History Main / AwfulWeddedLife

* ''Film/FromBeyondTheGrave'': In "An Act of Kindness", Christopher and his wife Mabel and trapped in a desperately unhappy marriage. She nags and belittles him every chance she gets, while he he's a classic HenpeckedHusband who responds passive-aggressively or with tantrums. From the few clues dropped, it appears to have been a WartimeWedding that did not work out as either of them expected, but divorce in middle class 60s/70s Britain would have been social death.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' "Grunkle" Stan Pines was married to a woman named Marilyn for six hours. They don't seem to have left him with fond memories, given this joke from the second episode:
-->'''Stan:''' My ex-wife still misses me...but her aim is gettin' better! ''([[{{Beat}} pause, waiting for laughter]])'' Her aim is gettin' better! ''(pause)'' Y'see, it's--it's funny because marriage is terrible.
** Implied to be the case between Soos' grandparents, given this exchange:
--->'''Abuelita''': I just want to see you settled before I ascend to heaven and live with the angels.\\
'''Soos''': And with Grandpa!\\
'''Abuelita''': ...No, he is not there.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Married", after Rhonda's paper fortune teller says that Arnold and Helga will be married in the future, Arnold has an extended nightmare about what that would be like: he's forced to get a job as a lifter and take care of their {{Gonk}}ish children who have as little respect for him as Helga herself, while she does nothing all day. On the other end, Helga dreams that they're HappilyMarried, she's President of the US, and she undertakes a mission to [[DistressedDude rescue Arnold when he's kidnapped]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' [[Characters/GravityFallsGrunkleStan "Grunkle" Stan Pines]] was married to a woman named Marilyn for six hours. They don't seem to have left him with fond memories, given this joke from the second episode:

* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Convergence}} Convergence: Supergirl: Matrix]]'', [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Lord Quark and Lady Volt]] do almost nothing but argue and insult one another, although Lady Quark actually does most of the insulting. [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Matrix]] seems to think this is because the two of them are actually gay and have been stuck in an ArrangedMarriage, although as Matrix puts it, it's kind of obvious just by listening to them.

* The premise of the ShowWithinAShow from ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', ''JustForFun/TheFatheads''. It's revealed that Ralph Bighead created the show that way as a TakeThat against his parents. In "real life" (that is, ''Rocko's Modern Life'' itself), Ed is just a jerk to everybody (Bev included) impartially, though Bev pretty clearly loves him anyway and even Ed has his moments.

* 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".)

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

* In jurisdictions where the legalization of same-sex marriages remains an active issue, a common joke is to announce "I believe in gay marriage--why shouldn't they suffer like the rest of us?"

* A teacher is studying the sense of taste. She gives her young students Life Savers and asks them to identify the flavors. 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!"
* Why did Mary and Joseph have a terrible marriage? Because in the Bible, it says that Mary rode Joseph’s ass all the way to Bethlehem.

The depiction of monogamous heterosexual 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?"]]

* In "Too Late For Love!" From ''Love Everlasting'', Joan Peterson’s parents Bill and Pattie despise each other, constantly fighting at each other to the point where she’s fed up. [[spoiler: It’s revealed that Bill settled for her after the ''real'' Joan Peterson rejected him in an attempt to break out of her cycle of romances. Pattie resented him for it, especially when their daughter was named after and resembled his ex.]]

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Niles and [[TheGhost Maris]], off-screen, though they eventually got divorced. He had a habit of choosing women who treated him badly.

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

** [[Characters/RickAndMortyJerrySmith Jerry Smith]] and [[Characters/RickAndMortyBethSmith Beth Smith]] have it even worse; Jerry is an un-confident passive-abusive survivor, who ''looks'' like a spineless wimp but is actually a ruthless, cruel psycho who can't function normally in modern society and feels worthless for it, while Beth is overly obedient to her crazy father to the point of losing her wits if she thinks he's leaving her again. They both misdiagnose their problems and blame each other for it throughout the series.

** DependingOnTheWriter, Marge and Homer's relationship is this. On their best days, Homer is a doofus and Marge is a nag that still love each other very much. On their worst days, they are the very definition of the term "{{Jerkass}}" and a militant killjoy, and they're constantly one misunderstanding away from a divorce.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls:'' Stan was married to a woman named Marilyn for six hours. They don't seem to have left him with fond memories, given this joke from the second episode:

* ''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.

