History Main / PrenupBlowup

** Frasier and Lilith fought over this in "[[Recap/CheersS6E8 Bidding on the Boys]]". She refused, and the wedding proceeded. And then their marriage fell apart. The moral of the story, kids? Prenups are your friends. Of course, his divorce was nowhere near as bad as his brother Niles' would be later on in ''Series/{{Frasier}}''.

* ''Series/LALaw'': Stuart asks Ann to sign (in this instance, she refused, and they got married anyway.)

** In an earlier episode, Sylvia is berating Fran for letting her work interfere too much with her private time (which, to Sylvia, is "find a man and get married" time.) Frustrated, Fran then says that she did meet someone: an investment banker work zillions. She then mentioned that the one condition was that she had to sign a prenup. As Sylvia collapses in a faint, Fran then retorts, [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment "See Ma, I could kill you if I want."]]

* Appears on ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. Trey springs a prenup on Charlotte late in the wedding process, which is considered pretty bad form. The agreement contains an unusual clause that, in the event that they divorce, gives Charlotte an increasing percentage of $500,000.00 for every year that she and Trey were married. Charlotte negotiates with Trey's mother to increase the payout to One Million Dollars. ("I'm worth a Million", she says.)

* On a nonfiction crime show on Investigation Discovery, there was a gold-digging tramp who married this rich mofo, and then divorced him after a couple of weeks solely to take half of his assets. Unfortunately, nobody told her the massive flaw in her plan; you only get half of as much as was there when you were married. So since she divorced him after such a short period of time, ''she didn't get a damn thing.'' Of course, she then killed him.

A standard [[DerailingLoveInterests plot device to break up an engaged couple]], or to introduce a conflict for them to overcome, a prenuptial agreement (often abbreviated to "prenup") is a document signed before a marriage which specifies the division of assets. This comes into play primarily in the event of a divorce, but may also govern distribution of wages and ownership of non-joint accounts during the marriage.

Usually the prenup is introduced by the one with more money -- often at the urging of misguided but well-meaning friends or disapproving parents -- and the fiancee will react badly because the prenup is, by its very nature, a sign of mistrust. This sometimes is also used to foil the plan of a GoldDigger, usually involving a third party who suggests the prenup to the target of the GoldDigger. In more idealistic shows, the prenup will be discarded and the wedding will go on.

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Beer commercial: Man goes to bar to fetch drinks, Fiancée gloats to his friends how she's going to take him for everything he's got. When Man returns, Friends get him to drink beer, which is so delicious he forgets what he was about to do. Friends claim he was about to ask Fiancée for a prenup.

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[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Forms the main plot the second and third acts of ''Film/PrivateBenjamin''. Henri tries to "remake" Judy, and also insists she sign a prenuptial agreement (in French) to protect his family home held for centuries.

[[folder:Literature]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

* In one ''Series/TheLoveBoat'' episode, this was part of a subplot: a man getting over a very economically taxing divorce tries to court several women on the boat, who immediately shun him when he asks for them to sign a prenup (while ''dating''.) Eventually he decides not to do it when he falls in love with a woman... who, at the end of the episode, asks ''him'' to sign one, having also been through a similar divorce.

** Maxwell asks Fran, Fran freaks out. In a slight subversion, upon reflection, she decides it is just a piece of paper that she would never need to use anyway, and so offers to sign it. However, in the interim, Max decides he doesn't need it and instead gives her the adoption papers for his children, so that she can be their mother legally.

* Appears on ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. Trey springs a prenup on Charlotte late in the wedding process, which is considered pretty bad form. The agreement contains an unusual clause that, in the event they divorce, gives Charlotte an increasing percentage of $500,000.00 for every year that she and Trey were married. Charlotte negotiates with Trey's mother to increase the payout to One Million Dollars. ("I'm worth a Million", she says.)
* Used in ''Series/ShakespeareRetold - The Taming of the Shrew''. Bianca, a supermodel in this version of the story, asks her gorgeous-but-penniless fiance to sign one. He is insulted, and refuses. Katherine, Bianca's older sister, tells her that if she doesn't trust him enough to marry him without the prenup then she shouldn't be marrying him at all.

