History Main / AwfulWeddedLife

* In ''WebOriginal/MommySleepsInTheBasement'', both Tom's marriages sound deeply unhappy (he has two wives at the same time, despite it being illegal; Mrs June assumes the family are polygamist Mormons). Tom blatantly prefers Claire to Betty and neglects her even while she's pregnant. Despite Tom's affection for Claire, she makes it clear [[AllLoveIsUnrequited she doesn't feel the same]] and wants to leave with her children. [[spoiler: And then it's revealed Claire [[AwfulTruth isn't actually]] [[BunkerWoman Tom's wife]] at all]].

* The single most famous joke in this vein -- "[[BaitAndSwitchComment Take my wife... please]]." ([[DontExplainTheJoke For those confused]], it was normally delivered in a context in which the listener would expect the sentence to end with “...for example”.)

* The ''Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth'' include "Aldarion and Erendis", the story of a prince of Númenor who was in love with the sea and his wife who tired of his continued broken promises to be back by such-a-day.[[note]]Aldarion ''did'' have a good reason for being late, but he was too prideful to divulge it to his wife and his father until he did so to try and start a fight.[[/note]] Aldarion's seafaring also upset his father and his people, who saw him as an adventurer who neglected his duties as well as his wife, while he saw her as unfair and spineless for not understanding that he was like this and giving him the silent treatment instead of a fight. She eventually went to live in the country and raised their daughter, Ancalimë, to hate men for most of the girl's childhood; he took back custody and raised her to her responsibilities as heir. Unsurprisingly, this left the poor girl with a messed-up view of love and relationships that tainted her ''own'' marriage when she grew up.

The depiction of monogamous marriage as rather like a long, slow, exquisite torture by a sadistic god from whom the only escape is death. Husbands are [[ParentingTheHusband child-like]] [[BumblingDad buffoons]] who watch too much football, leave the toilet seat up, [[AllMenArePerverts ogle hot women]], and [[ForgottenAnniversary forget anniversaries]]. Wives are frigid, nagging, [[{{Jerkass}} hateful shrews]] with [[AllWomenArePrudes zero interest in sex]] once the kids are born. And [[ChildrenAreAWaste the]] [[TeensAreMonsters kids]] themselves destroy your home and what little peace of mind you have left, while waiting their turn to perpetuate the cycle. The in-laws only serve to [[ObnoxiousInLaws add to the misery]]. The audience may be left wondering, [[JustEatGilligan "If they're so miserable, why don't they just get a divorce?"]]

* ''LetsPlay/TheFunniestMinecraftVideosEver'': In the Prison Escape Map video, Jack Manifold outright refuses to leave the prison because he got himself sent there in the first place to escape from his horrible wife. In order to get him to help with his escape attempt, Tommy [[StatingTheSimpleSolution points out]] that he could've just fled to Argentina instead.
-->'''Jack Manifold:''' I'm staying away from her! I didn't do anything wrong, I just pretended! I just said, "Hey honey, I did bad things! Need to leave for the next few years!" \\
'''Tommy:''' What's your sentence...? \\

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'': Shinobu Kawajiri's marriage is loveless, and she seems to take revenge on her husband by slighting him at every occasion. Very ironically, she starts to actually love her husband… when the SerialKiller Kira kills him, steals his face, replaces him, and accidentally bumbles into being the best husband ever in an effort to keep up his disguise.

''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' was probably the first time this trope was the main focus of an American sitcom, but it's been a mainstay of [[BritishTellyTropes British shows]] since TheFifties. It is also a staple of BorschtBelt humour, but that may be less to do with venom than with JewsLoveToArgue or JewishComplaining.

The name, [[DontExplainTheJoke for those who don't get it]], is a reference to the line "[[JustForPun lawful wedded wife]]," from the traditional wedding vows.

* In ''{{Series/Allo Allo}}'', much of Rene’s dialogue revolves around his disdain for his marriage to Edith.
* On ''{{Series/Amen}}'', the Reverend often counseled couples like this. One in the first season sued him for contributing to the marriage's failure -- he had encouraged the husband to confess to his adultery, which the wife reacted to by trying to ''run him over'' (and given that she'd apparently been like this since they first got married, [[SympatheticAdulterer one really can't blame him for cheating]]. Another had a husband so insanely jealous that he flew into a rage if another man so much as talked to his wife, accusing him of trying to steal her from him. She--no prize herself, mind you -- finally got fed up and dumped him.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Played for laughs concerning Londo Mollari. Londo has three wives, all due to political convenience, whom he nicknames Famine, Pestilence and Death. He states that he accepted the position as Centauri ambassador to the titular station in part to get away from them and one of his happiest moments in the series is when he manages to get Imperial permission to divorce two of them. He also comments on the inappropriate amount of joy involved in a human wedding, claiming that that kind of public display of joy should be reserved for funerals.