** Jerry and Beth have it even worse; Jerry is an un-confident passive-abusive survivor, who ''looks'' like a spineless wimp but is actually a ruthless, cruel psycho who can't function normally in modern society and feels worthless for it, while Beth is overly obedient to her crazy father to the point of losing her wits if she thinks he's leaving her again. They both misdiagnose their problems and blame each other for it throughout the series.
** Back with Rick Prime again, [[spoiler:It's revealed that he's the reason why there haven't been any other Diane Sanchez's seen throughout TheMultiverse, because [[TheBluebeard he had killed his own Diane Sanchez]] by putting her into The Omega Machine: which not only killed her, but also '''[[CessationOfExistence EVERY]]''' version of Diane Sanchez throughout The Multiverse just out of petty hatred of the other Ricks for daring to be happy with their wives.]]

* A drunken man carrying a goose stumbles into his bedroom at 11PM, his wife in bed and glaring daggers at him. The man slurs out "And thish's the fat cow I have shex with when yer inna bad mood!" "You idiot, that's a goose, not a cow!" "M'not talkin' to ''you!''"

God said "She will be beautiful, never spend your money without asking, bear your children and never ask you to get up with them. She will never have a headache when you feel amorous."\\

** Hans's oldest brother Caleb blatantly ignores his pregnant wife in favor of seeking his father's attention. He is [[HereWeGoAgain repeating the psychological neglect]] his father had done to his mother from the time they've been married.

** This becomes subverted when its revealed that Rick C-137 was actually HappilyMarried to his original wife and was glad to be there raising their daughter with her. It was only after encountering with Rick Prime; whom was the version of Rick who the first Beth was the daughter of, and who was unsatisfied with finding out the only other version of himself that had actually invented Portal Travel: ''[[EvilCannotComprehendGood wasn't]]'' a complete and total asshat narcissist like Rick Prime was. In retaliation for being blown off by C-137 who was "a different kind of Rick", [[DisproportionateRetribution Rick Prime would then portal in a bomb that wound up killing C-137s' wife and daughter]], [[CrusadingWidow and force Rick C-137 to chase after Rick Prime across the Multiverse]].

* ''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 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.]]

** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E141SpurOfTheMoment Spur of the Moment]]", Anne Henderson eloped with her [[ChildhoodFriendRomance childhood sweetheart]] David Mitchell on the night of her engagement party to the investment banker Robert Blake on June 13, 1939 but their marriage proved to be a disaster. David turned into an abusive wastrel who ran the Henderson family estate into the ground and drove Anne to [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]]. In 1964, the two of them despise each other.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E144WhatsInTheBox What's in the Box]]", Joe and Phyllis Britt insult and berate each other at every opportunity. On occasion, they even throw things at each other. After Joe confesses that he is having an affair but has decided to stay with Phyllis, she is furious and packs her things to leave. This leads Joe to physically attack her. He kills her by [[DestinationDefenestration knocking out the window]], as he saw himself do on television shortly beforehand.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E147SoundsAndSilences Sounds and Silences]]", Roswell G. Flemington's wife Lydia leaves him after 20 years of marriage as she can no longer cope with his obsession with the Navy and loud noises.

* VideoGame/{{Guenevere}}: Guen's marriage to [[Myth/KingArthur Arthur]] has the potential to be this, given player choice.

* Stolas and Stella's UnholyMatrimony in ''Webanimation/HelluvaBoss'' is anything but happy, and Stolas' recently picked-up extramartial affair with the imp Blitzo has ''not'' improved things -- though Stella seems far more so enraged by him having a relationship with a demon of such low standing than the infidelity itself. It's also implied that their [[MarriageOfConvenience marriage is one of convenience]] more than anything else and that there may very well be some form of IncompatibleOrientation involved on Stolas' part.
-->'''Stolas:''' (to his TroubledTeen daughter, Octavia) You need to understand, your mother and I-- I just-- I felt... she's always been-- I haven't been ha-- we weren't in... I'm sorry, I- I- I don't have the words...

* " Mind Your Own Business " by Hank Williams invokes this trope in the same breath that it subverts it, "If the wife and I are fussing, Brother that's our right! Because me and that sweet woman got a license to fight. Why don't you mind your own business?"/