* Rom and Leeta on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' briefly break off their engagement when she refuses to sign a Ferengi prenup - for pretty good reason, since it would've handed all her property over to him. On the other hand, Rom himself lost everything he had by signing a prenup with his first wife's father without reading it (a huge no-no in Ferengi culture). She left him after a few years, leaving him with nothing but their son Nog.

** When Evelyn is going to get remarried to a rich man, he says their love is strong enough that they don't need a prenup. When he dies shortly after the wedding, suspicion naturally falls on her. [[spoiler:Turns out he was actually a conman who dismissed the prenup so that he could get Evelyn's money]].

* On ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' , Bernadette's father wants Howard to sign a prenup.

* On ''Series/BostonLegal'', [[Creator/TomSelleck Ivan Tiggs]] was trying to rekindle a pairing with Shirley, though he was a newlywed. The new bride was suspicious of her husband despite his assurances that he was faithful. In a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments Crowning Moment of Awesome]], Shirley suggested a "Post-Nuptual" agreement, whereby he loses everything if he cheats. Given his assurances of fidelity from just a moment ago, he should be eager to sign, right?!?
* On a nonfiction crime show on Investigation Discovery, there was a gold-digging tramp who married this rich mofo, and then divorced him after a couple weeks solely to take half of his assets. Unfortunately, nobody told her the massive flaw in her plan; you only get half of as much as was there when you were married. So since she divorced him after such a short period of time, ''she didn't get a damn thing.'' Of course, she then killed him.

* ''Series/{{Entourage}}'': When E and Sloan become engaged, Sloan's father insists that E sign a prenupual agreement that will prevent him from getting any of Sloan's family fortune if the two of them get a divorce. E is insulted by the idea of signing a prenup and the fact that Sloan sides with her father eventually leads to them breaking off the engagement.

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[[folder:Real Life]]

** Frasier and Lilith fought over this. She refused, and the wedding proceeded. And then their marriage fell apart. The moral of the story, kids? Prenups are your friends. Of course, his divorce was nowhere near as bad as his brother Niles' would be later on in ''Series/{{Frasier}}''.

The blowup part tends to happen after a couple become engaged. One of them (in heterosexual couples this is usually, but not always, the man) asks the other to sign a prenuptial agreement -- which is so offensive to that person that they break off the engagement, or at least threaten to.

* In "Deeply, Desperately", the second of LucyValentine novels, Emerson finds out the hard way that her fiance, Joseph Betancourt, was planning to ask her to sign a prenuptial agreement. Joseph thought he had the upper hand, but he'd given her a "Them or Me" ultimatum before ''they'' (being Lucy and Marisol) revealed he'd been lying to her about hanging with his parents while he was really with a lawyer getting the prenup drawn up.

** Frasier and Lilith fought over this on. She refused, and the wedding proceeded. And then their marriage fell apart. The moral of the story, kids? Prenups are your friends. Though his divorce was nowhere near as bad as his brother Niles' would be later on in ''Series/{{Frasier}}''.
** Averted with the marriage between bartender Woody and the exceedingly rich Kelly...with Woody asking for it. [[IdiotHero "I don't want her taking half my stuff."]] Naturally, it isn't an issue.

-->'''Niles:''' When we were courting, I sent her a Valentine that said: "You're the girl my heart adores, everything I have is yours". Now they're calling it a pre-nup.

* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': Stan asks Dorothy to sign. This ends the engagement.

* In one ''Series/TheLoveBoat'' episode, this was part of a subplot: a man getting over a very economically taxing divorce tries to court several women on the boat who immediately shun him when he asks for them to sign a pre-nup (while ''dating''.) Eventually he decides not to do it for the woman he ends up falling in love with... who at the end of the episode asks ''him'' to sign one, having also been through a similar divorce.

** Maxwell asked Fran, Fran freaked out. In a slight subversion, upon reflection, she decides it is just a piece of paper that she would never need to use anyway, and so offers to sign it. However, in the interim, Max decides he doesn't need it and instead gives her the adoption papers for his children.

