Happily Married

"Chandler: I'm married! Wendy: So? I'm married. Chandler: I'm happily married. Wendy: Oh. What's that like?"

- Friends

Against all the odds, in defiance of the laws of drama, spitting in the face of Love Hurts, there is...the Happily Married couple.

This is a couple, Alpha or Beta, who are actually in love and not wangsting it up dysfunctionally all the time. They avoid Poor Communication Kills, won't jump to conclusions, and generally treat each other with love and respect. In short, whatever troubles they have are minor and don't lead to the misanthropy of No Accounting for Taste or The Masochism Tango.

These couples are amazingly rare, both inside and outside of Romance because Parental Abandonment and the Cartwright Curse tends to kill them off like flies. It doesn't help that most drama considers the above "boring!" (remember, Rule of Drama) and will usually try to make things "interesting!" with "plot twists" that threaten to split them up, and otherwise fill their path with rocks to make them Star-Crossed Lovers.

The net effect of having a Happily Married couple in a series is one of stability. (As a general rule, Happily Married couples with kids will be depicted as more stable than those without.) Just having them around gives viewers and characters in the show an emotional anchor and safety net, as well as someones to root for while the Official Couple is deciding Will They or Won't They?. (Occasionally, They Do!) Needless to say, most viewers will thus become very protective of said couple and complain when authors needlessly torment them.

These couples may benefit from The Power of Love. In addition, any time a sequel is set a generation later than the original, the main couple from the original will probably have this type of relationship to show that they did get a Happy Ending—and Babies Ever After to prove it. Despite some fiction likening this to a Discredited Trope, a lot of people out there would call this Truth in Television, which is why we won't list all those examples. (Congrats to you!) Apparently the secret is

Not to be confused with Sickeningly Sweethearts, which is basically puppy love. They can overlap, but it's rare. This trope usually gives viewers Crowning Moments of Heartwarming instead of tasting like diabetes, though the cynicism of the viewers still has to be taken into account. If and when they have kids, they will often become Good Parents. When this overlaps with Arranged Marriage, it's Perfectly Arranged Marriage. When this overlaps with the characters being unrepentant villains, its Unholy Matrimony.

But when it turns out that they're not really as happy as they let on, however, it's Happy Marriage Charade.

Anime and Manga
"Genma: I carved this on our honeymoon. A memory of love. Ranma: Who are you and what have you done with my father?"
 * Ranma ½: At one point, Genma talks about him and Nodoka being like this. Ranma doesn't believe it though.

"Akane: We're a happily married couple, remember?"
 * In a parody of this trope and Sickeningly Sweethearts, Ranma and Akane pretend to have been secretly married for a long time in order to get Ukyo out of the Tendo home.


