History Main / HappyMarriageCharade

* In Creator/DaphneDuMaurier's ''Literature/{{Rebecca}}'', [[spoiler:Maxim and Rebecca]].

* A recurring arc in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' is how Jerry and Beth married because he got her pregnant [[PromBaby on their prom date]] and they agreed to keep it -- and as such, they're more like co-habiting adults rather than married as they refuse to even consider divorce. However, each round often resolves with [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther their problems disappearing and their love seemingly getting stronger]] and everyone thinking they're better, only to [[StatusQuoIsGod revert straight back]] in a few episodes when they're back to snarking and arguing.

** Soichiro and Sumi's marriage [[spoiler: at first.]] Soichirou needs to get married to inherit his fortune, Sumi needs money to support her very poor family, and they reach an agreement over marrying without love.
** Nozomu also thinks this way towards his own marriage with Miu. He also needs to marry to get his position secured, while Miu is an ImpoverishedPatrician. [[spoiler: At the very end, they seem to have gotten better.]]

* A common cliché of more cynical fanworks featuring [[Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers the Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. They tend to be of the DieForOurShip type as well, portraying Austria as an evil {{Domestic Abuse}}r whom Hungary hates while she pretends to be happy and secretly pines for her "True Love" Prussia. Never mind that WordOfGod states that even if not everything is perfect in their married life, Hungary actually accepted the engagement [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe since Austria treated her with more respect than their other neighbors]] (Prussia included), and they are still in love ''even after their divorce''.

* [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra Korra and Tarrlok]] have one initially in ''Fanfic/{{Strings|Lantur}}'' after Tarrlok kidnaps her as a hostage and hides in a backwater town. Due to them getting closer it has become [[AMatchMadeInStockholm less]] of a charade.

* In ''Film/TheLoveParade,'' Queen Louise and Prince-Consort Alfred have to hide the strain in their relationship to avoid a scandal that could ruin the country.

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* In Creator/DaphneDuMaurier's ''{{Literature/Rebecca}}'', [[spoiler:Maxim and Rebecca]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{AGENCY}}'', [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/StarFox Fox and Krystal McCloud]]]] have a very rocky marriage, but they put on a happy face in public. They are, after all, heroes and have a young son to care for. [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants Sandy Cheeks]] is quick to pick up on this, but so far, the charade hasn't affected the plot much. With one of them kidnapped and held in an unknown location, it might not come up for a while.

* This is the whole premise of ''VideoGame/{{Facade}}''. Trip and Grace are very unhappy in their married life, and you're welcome to either encourage the discord or try and patch things up.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': The Drakes have a very unhappy home life, and Jack and Janet fight constantly but both are able to hide it from the rest of Gotham's high society and play a happy couple in public. Shortly before Janet's murder [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] implies they're considering a divorce.

* ''Film/{{In Name Only|1939}}'': Alec thought that Maida loved him, but it turns out that she was just a GoldDigger, and they have to keep appearances to their families and society friends.
* In ''Film/DoubleHarness'', things get sour right off the bat with the Fletchers: they spend their ''honeymoon'' is separate quarters, but they still stay married for Joan's sake.

** In ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', John and Mary Cavendish. Mary was not in love with John when they got married and he eventually forms an affair with another woman. Subverted in the end because she finally falls in love with him and he finds out, thus leading to an actual happy marriage.
** In ''A Caribbean Mystery'', roughly the same storyline is played with Edward and Evelyn Hillingdon.
** Inverted in ''Evil Under the Sun''. [[spoiler:Patrick and Christine are a happily married couple, but pretend their marriage is on the rocks in order to cover up their murder of Arlena.]]

* In Daphne Du Maurier's ''{{Literature/Rebecca}}'', [[spoiler:Maxim and Rebecca]].

* ''Literature/TheAgeOfInnocence'': Newland and May Archer, though he "honestly mourned her" when she dies.

* Lindsey and Melanie do this in ''Series/QueerAsFolk'' after they separate when Lindsey cheated on Melanie with a man. Needless to say, they got found out.