** In an earlier episode, Sylvia is berating Fran for letting her work interfere too much with her private time (which, to Sylvia, is "find a man and get married" time.) Frustrated, Fran then says that she did meet someone: an investment banker work zillions. She then mentioned that the one condition was that she had to sign a pre-nup. As Sylvia collapses in a faint, Fran then retorts, [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment "See Ma, I could kill you if I want."]]

* Rom and Leeta on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' briefly break off their engagement when she refuses to sign a Ferengi prenup-for pretty good reason, since it would've handed all her property over to him. On the other hand, Rom himself lost everything he had by signing a prenup with his first wife's father without reading it (a huge no-no in Ferengi culture). She left him after a few years, leaving him with nothing but their son Nog.

'''Dan:''' you're still confusing it with a condom.

* In ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Barney and Quinn break up after a fight over ridiculously long and idiotic pre-nups, when they realize they don't trust each other.

* On a nonfiction crime show on Investigation Discovery, there was a gold-digging tramp who married this rich mofo, and then divorced him after a couple weeks solely to take half of his assets. Unfortunately, nobody told her the massive flaw in her plan; you only get half of as much was there when you were married. So since she divorced him after such a short period of time, ''she didn't get a damn thing.'' Of course, she then killed him.

* Shows up a number of times in ''Series/TheGoodWife'', with one of the most noteworthy examples being how the firm negotiated the pre-nup of a woman to recurring character Neil Gross, and then a few seasons later (after the firm has split), they end up on both sides of the divorce, trying to maintain and invalidate it.

* This apparently happened between Music/{{Marillion}}'s former frontman, Fish and fellow singer Heather Findlay (formerly with Mostly Autumn), even after the wedding had been paid for and invitations sent.
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* Subverted on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': Kramer suggests this as a way for George to make Susan break up with him. Susan just laughs, because she's the one with the money.

A standard [[DerailingLoveInterests plot device to break up an engaged couple]], or to introduce a conflict for them to overcome, a prenuptial agreement (often abbreviated to 'prenup') is a document signed before a marriage which specifies the division of assets. This comes into play primarily in the event of a divorce, but may also govern distribution of wages and ownership of non-joint accounts during the marriage.

The blowup part tends to happen after a couple become engaged. One of them (in heterosexual couples this is usually, but not always, the man) asks the other to sign a prenuptial agreement - which is so offensive to that person that they break off the engagement, or at least threaten to.

[[folder: Advertising ]]

* Beer commercial: Man goes to bar to fetch drinks, Fiancee gloats to his friends how she's going to take him for everything he's got. When Man returns, Friends get him to drink beer, which is so delicious he forgets what he was about to do. Friends claim he was about to ask Fiancee for a prenup.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* When Harry from ''Series/NightCourt'' is about to get married, Dan brings him what looks like a condom. When Harry turns it down, Dan expertly unfolds what then turns out to be a multiple pages long document, saying it's really a pre-nup, to Harry's even greater dismay.
-->'''Harry:''' Those things really take away the romantism and spontaneity out of a wedding.
-->'''Dan:''' you're still confusing it with a condom.

[[folder: Recorded And Stand Up Comedy ]]

* This was the subject of a routine in Eddie Murphy's ''Raw''.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* You can propose to your [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] Misha in ''VideoGame/MetalSaga''. If you do, she asks if you'd like to save the game beforehand, which prompts your character to reply: "Ah, a prenup." Then the [[MultipleEndings game ends]].

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* This apparently happened between Music/{{Marillion}}'s former frontman, Fish and fellow singer Heather Findlay (formerly with Mostly Autumn), even after the wedding had been paid for and invitations sent.

[[/folder]]

%%* Forms the main plot the second and third acts of ''Film/PrivateBenjamin''.

* Rom and Leeta on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' briefly break off their engagement when she refuses to sign a Ferengi prenup-for pretty good reason, since it would've handed all her property over to him.