 * Akio and Sanae, Clannad, as well as  in After Story.
 * Sachiko and Soichirou Yagami of Death Note are portrayed as having a very stable and loving relationship. Kind of surprising, considering that everyone lives in the Dysfunction Junction.
 * Shirou and Momoko, Nanoha's parents in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Nanoha comments that they still very much act like newlyweds.
 * Shintarou and Sakura, Ichigo's parents in Tokyo Mew Mew, are an overdramatic pair that acts exactly like newlyweds. One is an Overprotective Dad and the other approves of anyone Ichigo brings home, but otherwise, they agree on absolutely everything. Ichigo even mentions that they're her "ideal couple".
 * The "hive mind" parents in Marmalade Boy.
 * Ikuko and Kenji Tsukino of Sailor Moon, in many respects, the anime equivalent to Ward and June Cleaver, And how.
 * And Haruka and Michiru...except that they aren't...you know...married. They still act like they are, so they sorta count.
 * In the beginning of D.N.Angel, it appears as though Daisuke's father is either dead or deadbeat, since he isn't around and is never mentioned. Soon, however, Kosuke comes back home from researching something related to the Niwa family history, and it turns out he and Emiko are very much in love and a shining example of this trope.
 * Miu's parents from Piano bicker somewhat from time to time—especially about him drinking—but their marriage is usually very harmonic.
 * Though we don't see much of them, Umi's parents from Magic Knight Rayearth in the second season. Umi refers to their marriage as 'the eternal honeymoon'. One that Tastes Like Diabetes.
 * Izumi and Sig Curtis from Fullmetal Alchemist.
 * Also Maes and Gracia Hughes..
 * King Bradley and Mrs. Bradley.
 * Tatsuya and Kazuya's parents in Touch.
 * Sayuri and Suguru in Digimon Savers, much to some fans' chagrin.
 * Also, Yamato/Sora and Ken/Miyako in Digimon Adventure 02. But don't tell that to the fans.
 * Subverted in the dub of Digimon Tamers with Jijimon and Babamon (whose voices and personalities heavily resemble Miracle Max and his wife Valerie respectively), when Jijimon states that they've been "Happily Married for forty years...and not so happy for ten years after that".
 * Yui's parents in K-On!, who love to go on romantic trips.
 * Laura's parents in Hamtarou, after they stop practicing Belligerent Sexual Tension.
 * The parents of Yukino Miyazawa and of Soichiro Arima in Kare Kano are all happily married, despite Hiroyuki Miyazawa (Yukino's father) not getting on with his father-in-law, and despite the problems with Soichiro's real parents (he's living with adoptive parents, who are the happily married ones).
 * From Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, there's Very happily - he knows how lucky he is.
 * MY-WIFE-IS-THE-BEST-IN-THE-UNIVERSE SWING! Yeah.
 * At the end,.
 * Togusa and his wife (and their children) in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, though we only get the occasional glimpse of his family in the show; Solid State Society uses them a bit more, eventually leading to arguably the most painfully suspenseful moment in the movie where
 * Umineko no Naku Koro ni has Eva and Hideyoshi. Rudolf and Kyrie also count (despite some of Rudolf's issues staying with one woman). Krauss and Natsuhi have some...issues (it's implied that they have separate bedrooms), but they do love each other.
 * And after EP6
 * Actually caused problems in the backstory of Mahou Sensei Negima. Negi's father, Nagi, was Happily Married to Negi's mother when he met Evangeline- and, naturally, he wouldn't respond to her advances because he was perfectly satisfied with his wife. In the end, he had to seal Eva in a boarding school just to get her off his back.
 * He could have gotten her to go away much easier if he actually told her he was married. As it is, she didn't find out until ten years later or so, from one of his friends giving her backstory. Of course, being an idiot is part of his character, and Eva was a Stalker with a Crush anyway, so even that might not have helped. But at least he could have bothered to try.
 * Kenichi's parents in Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. They probably have the only normal relationship in the series.
 * Azumanga Daioh has Kimura and his wife, of all people. There's No Accounting for Taste.
 * About half of Itazura na Kiss is based off this and it overlaps with
 * Although not actually married (kinda-sorta), Issac and Miria from Baccano!! fit this trope to a T. So much so that they're even still together seven decades later.
