History Main / HappyMarriageCharade

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a tie-in novel to ''Disney/{{Frozen}}''. 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.

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 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 divorcing 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).

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** 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 angreement over marrying without love.
** Nozomu also thinks this way towards his own marriage with Miu. He also nees to marry to get his position secured, while Miu is an ImpoverishedPatrician. [[spoiler: At the very end, they seem to have gotten better.]]

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* In ''Film/TheodoraGoesWild'' Michael Grant is stuck in a loveless marriage, but has to keep up appearances because his father holds public office.

[[folder: Literature ]]

** In ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', John and Mary Cavendish. Mary was not in love in 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.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* William and Nora Walker on ''Series/BrothersAndSisters''. William works hard to preserve a personal and professional image as a conservative, traditionalist, husband, father and businessman. In reality he is supporting a mistress on the side in a decades-long affair that is virtually a second marriage, while at the same time having short-term affairs with other women as well. His wife learns of the affair but goes into willful denial when he promises to end it. When he dies, the truth comes out, and it is devastating to his whole family. Especially his daughter Kitty, a conservative pundit who has held her parents' marriage up as a role model all her life, and the youngest son Justin, who had gone to war to try to win his father's respect, only to learn how sleazy his father really was.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Subverted. Annie tearfully tells the hotel staff that the reason she has a separate room from her husband Jeff is because they're having some marriage problems, but they're trying to work through them, and she's trying to put on a brave face. The subversion is that Annie and Jeff aren't married or even dating; Jeff paid for both of their rooms under his name, the hotel assumed they were married, [[ShipTease and Annie ran with it]]. This causes problems when Jeff (who is completely unaware of what Annie is doing) starts flirting with a woman in the hotel bar. The wait staff [[MistakenForCheating think he's cheating on Annie]], and she has to pretend to get mad and [[FoodSlap throw drinks in his face]] to keep the ruse going. Jeff isn't exactly happy about losing his date, but he forgives her for it.

* 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]].

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* In ''WebVideo/DemoReel'', Donnie desperately tries to convince other (and even himself) that he is happily married with his very cold and distant wife, and as long as they are not in the same room he is almost convincing. But when you have a prenup that explicitly forbids you and your partner to appear together in family gatherings, that's quite the facade to maintain.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* A reccuring 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.

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a tie-in novel to Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/{{Frozen}}''. 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. Aware of the current situation, Prince Hans can tell that his entire family is absolutely miserable with each other, but keep a charade for social reasons.

* 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 DomesticAbuser 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''.

* A common cliché of more cynical fanwork featuring [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia the Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. They tend to be of the DieForOurShip type as well, portraying Austria as an evil DomesticAbuser whom Hungary hates while she pretends to be happy and secretly pines for her ~True Love~ Prussia. Nevermind 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 how they seems to be pretty in love ''even after their divorce''.

* In the ''Series/{{Glee}}'' fanfic [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/291798 When The Lights Go Out, Will You Take Me With you?]], Blaine's parents have this, which works out well for them, since they both have jobs that include a lot of traveling. Basically, they avoid being in the same place at the same time, including the family's house in Ohio. Because of that, it takes them ''four months'' to realize that their 17-year-old son has run away and is now living with his boyfriend in New York.

* In ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', Dexter is perplexed to learn that the [[SerialKiller Trinity Killer]] Arthur 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 him, so much so that [[spoiler:when the pre-teen daughter [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour tries to seduce]] Dexter, the wife begs him to accept, if only to get her away from Arthur]].

** 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.]]
** 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 him in to the Galactic Federation the prior episode.]]

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 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 divorcing 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.

Compare SexlessMarriage and CitizenshipMarriage. For the DomCom genre, see AwfulWeddedLife.

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 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 divorcing 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.

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 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 divorcing 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).

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 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 divorcing would mean that the immigrant spouse could be deported.

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 same if it gets out that the perfect couple -- isn't. There could be 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.)

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 same if it gets out that the perfect couple -- isn't. There could be some political reason that would make things complicated and unpleasant if they divorced or divorce is [[AgainstMyReligion against their religion.]]

* In the film version of ''Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' (not sure about the book), Mercedes and Fernand are in one of these when Edmund returns from the Chateau d'If. The facade has been thoroughly broken by the end.

* In ''Webcomic/{{AGENCY}}'', [[spoiler: [[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.