* In ''Series/{{Longmire}}'', one guidance counselor is well-known as a conscientious family man with a happy home life. When his death is investigated, he turns out to be a [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addict]] and [[DomesticAbuse abusive]], [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] {{alcoholic|Parent}}, [[spoiler:whose young daughter [[{{Patricide}} ran him over with the family car]] to save her mother from him]].
* In ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', Dexter is perplexed to learn that Arthur Mitchell, AKA the [[SerialKiller Trinity Killer]], is the patriarch of a picture-perfect nuclear family. Since Dexter struggles with maintaining the charade of a functional home life, he strikes up a friendship with him to learn how he does it. Turns out that the wife and kids are utterly ''terrified'' of Arthur, who rules the family with a vicious iron fist, so much so that [[spoiler:when the Mitchells' teen daughter [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour tries to seduce]] Dexter, the wife begs him to accept if only to get her away from Arthur]].
* The Kanes from ''Series/{{Boss}}'' maintain their marriage and share s home because it benefits their various machinations. Away from the public, they maintain separate lives and are strangers to each other.
* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Niles marriage to Mel deteriorates once it becomes clear how much he loves Daphne. However, Mel forces Niles to maintain the appearance of a happy marriage in public for a period of time before she'll agree to a divorce.
* ''Series/TheWhiteLotus'': Harper is certain that Cameron and Daphne's blissfully picturesque, "we never fight" marriage is a facade. The cracks begin to show in "Bull Elephants", where Daphne admits to Harper that she knows Cameron is hedonistic, philandering, and runs with a bad crowd, so she acts out in turn, though she insists she's not a victim.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Selma almost got into one of these with Troy [=McClure=], so he could salvage his career. But when he wanted to have a baby, that broke the deal for her.
-->Look, I'm sorry. A loveless marriage is one thing, we're not hurting anybody. But bringing a child into a loveless family is something I just can't do.

** In "Rixty Minutes", inter-dimensional goggles show that, in every timeline where Summer exists, Beth and Jerry are pretending they're happily married for the kids, yet in realities where Summer doesn't exist they're free to pursue their dreams, increasing the rift between Beth and Jerry. [[spoiler:It's then {{inverted}} when their parallel-universe selves are pretending to be happy with success and single life, when in reality they've never stopped loving each other.]]
** And finally there's the Season 3 premiere "The Rickshank Redemption", [[spoiler: where they finally get divorced via Jerry pulling a "him or me" decision on Beth, which Rick has been planning ever since he suggested turning Rick over to the Galactic Federation the prior episode]]. However, after a series of mishaps (and a little CharacterDevelopment on both sides), they [[spoiler:end up reconciling and call the divorce off]], after which it stops being a charade, as they really ''are'' significantly happier together.

* [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra Korra and Tarrlok]] have one initially in ''Fanfic/{{Strings}}'' after Tarrlok kidnaps her as a hostage and hides in a backwater town. Due to them getting closer it has become [[AMatchMadeInStockholm less]] of a charade.

* [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra Korra and Tarrlok]] have one initially in ''Fanfic/{{Strings}}'' after Tarrlok kidnaps her as a hostage and hides in a backwater town. Due to [[StockholmSyndrome them gett]][[LimaSyndrome ing closer]] it has become [[AMatchMadeInStockholm less]] of a charade.

Bob's family will cut him off if he gets a divorce! Alice won't get her inheritance if she doesn't have a child born in wedlock! The family will be subjected to the scrutiny of the media and embarrassment from the same if it gets out that the perfect couple -- isn't. There could be [[AltarDiplomacy some political reason]] that would make things complicated and unpleasant if they divorced or divorce is [[AgainstMyReligion against their religion.]] Perhaps they live in an era where divorce is difficult to obtain (i.e. requires either legal fault or lying to a judge, requires both spouses to be present, only one sex is permitted to file for divorce, etc). Maybe it's a CitizenshipMarriage, and divorce would mean that the immigrant spouse could be deported. They could be ostracized from their community (religious or secular) if that community has a great stigma against divorce. Perhaps one or both of them might lose their jobs over it (whether that's legal or not). Maybe they have a prenup that heavily favors one spouse over the other, or fear a DivorceAssetsConflict. Maybe one of them is a GoldDigger and knows that if they get divorced, the ride on the gravy train is over. Maybe it's [[ChristmasEpisode the holiday season]], and [[DoTheyknowItsChristmastime they don't want to ruin Christmas (or whatever they celebrate) by dropping the D-bomb]], or face the criticism from all the relatives that have come to visit. Or maybe they don't want the kids to grow up in a broken home (and that's not even taking the ParentWithNewParamour problems into account).