 * And in that vein:.
 * As well as.
 * Even though Toriyama himself said he sucked at writing a decent romance, most couples in Dragon Ball are this.
 * Goku and Chichi are an example. Sure, despite the fact that Goku is an Idiot Hero/lover of fights and Chi-Chi's a hardcore Education Mama, they prove, time and time again, that they truly love each other. Hell, when Goku dies, Chi-Chi doesn't even bother remarrying. Makes you wonder why....
 * It began as a brief fling and then they didn't give a crap about each other for awhile, but Vegeta and Bulma eventually became this in the latter parts of DBZ.
 * Krillin and Android 18 are somewhat like this, too.
 * Gohan and Videl become this after the end of DBZ and during Dragon Ball GT.
 * Austria and Hungary from Axis Powers Hetalia probably fit this, despite them being technically divorced (it's complicated).
 * Greece and Japan tend to be portrayed as this in fan-works.
 * Fanon takes Sweden and Finland this way, too, but seeing as they're so canon it's painful, it's only natural.
 * Karin's parents.
 * As well as.
 * Surprisingly, Legend of Galactic Heroes has a few of these. Most obviously Wolfgang and Evangelin Mittermeier, but also Alex and Hortense Caselnes... and both couples play Beta Couple to
 * Kyoko and Katsuya Honda from Fruits Basket were this trope for the brief time they were both alive at the same time. Also,
 * As common and expected for a group of adventurers, Parn is sometimes oblivious to Deedlit's affections (he eventually returns them after coming to terms with his past), and there's no happy ending for Shiris and Orson in Record of Lodoss War. However, when Lelyia is freed from being possessed by an evil spirit, Slayn marries her, they have a daughter, and their relationship continues without any problems.
 * In Hayate the Combat Butler the parents are either missing (and it's usually hinted that they're just happily married behind the scenes), unseen or Happily Married. There seems to be no middle ground between these three. Even Hayate's parents are portrayed as Happily Married.
 * Though we haven't actually seen Mr. Katsura, between Hinagiku's happy life as their adopted daughter and Mrs. Katsura's outlook, they are probably the happiest.
 * Wilhelm and Dorothea Malders from Victorian Romance Emma, one of few noble marriages shown to be happy and without much problems.
 * Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: In the Distant Finale, the title character and Jean were shown married and with a child. The same applies for
 * This is implied about Byakuya and his deceased wife Hisana  in Bleach. The few times he shows his softer side was when he was looking at Hisana's picture before going to Rukia's execution and when he was talking to Rukia about her.
 * Damn near every married couple in Naruto, of which there are many. Ties in with the themes of family and bonds, but also makes up for the fact that half the cast are orphans and those same happily married couples quite often ended up dead.
 * Majority of the One Piece couples are these, even if one of the spouses (usually the mother) is deceased. One example is Queen Otohime and King Nepture. He is a strong supporter in her determination to bring humans and mermen together. In a subtle but very sweet scene, Queen Otohime before  reassures King Nepture to trust in her as his wife. It's perhaps the series' first unambiguously romantic scene.
 * Ouran High School Host Club's author tells us about the Hosts and a few of the other characters' futures at the end of the final volume. Official Couple Haruhi and  end up married at the end and we're told they are the first to have children. Honey and manga-only Reiko also end up married, and we're told Mori is married with children somewhere down the line.
 * Black Butler has Ciel's, now deceased, parents. In life it appeared that they were happy together and Good Parents. At least, it did in the anime, and in the manga from Ciel's point of view.
 * Kimi wa Petto has  happily married in the distant finale.
 * Kudo in Japan Inc. Contrast this to his Foil Tsugawa: His wife's a Bottle Fairy, and he has barely time for his kids.
 * At the end of Spice and Wolf,  open a shop together and are expecting a child.
 * Windaria Alan is so happily married that thoughts of his wife can repel evil spirits.
 * Pod and Homily in The Borrower Arrietty.
 * In The Familiar of Zero  get married at the end of the final season.
 * Pod and Homily in The Borrower Arrietty.
 * In The Familiar of Zero  get married at the end of the final season.