* John And Mary on ''Series/FatherTed''are married shopkeepers who are always plotting to murder each other, but who go into over-the-top perfect couple mode whenever anyone else is around.

* Maryse and Robert Lightwood from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' only ''pretend'' to be HappilyMarried, when in reality their marriage has nearly fallen apart at least thrice: once when the Circle disbanded and Robert blamed their wrecked lives on Maryse, twice when [[spoiler:Robert was caught cheating (but Maryse told nobody save her daughter)]], and thrice when [[spoiler:their youngest son dies]]. The general distrust between them lead to their daughter; Isabelle's "all-men-are-untrustable" attitude.

* William and Nora Walker on ''Series/BrothersAndSisters''. William works hard to preserve a personal and professional image as a conservative, traditionalist, husband, father and businessman. In reality he is supporting a mistress on the side in a decades-long affair that is virtually a second marriage, while at the same time having short-term affairs with other women as well. His wife learns of the affair but goes into willful denial when he promises to end it. When he dies the truth comes out, and it is devastating to his whole family. Especially his daughter Kitty, a conservative pundit who has held her parents' marriage up as a role model all her life, and the youngest son Justin, who had gone to war to try to win his father's respect, only to learn how sleazy his father really was.
* This is the situation behind ''Series/LosExitososPells''. The husband is gay, the wife is just on there for the career bust, and both are planing to elope with their real love interest at the first chance, but both are forced to being together because their network contracts, and have to keep the happy charade for ratings sake. The hero, who is forced by the same network to secretly impersonate the husband after an accident, is quite on shock when he discovers all of the above.
* John And Mary on ''Series/FatherTed'', married shopkeepers who are always plotting to murder each other, but who go into over-the-top perfect couple mode whenever anyone else is around.
* Stevie's parents apparently did this in ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', to protect Stevie while he was still very much unwell. When she felt Stevie was now old and strong enough to handle it, Stevie's mom left her husband and Stevie.

* ''Series/TheWire'': Beginning in season 3, Cedric Daniels and his wife Marla are separated, but he's willing to continue to keep up the appearance of a happy marriage to help Marla advance her political career. This complicates things for the new romantic relationship Cedric has developed with Rhonda Pearlman, as he knows it will look bad on him as a black police lieutenant, and as Marla's ex, to have left her for a white woman.

* One of the themes in the song "Dollhouse" by Music/MelanieMartinez is an unhappy marriage; the husband is cheating on the wife, and the wife simply goes with it; hiding it with expensive jewelry and alcohol.

** 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 him in to the Galactic Federation the prior episode.]]

* ''Series/TheWire'': By season 3, Cedric Daniels and his wife Marla are separated, but he's willing to continue to keep up the appearance of a happy marriage to help Marla advance her political career. This complicates things for the new romantic relationship Cedric has developed with Rhonda Pearlman, as he knows it will look bad on him as a black guy to have left his wife for a white woman.

* ''Series/TheWire'': Lt. Daniels and his wife are seperated, but they still pretend to be happily married to keep up appearances so she can get her political career off the ground.

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

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* A common cliché of more cynical fanwork featuring [[Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia the Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. They tend to be of the DieForOurShip type as well, portraying Austria as an evil DomesticAbuser whom Hungary hates while she pretends to be happy and secretly pines for her ~True Love~ Prussia. Nevermind 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 how they seems to be pretty in love ''even after their divorce''.
* 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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* William and Nora Walker on ''Series/BrothersAndSisters''. William works hard to preserve a personal and professional image as a conservative, traditionalist, husband, father and businessman. In reality he is supporting a mistress on the side in a decades-long affair that is virtually a second marriage, while at the same time having short-term affairs with other women as well. His wife learns of the affair but goes into willful denial when he promises to end it. When he dies the truth comes out, and it is devastating to his whole family. Especially his daughter Kitty, a conservative pundit who has held her parents' marriage up as a role model all her life, and the youngest son Justin, who had gone to war to try to win his father's respect, only to learn how sleazy his father really was.
* This is the situation behind ''Series/LosExitososPells''. The husband is gay, the wife is just on there for the career bust, and both are planing to elope with their real love interest at the first chance, but both are forced to being together because their network contracts, and have to keep the happy charade for ratings sake. The hero, who is forced by the same network to secretly impersonate the husband after an accident, is quite on shock when he discovers all of the above.

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