to [[WeddingFinale them getting married]] during the Credits.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The vast majority of ponies in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' are single; the only {{Official Couple}}s are Mr. and Mrs. Cake and Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. There are frequent {{Ship Tease}}s for Golden Harvest and Written Script (with an occasional hint that Golden Harvest plays the field) or Dr. Hooves and Roseluck, but everypony else looks to be single. In fact, of the Mane Six, only Rarity has shown [[NoHuggingNoKissing any romantic interest whatsoever]], and this always for single-episode [[AnAesop lessons]] about [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle not compromising for a crush]].
* None of the characters in ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' (sans Jade's parents) are in relationships. In fact, if it weren't for Paco's unrequited crush on Jade and some teasing between Jackie and Viper, this show would be a perfect example of NoHuggingNoKissing.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', despite being a children's program, is a noticeable example. Not only are the younger non-ancillary characters all single, but, as the series progresses, it is revealed that Mr. Krabs is a single parent, Mrs. Puff (despite having the honorific of a married woman) is a widow ([[NoodleIncident or something]]), and Plankton -- while common-law married to a "computer wife" -- can unplug her whenever it is convenient for the plot.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': Almost everyone who comes onto the show is single, which, of course, is perfect for plenty of romantic drama as teenage hormones get the best of everyone. The only exception to this rule was [[spoiler:Sky]], who still had something of a romance plot during her time on the show.
[[/folder]]

----