Comic Books

 * The poor doomed Waynes, parents of Batman and the beloved and equally-doomed Flying Graysons.
 * Elf Quest has a lot of happily married couples, despite the elves' open sexuality. Among the elves there are Redlance and Nightfall, Strongbow and Moonshade, Woodlock and Rainsong, and Cutter and Leetah. You could also add Bearclaw and Joyleaf - they do have some pretty fierce quarrels, but always make up afterward. Also the trolls Picknose and Oddbit (really!) and the humans Nonna and Adar. In the event of romantic rivalries, forming threesomes is considered a perfectly acceptable, if relatively rare, solution.
 * What's more, in a sense Cutter and Skywise are "married" - yeah, they're both guys (though remember, in Elf Quest Everyone Is Bi) but in many respects they act like a married couple.
 * All of which is not surprising when you remember that Elf Quest was created by Wendy and Richard Pini, who've been happily married for over three decades.
 * Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen in The Flash.
 * There seems to be a tradition of this in the Flash legacy; see also Wally West and Linda Park, and Jay and Joan Garrick, who have possibly the longest-standing marriage in the DCU.
 * Retconned out in the New 52. Now Patty Spivot is the third point of a triangle, and the one Barry's actually dated.
 * The Hawkmen and their partners (both at work and at play, as it were) used to have a similar happy relationship. Pre-Crisis, Carter and Shiera Hall of Earth-2 were married for about the same length of time as the Garricks, and used to go off on archaeological expeditions together in between JSA meetings. Likewise on Earth-1, Katar and Shayera Hol were married right from their creation. Post-Crisis (and post-John Ostrander and Hawkworld), Hawk continuity is just a mess, but Carter and the new Hawkgirl still get together fairly often.
 * In fact
 * Peter Parker and Mary Jane in Spider-Man -- oh, right.
 * They are still married in Spider-Girl. Its number one fan? Joe Quesada, since Mary Jane is a mother in that continuity (but making her one in the main is somehow out of the question).
 * Parodied in Ultimate Spider-man, in which Mary Jane and Peter are so close that Liz Allen starts to refer to Mary Jane as "Mary Jane Watson-Parker" because "You two are totally married!"
 * Scott Summers and Jean Grey—oh, same problem, even if it was a few years before the above, and not quite as blatant. On the other hand...
 * Likewise in Spider-Man, Uncle Ben and Aunt May had a long, happy marriage. Until poor Ben's death, of course.
 * Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.
 * Reed Richards and Sue Storm-Richards sometimes more than others. Tied the knot in Fantastic Four Annual #3, back in 1965, and they've been together ever since.
 * Mystique and Destiny, Rogue's adoptive parents, had an amazingly long loving relationship that began when the two women met in the 1890s and only ended when Destiny gave her life so that Mystique could live. Although it is known that through some unexplained circumstances they were separated for unspecified times, there was never seen a cross word between them. Pretty good showing, especially considering they're both villains.
 * Of all people, the Hulk was this at the end of the Planet Hulk storyline with his new queen, Caiera. It was a pretty beautiful scene. But then, something happened.
 * In The Authority, Apollo and Midnighter. Interesting in that they're both gay superheroes who are happily married.
 * Frequently played with, too, as they still have squabbles, and the kid-equals-stability thing was utterly subverted in the Revolutions arc (though that was mostly down to Manipulative Bastard Arch-Villain Bendix). However, they've been together for a long, long time, and no matter what crap gets thrown at them, their relationship is consistently a very loving one.
 * Superman's parents Ma and Pa Kent, in the continuities where they're both alive.
 * Currently dead, but it's comics, so let's see how long that sticks:
 * Ralph and Sue Dibny.
 * Scott Free (Mister Miracle) and Big Barda.
 * Archie Comics has this as the norm: Archie's parents, Betty's parents, Jughead's parents... even Veronica's parents, despite being m billionaires, aren't using that money as an excuse to become a stereotypically disconnected rich couple. (Though their daughter is well on her way...)
 * And, yeah, Reggie may be a jerk, but he can't blame it on a dysfunctional family either. Can anyone name any parents in Riverdale who aren't Happily Married?
 * Yes, Midge's. A Joe Edwards story from the 1980's had Midge crying because her parents were on the verge of divorce. Though she said on the last page they would stay together "with counseling".
 * An early story had Veronica try to show up Betty but instead be miserable because she didn't have any connection with her parents. Also, Dilton's parents are shown on occasion to be distant academics who don't communicate with each other or Dilton.
 * These are story-by-story cases, though.
 * Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Lampshaded on occasion.
 * Also retconned out of existence by the 2011 reboot.
 * Casey Jones and April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Eventually.
 * This is such a major point in the Animal Man comics that it affects his costuming. He adds a denim jacket over his regular skintight costume so he can carry around his keys and notes from his wife.
 * Animal Man probably being the only superhero with "bring home milk" on his crimefighting agenda.
 * An odd gay example played absolutely straight. In the gay-themed, Furry, and miraculously not pornographic Comic Book Circles, Paulie and Doug are happily, if unofficially, married, and Paulie routinely refers to Doug as his husband.
 * Hulking and Wiccan from the Young Avengers are well on their way to filling this trope. They're already the longest-lasting couple on the team.
 * Same goes for Karolina and Xavin over at Runaways . The six couple that make up the Pride also count - while they're all murdering, thieving supervillains, their marriages and family lives are quite healthy (except for the way the Steins treat Chase).
 * Gertrude and Chase were practically this as well.
 * In one alternate universe, Captain America (comics) and a female version of Iron Man. Seriously. And their happy relationship is the main reason that that alternate Earth is a utopia. No, seriously.
 * Who wants to bet that the fangirly joy was part of the reason Wangst-and-Despair-happy Marvel hasn't consumnated their 616 Ho Yay?
 * In Fables Beauty and Beast definitely qualify, despite the occasional bickerings (as Beauty points out, you can't expect a marriage to last for thousands of years without quarreling)..
 * Sonic the Hedgehog: Bunnie and Antoine.
 * Legion of Super-Heroes actually has had quite a few of these- the first was Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel. Others that followed included Saturn Girl/Lightning Lad, Karate Kid/Princess Projectra and Ultra Boy/Phantom Girl
 * Swedish comic book Bamse has the eponymous character happily married with four children.
 * Top Ten: Irma Geddon and her husband Ron. Kemlo Caesar and Neural 'Nette.  probably count too, even if the court is out on whether or not they're actually married.
 * King Jeryk and Queen Helena in The Courageous Princess
 * Richie Rich's parents.

