When Marriage Story came out on Netflix last year, people were happy to finally see an accurate portrayal of marriage (and its demise).
It just went to show that marriage isn’t all rainbows, butterflies, and chasing after someone in an airport.
These are just some of the 10+ lies that movies and TV fed fans about marriage.
If you’re married, let us know in the comments if you agree with any of this!
1. That someone can just make a huge purchase without telling their partner:
“I don’t buy anything big without discussing it first. It’s just common courtesy to make sure you are on the same page with how you spend your money.”
2. That marriage is full of drama:
“I can’t stand the number of sitcoms where it seems like nobody likes each other. Loud, brash husband/ father who is now chubby after letting himself go post-high school and didn’t go to college but has a great paying job to bankroll his ungrateful children and stay-at-home beauty-queen wife who nags him the entire time he’s home… yeah.” – Redditor DefinitelyNotAliens
3. Not only that, but most of these couples don’t face financial issues. Which, believe you me, I really wish that was the case.
“Nah. I’ll pass. Oh, and the house is enormous, too. New cars. Fifty-fifty on having a dog.”
4. That relationship issues can eventually get turned into a joke:
“I’ve had a hard time with Ross/Rachel thing for years.. even before I was cheated on. And ok, it was a miscommunication thing, and ok, I can see how it wasn’t intended cheating and how yeah a couple could come past it. But it became a joke ? Like.. a running gag of ‘we were on a break!!’ And just… does he not get it? Do the writers not get it?” – Redditor MissCrystalClear
5. That there is usually just one person in charge:
“It seems like there is usually one running the show while essentially parenting their partner and putting up with their ‘antics.’ A marriage is supposed to be a partnership of equals and the couple should always treat each other as such. My husband doesn’t ask my input rather than my permission, and I do the same.”
6. That infidelity doesn’t create lasting problems:
“It usually depicts a simple and uncomplicated fling. The reality is serious damage is done which lasts for years.” – Redditor dangerousdavid11
7. That marriage is rainbows and butterflies, like a Hallmark movie:
“They are supposed to be positive (young exec finds the Christmas spirit in small town USA) but they always seem to be like: woman has bf in big city. She falls in love with small town guy. Big city guy shows up. Woman says they arent compatible and rides off into the sunset with her new beau. I just always have issues with those types of movies.” – Redditor NiceRat123
8. That couples never have to worry about things like financial stress:
“I hate how little shows show genuine problems married people have, especially when it comes to bills. I’ve only ever seen one show tackle not being able to pay bills and worrying or having your stuff turned off. If they ever do show them, the problems are magically solved offscreen.” – Kayla131313
9. That all couples do is fight:
“Do Mitch and Cam from Modern Family even like each other? They’re constantly hiding stuff from one another and trying to one-up each other. They’re both super self-centered, especially Cam. I don’t know how they stayed together all those years.”
10. That marriage completely changes people:
“Being married doesn’t magically change you! I see so many TV and movie couples who think and act like this. I was with my husband for three years and we lived together a lot of that time before getting married. Nothing changed except my last name (because I wanted to change it) and a few tax things.”
11. That couples fall in love so easily:
About Marriage Story : “There was the surface things like “she cuts hair” and “I fell in love with him after 2 minutes,” but I was waiting for a more compelling reason why they were drawn to each other in the first place.” – Redditor bellestarxo
12. That most creepy gestures are romantic:
“At best, you get a montage of them hanging out for a day and suddenly they’re calling off weddings or running through airports to stop someone from taking that dream job across the country.” – Redditor TVsFrankismyDad
“Like they rarely show two people having lots of stuff in common, or show anything to indicate why these two people should be together.”
“I always feel like if there was one more scene it would be the next day everyone realizes they were stupid and/or horny and goes back to normal.”
13. That toxic behavior is “romantic”:
“Stuff like stalking, negging, and obsession get a pass in romantic comedies when in real life they’d be massive red flags.” – Redditor games_and_movies
“So many romantic comedies are based around the concept of a man or woman wearing the object of their interest down until they finally say yes.”
“[This] does not work in real life and shouldn’t be portrayed as cute.”
14. That all married women want children:
“I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but Jake and Amy’s pregnancy storyline was almost unwatchable for me. They had an entire episode about how people who don’t want kids just need to be talked into it!
— zoer11
“And of course, it was the woman that wanted kids and bullied her husband into it.”
“As a woman who is childless by choice, I am OVER this cliché and expected better from a normally progressive show.”
15. That men are magically expected to figure out what a woman wants:
“Communication is expected to come from the man while women are allowed to only hear what they want to and expect the man to figure out what she wants.” – Redditor Lordkeravrium
“‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ was a prime example of this.”
“The man, peter kavinsky, did all of the heavy lifting in the relationship. He practically did everything for her.”
Which yes, it is totally unfair. Give them justice!
