This week: The Fake Relationship Trope Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Romance/Love Newsletter by Dawn
Looking at the use of putting on an act to save face or going into marriage on a pretense with someone for various reasons. This is also known as the fake relationship. There are a number of reasons romance writers use the act of a relationship that will late become a real one. Wonder if one could find that in real life...
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One of the tropes, or types of stories, in romance that I've found enjoyable over the past year is that of the fake relationship. Which surprised me at first. I didn't know how common that story line could be within the genre nor did I expect to enjoy the different reasons for the pretend relationship. Then there is the chaos that ensues while the characters try to figure out their overwhelming emotions while trying to tell themselves that it's not real. It makes for some entertaining stories. So, let's look at some of the details that go into the pretend relationship and/or marriage.
There are a few particular elements that come up often when it comes to the reason to enter into a fake relationship. The top ones include the need for a marriage to gain something (inheritance, etc), the desire to upset someone by dating or marrying someone who would never get their approval, or in order to get back at an ex who may or may not have already moved on in the dating pool.
For the Money
This one is popular and it might be in part due to the popularity of the billionaire or other rich characters. Often, in this case, one character has a lot of money and the other is on the opposite spectrum in the topic of wealth. One of the characters may need to get married in order to satisfy a legal clause in a will or contract that requires the status before they receive an inheritance, for example. The upsetting someone such as a very powerful parental unit can also include money if they offer the bride or groom money in exchange for the fake relationship. Either way, money gets involved. This can make the situation feel like a transaction, which is one of a number of different sources of conflict that may come up in this type of romance once emotions start getting in the way. While the love interest or main character needing money is common with this one, there are also other uses for the funds. The one who will have all the money may plan to do charitable things that go against the usual standards of their well-off family, for example. A few different options exist in the type of story that will come from this less than real start of a relationship.
The Revenge Plot
Also known as, act like I'm over my ex, this is a situational fake relationship where one character needs to prove that is doing okay after being dumped or made to feel terrible at the end of one relationship. Often the ex has not only moved on but is flaunting the new relationship. They may have been unfaithful to the main character but are showing off like the infidelity wasn't the problem. The fake relationship here can involve a few different options. One option is the best friend, who happens to be single and nearby at the time. I read one where the ex shows up not only happier looking but engaged, so the main character pretends to be in a relationship with their best friend just because they happen to be there at the time. The ex comments about the relationship online and chaos ensues from there. However, the fake relationship doesn't have to be a good friend. It could even be a stranger or someone the character barely knows. The knight in shining armor that swoops in to save the day from terrible embarrassment in the moment can develop into something much more as complications develop from that first little lie.
Showing Off
Then there is just the desire to show off to someone, whether it is an ex or not. This blends a little in the anger the family member or someone else important aspect of the trope because the end result of showing off the new relationship could be positive or not. Another example is the reunion complication. This is where one character has to go to a reunion, probably one relating to school though similar social situations work as well, and they want to bring someone to show off. Maybe when they were younger things weren't as great and they want to prove that their life got better with age. Another ploy is to get a meddler off the back so they could live and date in peace. This tends to be a mother figure, but doesn't have to in particular. Bringing home a date to show off means the other person can stop setting them up with anyone they find. For a fun twist, I have even read a set of stories where one of the characters runs a dating business where they pretend to be horrible boyfriends. The fake date that includes meeting the parents is used as a ploy to show how bad someone else could be and make the parents see that the other person they didn't approve really wasn't so bad after all. it is a different take on the fake relationship and made for an interesting read.
These are just a few examples of how someone might approach writing about a fake relationship that becomes something more real. My own attempt at this trope included a character whose mom really wants them to get married so they tried to say they were in a relationship. He then decides to ask the person out who closest fit some of the details he was giving his family but when he is about to ask for a relationship, the mom shows up and thinks it's something more. So, mine is a sort of real relationship but a fake engagement type of situation for a romance story. Which means there may be true elements of dating but some other aspects might be fake. Or at least, I'm pretending it works that way. What about you? What is your take on the fake engagement or fake relationship trope in romance? |
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What is your favorite fake relationship story? Have you ever written one?
The last Romance topic newsletter that I wrote for the site was about the topic of speed dating and how quick characters fall in love in fiction. It often seems things go super fast in fiction but there is a limit to how much space you can take up within under 100,000 words. Here is a comment sent from that topic:
Comment by StephBee  :
I think it's a combo -- some it's fast, but does that last a lifetime? Maybe sometimes. I think something that simmers endures, but ultimately, I think it's up to the couple.
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Romance/Love: May 01, 2024 Issue [#12525]
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