Fairy Tales

 * The king and queen in The Lute Player. If only he could have kept from being a Glory Seeker.

Film

 * Bob and Helen Parr in The Incredibles, though this is played with a little.
 * Roger and Anita in 101 Dalmatians, as well as the dalmatian parents Pongo and Perdita.
 * Jim Dear and Darling in Lady and the Tramp and the eponymous couple at the end.
 * Pacha and Chicha of The Emperor's New Groove
 * Mulan's parents.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Fox of Fantastic Mr. Fox
 * King Stefan and Queen Leah of Sleeping Beauty
 * The human parents of |Hercules. Also, (in direct contradiction to the source material), Zeus and Hera.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Darling of Disney's Peter Pan
 * Derek and Odette in The Swan Princess and its sequels.
 * Shrek and Fiona have their problems to deal with, but they love each other. The same goes for Donkey and Dragon.
 * Carl and Ellie in Up definitely qualify, even if they had trouble making a family and fulfilling their dream to go to South America since by the time they were able to afford the trip Ellie soon passed away. This is demonstrated at the end, when Carl looks through Ellie's Adventure Book one last time to find the message
 * Toy Story
 * Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead.
 * Suggested to be the case between at the end of the third movie.
 * This is implied in most Disney movies and frequently supported in sequels, such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast (technically a midquel, but the ending fast-forwards a year after the first movie so the audience can see Belle and the Prince together).
 * Also the case in Cinderella 3. Heck, the first song of the movie has Cinderella telling us how happy she is in her married life and the prince several times referring to her as his "perfect wife". The sequel for Sleeping Beauty shows us that Aurora and Philip are quite happy as well.
 * Tarzan got an animated series where we see Tarzan and Jane are happily married.
 * Rapunzel's parents in Tangled
 * Rapunzel herself and Eugene are officially this after Tangled Ever After.
 * All the married couples from the Madrigal family in Encanto.
 * Nick and Nora Charles, in The Thin Man mystery-movies. It's been said theirs was among the very first truly happy marriages depicted by American cinema. They do tend to drink a lot by contemporary standards, though.
 * Tom and Gerri in Another Year seem to be the embodiment of this, even if no one around them is.
 * At the end of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the eponymous couple become this.
 * They were also this at the beginning of their marriage. The movie just picks up when they're in a rut.
 * Phil and Claire Foster of Date Night, though at one point Claire gets flirty with a very hot Mark Wahlberg.
 * Marge and Norm Gunderson in Fargo.
 * The Darkos in Donnie Darko.
 * Rocky and Adrian.
 * Cheaper By the Dozen, which is either Truth in Television or Very Loosely Based on a True Story, depending on what version you watch.
 * The parents in Yours Mine And Ours
 * Ever After has King Francis and Queen Marie, Maurice and Louise, and Danielle and Henry clearly establish that they're going to be this in the first few months of their marriage that we see. It's implied that Jacqueline and Laurent will end up this as well.
 * Toula and Ian from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, complete with babies... well, baby ever after. Ian's parents, Toula's parents, and several members of Toula's family seem to apply as well.
 * Jess and Marie, and eventually the eponymous couple in When Harry Met Sally...
 * George and Nina Banks, John and Joanna Mackenzie, and Annie and Bryan Mackenzie from Father of the Bride, as were the main couples in the original film.
 * All three main couples from the Meet the Parents series: Greg and Pam, Jack and Dina, and Bernie and Roz.
 * H.I. and Ed in Raising Arizona.
 * Only if
 * On the other hand,
 * George and Lorraine McFly at the end of Back to The Future once Marty made changes to their past.
 * Given Lorraine's rant to Biff in the sequel, . In the third movie, we see that Seamus and Maggie McFly were happily married as well.
 * Doc Brown and Clara Clayton at the very end of Back to The Future Part Three, though their happily married status was expanded upon more in the animated series.
 * In the end, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit??, it turns out that  are Happily Married. (Even Sickeningly Sweethearts.)
 * Wayne and Diane Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, even if Wayne does screw up once in a while.
 * The Little parents in Stuart Little, to the point where they finished the other's sentences. The moment they couldn't tell what the other was thinking led to slight panic, but all got resolved.
 * Will and Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, but . But then.
 * Both of the main couples—Julia and Paul Child, and Julie and Eric Powell—in Julie and Julia.
 * Kate and Richard Reddy in I Dont Know How She Does It
 * Kevin's parents from Home Alone
 * Judge Hardy & Mrs. Hardy in the Andy Hardy film series.
 * Cindy Lou's parents in the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which is an upgrade from the book and TV special where they were pretty much nonentities.
 * Brody and Ellen in Jaws, a notable change from the book. (In the book, she cheats on him with Hooper)
 * Rick and Evy O'Connell in the second and third movies of The Mummy Trilogy.
 * Many would say they were totally obnoxious, but Anakin and Padme were happy together until his whole... well, you know.
 * Poor doomed Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru fit this trope as well.
 * Cliegg Lars and Shmi Skywalker, albeit briefly.
 * They may be dead, but that doesn't stop Adam and Barbara Maitland from being this in Beetlejuice.
 * Charles and Delia Deetz as well.
 * Edward and Paige in the third and fourth The Prince And Me movies.
 * Allie and  from The Notebook have a long, loving marriage and even end up  . According to author Nicholas Sparks, they were based on his wife's grandparents, who remained steadfastly in love during their sixtysome years of marriage.
 * In the original and remake of The Parent Trap, the eponymous parents reunite and become this.
 * Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez from Spy Kids
 * Also Grandpa and Grandma Cortez and Wilbur and Marissa Wilson
 * George and Mary Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life. George's parents seem to be this as well.
 * Bick and Leslie in Giant
 * It doesn't come easily in Parenthood, but most members of the Buckman clan are in this kind of relationship by the end of the movie.
 * Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy from The Blind Side. A Truth in Television, since the movie is based on a true story.
 * The parents from Homeward Bound
 * George VI and Queen Elizabeth; Lionel and Myrtle Logue from The King's Speech. Truth in Television.
 * Jack and Marilyn Mickler, in Don Juan Demarco. It gets even better as the title character's example works it's magic on Jack's libido.
 * Alejandro and Elena in The Legend of Zorro for the most part. They do split up for a while, but that was mostly because
 * According to backstory, Cobb and Mal from Inception before everything went downhill
 * The parents in A Christmas Story. Not even the legendary "Battle Of The Lamp" can permanently derail them.
 * Undercover Blues: Despite a few disagreements about, e.g., taking the baby into dangerous situations, Jane and Jefferson Blues are one of the finest examples of Happily Married to be spotted in an action film. Their easy camaraderie is an enjoyable counterpart to the danger they're facing.
 * Mike and Jackie Flaherty from Win Win. Their relationship can get harried, but it's ultimately a loving and committed one.
 * Holly and Gerry in P.S. I Love You.
 * Ananya parents, the Swaminathans, in 2 States. They are the subdued type, with the man being quietly supportive of his wife's sing aspiration and both being content to be and be seen together, in total contrast with Krish parents, the Malhotras, who are never together in public and barely tolerate each other in private.