** At the beginning, it is the protagonist who convinces the wife to fight the prenup in court, claiming that her husband was the one who drove her into the arms of another man. The film makes it pretty clear, though, that nothing of the sort happened.

* Frasier and Lilith fought over this on ''Series/{{Cheers}}''. She refused, and the wedding proceeded.
** And then their marriage fell apart. The moral of the story, kids? Prenups are your friends.
*** Though his divorce was nowhere near as bad as his brother Niles' would be later on in ''Series/{{Frasier}}''.

** Considering how quickly that marriage went down the drain it was actually VERY smart on the mother's part to demand it. Though the couple split pretty amicably and it's doubtful Charlotte would have done anything.
*** It's mostly Trey's mother who is determined to leave Charlotte with nothing from the marriage. Trey is happy to let Charlotte have what she wants, while all she wants is to keep their apartment.

* ''Series/TheNanny''. Maxwell asked Fran, Fran freaked out. In a slight subversion, upon reflection, she decides it is just a piece of paper that she would never need to use anyway, and so offers to sign it. However, in the interim, Max decides he doesn't need it and instead gives her the adoption papers for his children.

* Drives the entire plot of ''Film/IntolerableCruelty''.
* Forms the main plot the second and third acts of ''Film/PrivateBenjamin''.

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[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]

* An episode of ''Series/LieToMe'' has a wealthy client hire the Lightman Group to investigate his fiancée on whether or not she knew he was rich before getting involved with him. It turns out that she ''did'' know but genuinely loves him for who he is. While he is a little upset that she lied to him, Loker tells him that him being attracted to her partly because she's beautiful is just as shallow. The guy seems mollified, but Loker still tells him to get a prenup.
* ''Series/{{Entourage}}'': When E and Sloan become engaged, Sloan's father insists that E sign a prenupual agreement that will prevent him from getting any of Sloan's family fortune if the two of them get a divorce. E is insulted by the idea of signing a prenup and the fact that Sloan sides with her father eventually leads to them breaking off the engagement.

[[AC:RecordedAndStandUpComedy]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]

* On ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'', Charlie suggests a prenup to his fiancee, then gets angry when she readily agrees because she owns a good deal of real estate she hadn't mentioned to him yet.

[[AC:{{Real Life}}
* This apparently happened between Music/{{Marillion}}'s former frontman, Fish and fellow singer Heather Findlay (of Mostly Autumn), even after the wedding had been paid for and invitations sent.

* Played straight in ''Series/CornerGas'' when Oscar and Emma decide to get married, and Lacey "convinces" Oscar to ask for a prenup. This was due to her [[SustainedMisunderstanding mistakenly thinking that Oscar can't read]], and she interpreted his desire to "put things in writing" a bit differently than he had intended.

* You can propose to your [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend childhood friend]] Misha in VideoGame/MetalSaga. If you do, she asks if you'd like to save the game beforehand, which prompts your character to reply: "Ah, a prenup." Then the [[MultipleEndings game ends]].

A standard plot device to break up an engaged couple, or to introduce a conflict for them to overcome, a prenuptial agreement (often abbreviated to 'prenup') is a document signed before a marriage which specifies the division of assets. This comes into play primarily in the event of a divorce, but may also govern distribution of wages and ownership of non-joint accounts during the marriage.

* Played straight in ''Series/CornerGas'' when Oscar and Emma decide to get married, and Lacey "convinces" Oscar to ask for a prenup. She was actually thinking that he didn't know how to read, and he interpreted her comments about "being able to put things in writing" in his own way.

* Drives the entire plot of ''IntolerableCruelty''.
* Forms the main plot the second and third acts of ''PrivateBenjamin''.

* On ''TwoAndAHalfMen'', Charlie suggests a prenup to his fiancee, then gets angry when she readily agrees because she owns a good deal of real estate she hadn't mentioned to him yet.
* When Harry from ''NightCourt'' is about to get married, Dan brings him what looks like a condom. When Harry turns it down, Dan expertly unfolds what then turns out to be a multiple pages long document, saying it's really a pre-nup, to Harry's even greater dismay.