-->'''Helaena''': [[AssuranceBackfire It's not so bad.]] [[UnwantedSpouse He mostly just ignores you.]] [[DomesticAbuse Except when he's drunk.]]

* A teacher is studying the sense of taste. She gives her young students Life Savers and asks them to identify the flavor. They are able to correctly identify the cherry, lime, lemon, and orange flavors. Finally, she gives them honey Life Savers, but none of them can identify the flavor. She gives them a hint: "It's what your mother calls your father." A little girl looks horrified, spits hers out, and yells, "Oh my god! They're assholes!"

* "Daddy, why does the bride wear white on her wedding?" "Because it's the happiest day of her life." "Oh... So why does the groom wear black?"

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Played for laughs in some of the {{Imagine Spot}}s when all the other characters imagine being married to Elliot. Kelso and Elliot are sitting across from each other at a huge dining table; Kelso knows that his wife hates him but he doesn't care. Dr. Cox is so annoyed at Elliot being his wife that he murders her within two days and considers going to the chair as a result WorthIt.

* In ''{{Series/AlloAllo}}'', much of Réne’s dialogue revolves around his disdain for his marriage to Edith.

*** Daemon's hatred of his first wife Rhea Royce, whom he oh-so-lovingly referred to as the "Bronze Bitch," was a running joke for most of the first season. When we finally meet Rhea, we see that the hatred is very mutual (and she's also quite beautiful despite him saying he'd rather fuck a sheep). Their marriage only ends when Daemon brutally murders her with what fans have since dubbed the "Divorce Rock."

---> '''Herb''': Before, she just hated me. Now she loathes me.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez's marriage to Beth's mother started out with them being very much in love but over time, the love faded and their marriage failed and Rick left her. Beth even states that her mom fought with Rick about his willingness to risk his family's safety for his experiments. Despite this, he speaks gently of his ex-wife, indicating his problem may have been with being married rather than her and that he may still have some feelings for her. [[spoiler: this trope becomes subverted when it's revealed that Rick C-137's original wife and daughter were actually killed by a member of the council of Ricks after c-137 refused to join the citadel. So chances are that he was genuinely happy with his marriage and family based on how torn up he was over their deaths and how wholesome and supportive their relationship seemed to be, unlike the Rick Beth grew up with.]]

* Creator/ChrisRock's 2008 special ''Kill the Messenger'' delved into this trope ''a lot''. Also doubled as a CreatorBreakdown because his marriage was actively falling apart at the time. It is no surprise that his next special, 2018's ''Tambourine'', came 10 years later and was largely about his divorce and infidelities.

ValuesDissonance may apply. This trope is primarily found in eras or cultures where people marry young, divorce is impossible or highly scandalized, the couple [[ShotgunWedding felt forced to marry due to an unplanned pregnancy]], and/or it was an ArrangedMarriage with little regard to the spouses' individual tastes. Among younger viewers, jokes that rely on this trope are often derogatorily referred to as "Boomer Humor," owing to its common proliferation among people of older generations. Nowadays, someone who views marriage this way would simply not get married in the first place, even if they're romantically involved.

The depiction of monogamous marriage as rather like a long, slow, exquisite torture by a sadistic god from whom the only escape is death. Husbands are [[ParentingTheHusband child-like]] [[BumblingDad buffoons]] who watch too much football, leave the toilet seat up, [[AllMenArePerverts ogle hot women]], and [[ForgottenAnniversary forget anniversaries]]. Wives are frigid, nagging, [[{{Jerkass}} hateful shrews]] with [[AllWomenArePrudes zero interest in sex]] after having children. And [[ChildrenAreAWaste the]] [[TeensAreMonsters kids]] themselves destroy your home and what little peace of mind you have left, while waiting their turn to perpetuate the cycle. The in-laws only serve to [[ObnoxiousInLaws add to the misery]]. The audience may be left wondering, [[JustEatGilligan "If they're so miserable, why don't they just get a divorce?"]]

The depiction of monogamous marriage as rather like a long, slow, exquisite torture by a sadistic god from whom death is the only escape. Husbands are [[ParentingTheHusband child-like]] [[BumblingDad buffoons]] who watch too much football, leave the toilet seat up, [[AllMenArePerverts ogle hot women]], and [[ForgottenAnniversary forget anniversaries]]. Wives are frigid, nagging, [[{{Jerkass}} hateful shrews]] with [[AllWomenArePrudes zero interest in sex]] after having children. And [[ChildrenAreAWaste the]] [[TeensAreMonsters kids]] themselves destroy your home and what little peace of mind you have left, while waiting their turn to perpetuate the cycle. The in-laws only serve to [[ObnoxiousInLaws add to the misery]]. The audience may be left wondering, [[JustEatGilligan "If they're so miserable, why don't they just get a divorce?"]]