Literature
"Kareen: Not... not yet, anyway. It's like I've just started to find myself, to figure out who I really am, to grow. I don't want to stop. Cordelia: Is that how you see marriage? As the end and abolition of yourself? Kareen: It is for some people. Why else do all the stories end when the Count's daughter gets married? Hasn't that ever struck you as a bit sinister? I mean, have you ever read a folk tale where the Princess's mother gets to do anything but die young? I've never been able to figure out if that's supposed to be a warning, or an instruction. Drou: You grow in different ways, afterward. Not like a fairy tale. Happily ever after doesn't cover it."
 * Millie and Christopher in the Chrestomanci Chronicles. Modecai Roberts and Miss Rosie are also hinted to be this.
 * Harry Potter
 * While they were still alive, Harry's parents Lily and James counted too.
 * Molly and Arthur Weasley
 * There's even reason to believe that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy may fit this trope.
 * Vernon and Petunia as well, whatever else you can say about them.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were likely this
 * Mr. and Mrs. Granger appear to be this, even though we don't see much of them.
 * Bill and Fleur.
 * Harry and  and Ron and   end up as happy marriages, too.
 * Word of God has that Luna, Neville, George, Percy, and Dudley all were this as well.
 * Thursday Next and Landen Parke-Laine (although Landen suffers from a case of Ret-Gone-induced existence failure for a while, until Thursday rescues him).
 * In a story-within-a-story that Thursday visits in The Well of Lost Plots, the lead character Jack Spratt laments that as a fictional detective he isn't allowed to have a stable relationship for plot reasons. Thursday advises him to Screw Destiny and live his own life, and sure enough when the novel The Big Over-Easy was published we found Jack happily married with several kids.
 * In the short story "The Wedding Present" by Neil Gaiman, due to a mysterious magic letter received as a wedding present, Belinda and Gordon have a very happy and successful marriage. In the alternative universe that the letter describes... not so much. Though in the end,.
 * Della and Jim from The Gift of the Magi
 * Charles Dickens gives us a few:
 * Both of David Copperfield's marriages, Peggotty & Mr. Barkis, and Tommy Traddles & Sophy.
 * Mr. & Mrs. Cratchit, Fred & his wife, Scrooge's ex-fiance and her husband, and Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig from A Christmas Carol.
 * Charles and Lucy Darnay from A Tale of Two Cities
 * from Great Expectations
 * JRR Tolkien seems to have had a very strong conviction that this was how relationships are supposed to work out, and so his works provied a lot of examples. Almost all requited love in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion ends in happy marriages: Aragorn and Arwen, Faramir and Éowyn, Sam and Rosie, Celeborn and Galadriel, Beren and Lúthien, Idril and Tuor, Bombadil and Goldberry, etc. etc. There is one couple that does not marry (Andreth and Aegnor) and the three that end up unhappily married (Ar-Pharazôn and Tar-Míriel, Fëanor and Nerdanel, Túrin and Nienor) are that way because Pharazôn is evil, Fëanor heads that way, and Túrin and Nienor are cursed.
 * The number of happy relationships are probably due to the fact that he too was Happily Married.
 * Touchstone and Sabriel, and considering their day jobs are ruling and making sure magic runs steady in the land, and fighting the Living Dead, it's a good thing they've got each other.
 * Jane Austen managed a handful of these, most notably Admiral Croft and his wife, Sophie, in Persuasion.
 * The Westons in Emma and the Gardiniers in Pride and Prejudice fit this trope too. Actually, it seems like she puts in at least one stable couple in each book, if only to serve as a subconscious suggestion to her assorted heroines.
 * And her heroines themselves, with whichever men they wind up marrying.
 * Commander Vimes and Lady Sybil, Fred Colon and his unnamed wife, and King Verence and Queen Magrat of Lancre.
 * And Mort and Ysabell
 * Detritus is said to be Happily Married to Ruby in Thud!, though they lack Babies Ever After.
 * In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Han and Leia are very happily married. Then the New Jedi Order happened. (Granted, there were good reasons for the unpleasantness and they got better.) Also, Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade....
 * The Star Wars Expanded Universe has quite a few of these: Corran and Mirax Horn, Wedge and Iella Antilles, Tycho and Winter Celchu, Lando and Tendra Calrissian, Goran Beviin and Medrit Vasur, …
 * RA Salvatore's Drizzt novels recently had upgrade to this. Of course, two books later,.
 * Khaavren and his wife from Dragaera
 * Eddard "Ned" Stark and Catelyn Tully in A Song of Ice and Fire. An Arranged Marriage forged for political reasons, the two grow into deep love and affection, though Ned's rather more reserved about it than Catelyn. In fact, theirs is the only marriage in the series that doesn't directly lead to bloodshed in some way. Probably..
 * Dany and Drogo also get this.
 * As well as Edmure and Roslin, even if their wedding didn't exactly go off without a hitch.
 * Lord and Lady Macbeth. Yes, they brought doom and damnation upon themselves together, but they loved and supported each other along the way (though Lady Macbeth could get a little mean in her "supporting"...). Macduff and his ill-fated wife also count.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Hardy of The Hardy Boys series
 * Charlie's parents and both sets of grandparents, with the exception of the 1971 film adaptation where his dad isn't there and is presumably dead
 * The Princess Bride:
 * Miracle Max and Valerie. They are in The Movie as well, but there Max seems to be more of a Henpecked Husband. Fezzik's parents also qualify.
 * Beauty gives us Hope and Gervain. The ending implies that.
 * The Father and Elizabeth from The Swiss Family Robinson
 * Aral and Cordelia Vorkosigan in Lois McMaster Bujold's books have a rock-solid relationship, managing to combine the best of their two wildly different cultural backgrounds.
 * Witness this conversation from A Civil Campaign, where Cordelia, her best friends the Koudelkas (Kou and Drou, who are also Happily Married), and the relevant parties are discussing the romance between (and possible marriage of) her son Mark and their daughter Kareen.