** Also bumped UpToEleven in "Rixty Minutes": inter-dimensional goggles show that, in every timeline where Summer exists, Beth and Jerry are pretending they're happily married for the kids, yet in realities where Summer doesn't exist they're free to pursue their dreams, increasing the rift between Beth and Jerry. [[spoiler:It's then {{inverted}} when their parallel-universe selves are pretending to be happy with success and single life, when in reality they've never stopped loving each other.]]

* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Parodied in the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "parenting". While [[EggSitting caring for a bag of pudding for a parenting class]], Marzipan and Homestar [[RelationshipRevolvingDoor still despise each other]], but Marzipan doesn't want the "baby" to think its parents are fighting. So, [[TranquilFury Marzipan calmly and gently]] calls Homestar a "lump of underbitten cluelessness" while calling him out on his [[InsaneTrollLogic nonsensical parenting advice]].

* Nick in ''Literature/GoneGirl'' reacts violently to Amy's insistence that they remain married, but feels responsible for the child and reluctantly decides to stay with Amy. The story ends with the "happy" couple announcing on television that they are expecting a baby.
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a tie-in novel to ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' that expands on Prince Hans's backstory. He notes that his parents and 12 older brothers have loveless marriages, but keep a charade for social reasons. He ends up assuming that it's better to suffer for the sake of appearances and that LoveIsAWeakness, but it also leaves him [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove clueless]] on what an actual happy relationship would be when he notes how Anna and Elsa have reconciled with each other despite being separated in childhood.

* In the {{Tintin}} fanfic ''[[http://senoraalcazar.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4ht6t7 An Evening at the Airport]]'' the author suggests that the Waggs put on one of these.

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** And finally there's the Season 3 premiere "The Rickshank Redemption", [[spoiler: where they finally get divorced via Jerry pulling a "him or me" decision on Beth, which Rick has been planning ever since he suggested turning Rick over to the Galactic Federation the prior episode]]. However, after a series of mishaps (and a little CharacterDevelopment on both sides), they [[spoiler:end up reconciling and call the divorce off]].

* A common cliché of more cynical fanworks featuring [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia the Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. They tend to be of the DieForOurShip type as well, portraying Austria as an evil {{Domestic Abuse}}r whom Hungary hates while she pretends to be happy and secretly pines for her "True Love" Prussia. Never mind that WordOfGod states that even if not everything is perfect in their married life, Hungary actually accepted the engagement [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe since Austria treated her with more respect than their other neighbors]] (Prussia included), and they are still in love ''even after their divorce''.

* [[WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra Korra and Tarrlok]] have one initially in ''FanFic/{{Strings}}'' after Tarrlok kidnaps her as a hostage and hides in a backwater town. Due to [[StockholmSyndrome them gett]][[LimaSyndrome ing closer]] it has become [[AMatchMadeInStockholm less]] of a charade.

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a tie-in novel to ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013''. The Westergaard clan, which rules over the Southern Isles, is a DysfunctionalFamily with misogynistic abusers who neglect their wives and/or perceive them as baby-producing objects. Even Lars, the TokenGoodTeammate of the family, does not get along with his wife as she hates living in the Isles. Given the current situation, Hans can tell that his entire family is absolutely miserable with each other, but keep a charade for social reasons. Worst case scenario, it teaches Hans that it's better to suffer for the sake of appearances and leaves him clueless as to what an actual happy relationship/marriage is supposed to be like. He ends up assuming LoveIsAWeakness.

* On ''Series/{{Fraiser}}'', Niles marriage to Mel deteriorates once it becomes clear how much he loves Daphne. However, Mel forces Niles to maintain the appearance of a happy marriage in public for a period of time before she'll agree to a divorce.

Sometimes the couple hates each other but is obsessed with keeping up appearances.