 * Miles and  Vorkosigan are also an example, probably at least partly because Cordelia and Aral are Miles's parents.
 * Hamish and Emily Alexander from the Honor Harrington series. After sixty years of marriage, Emily's injury and whatever else they're still quite lovey-dovey around each other. It also helps that Emily is Hamish's chief political advisor and confidant, so they know how to work together too.
 * More than a few in the Honorverse. There's Honor's parents, and Queen Elizabeth and Prince-Consort Justin, not to mention Prince Michael and and Princess Judith.
 * All the parents of the Bob-Whites, except for Dan, since he doesn't have any
 * Eve Dallas and Roarke in the In Death series. They actually become more stable after marrying. Roarke winds up going (mostly) legit to avoid upsetting Eve, and he tempers her tendencies. In fairness, she was; Her father was a sociopath who planned to sell her to pedophiles, and her mother was a prostitute of the unpleasant variety that hated her.
 * Also the Miras, the Feeneys, Mavis and Leonardo, and the Whitneys. It's rather common among the first- and second-tier characters.
 * The Drs. Murry from Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet books (okay, even if you count the fifth). Dr. Mrs. Murry remained faithful to her husband for the five years he was vanished without a single word as to where he'd gone, with any man in town ready to throw himself at her.
 * Following her parents' example, Meg Murry and her husband, Calvin O'Keefe.
 * For the most part, but not the shining example her parents' marriage was. It's stable, as noted by characters in later books, but it's more realistic than the Drs. Murray. Meg assists Calvin in his work as a marine biologists, but feels "restless" as her children grow older and are less dependant on her. She toys with the idea of going back to school. Her teenage insecurities come back when she wonders if the rumors of Calvin having relationships with female colleagues might be true.
 * Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester may count as this; Your Mileage May Vary between this and Sickeningly Sweethearts (if that is even possible for Charlotte Bronte.)
 * In Sandy Mitchell's Warhammer 40,000 novel Scourge the Heretic, Lord and Lady Tonis. They give each other a look that makes Horst quite envious of them. Of course, this is Warhammer400000; this was just before they
 * Alanna and George in Tamora Pierce's novels count, although their daughter seems to view them as Sickeningly Sweethearts in Trickster's Choice.
 * Kel's parents are also happily married; they've had something like ten kids, and are probably Tamora Pierce's most well adjusted couple.
 * The Happily Married couple is not a rarity in Pierce's books:
 * In the Tortall Universe, besides those already mentioned, there's Jon and Thayet; Daine and Numair; Coram and Rispah; Myles and Eleni; Mequen and Winnamine (and Sarugani before her); Roald and Shinkokami; Aly and Nawat; and according to Word of God, Wyldon and his wife, and Owen and Wyldon's daughter Margarry.
 * In the Circle of Magic universe, there's Sandry's dead parents; Pasco's parents; Kol and Matazi; Ambros and Ealaga; and Ben Ladradun and his deceased wife Kofrina.
 * Provost's Dog also gives several examples. Goodwin and her husband, for one, and Okha and Nestor (although it is difficult to know whether they're actually "married"). Tunstall and Lady Sabine were also unmarried as of the second book, but they did have a domestic, stable relationship.
 * Pel and Ursula from Mil Millington's Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About. Though not married, they are in a stable relationship with two children. The whole point of the story is that though they fight like cat and dog, it's all just surface noise and their relationship is completely solid. The same might be said of Mil himself and his girlfriend Margret.
 * Michael and Charity Carpenter from The Dresden Files. Very happily and solidly married and given that their oldest child is eighteen and their youngest (of seven) is two or three, they have a full married life.
 * In their case, it helps that Michael Carpenter is in some ways quite literally as close to being an ideal Man (in the very best sense of that word) that it is possible to be in a Fallen race and world. He is the best person in Harry Dresden's world, and the marriage of Michael and Charity exemplifies what marriage is meant to be. Charity is not as good being good as her husband...but she's getting there.
 * Sonia and Mickey Malone.
 * Chris and Cathy Dollanganger Sheffield in Seeds of Yesterday and If There Be Thorns by V.C. Andrews.
 * Best not to think about that one too much, if you catch my drift.
 * Papa and Mama Bear of The Berenstain Bears, which makes sense since the authors of the books were happily married to each other.
 * A very... interesting example of this in The Mists of Avalon with Morgause and King Lot. Interesting because they aren't in love at all. Theirs was a political marriage when Morgause was 14 and Lot was around 30, and they regularly cheat on each other (although both of them know about the other's affairs). But they are still very close and when Lot dies towards the end of the book, Morgause spends a lot of time mourning for her 'husband and best friend'. It's actually the best marriage in the book, which is curious because of Morgause.
 * Claire and Jamie Fraser in the Outlander series, despite 200 years and a hell of a lotta conflict.
 * Nuala Anne mcGrail and her loving "spear-carrier" husband Dermot Michael Coyne from Andrew M. Greeley's Nuala Anne mcGrail novels. The first three, "Irish Gold", "Irish Lace" and "Irish Whiskey" covered their courtship, and there were a couple of moments where the relationship was threatened(usually by one or the other's sense of unworthiness), but from "Irish Mist" on, it's been pretty much smooth sailing, despite assorted conventional pitfalls. Not to mention that Nuala's a bit fey, leading to her and Dermot investigating crimes both in the past and the present.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Beaver from CS Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe fit this trope remarkably well, despite being Talking Animals. Justified, as real-world beavers pair for life.
 * Also Shasta and Aravis from A Horse And His Boy.
 * Presumably Caspian and Ramandu's daughter were this.
 * Frank and Helen in The Magician's Nephew.
 * To many readers, the relationships of Perrin and Faile & Lan and Nynaeve are a bizarre variant of The Masochism Tango. In-universe, the couples are insistent that they're this trope. To be fair, there are instances of undisputed affection, especially from book 12 and onward. Tam and Kari al'Thor were also this prior to Kari's death.
 * and Horst and Elain of the Inheritance Cycle
 * Twilight All couples seem to be very happy: Carlisle/Esme, Rosalie/Emmet, Alice/Jasper, Sam/Emily, Renee/Phil. The Canon Pairing: Bella/Edward had shown to be very happy the few months they were married in the books and where not in danger of dying. After the conclusion, a return to this is a given. It's also implied that Charlie and Sue are going to become this.
 * Jonathan and Mina Harker from Dracula, especially once that whole vampire business is taken care of and
 * Patrick and Wendy McLanahan in Dale Brown's books.
 * Pretty much every married couple in the Mitford series. They're just those kind of books.
 * Marmie and Robert, Amy and Laurie, Meg and John, and Jo and Fritz from Little Women and its sequels.
 * Mr. & Mrs. Hardy, parents of the eponymous Hardy Boys
 * In Dune, Count and Lady Fenring, despite the Count's inability. Also Leto and Jessica Atreides are "Happy De-facto Married".
 * The Lions of Al-Rassan has Rodrigo and Miranda, Ines and Rodrigo after they reconcile and   in the epilogue.
 * In Rainbow Six every member of the Badass Crew is married, almost all with children
 * Richard and Kahlan from Sword of Truth, though some may call them Sickeningly Sweethearts. Even  ultimately isn't enough to stop them from being together.
 * Micum and Kari of the Nightrunner series
 * John Paul and Theresa Wiggin, parents of Ender, were most definitely this, despite—nay, because of—their religious differences; just being religious (him Catholic her Mormon) gave them enough in common to smooth out problems, apparently. To be sure, they have their problems, but how could it be any other way when your children are, respectively, the future savior and the future ruler of humanity? Both Ender and Valentine end up in the same situation (Valentine with kids).
 * Amelia Peabody and her husband Radcliffe Emerson, archeologist detectives. They quarrel all the time, partly for the fun of it, but also hold each other in something like awe and devote a considerable part of their considerable will-powers to making the marriage work.
 * Their son Walter "Ramses" Emerson apparently learned from his parents' example and has this relationship with his wife Nefret.
 * In the Anne of Green Gables series,
 * Eric Flint loves this trope and has a number of Happily Married couples in both 1632 and Belisarius Series.
 * Justinan and Theodora in Belisarius Series are an odd variant. They are not a happy couple per se but they love each other deeply and are obviously meant for each other. They would probably be closer to A Shared Suffering. That is their unhappiness comes not from each other but from their reaction to The Chains of Commanding, and they are among the few things that make each other less unhappy.
 * Howl and Sophie from the sequels to Howl's Moving Castle. Yes, they bicker and argue a lot, but that's because they want to. It helps keep them on their toes.
 * Popular trope in Betsy Tacy. All of the married couples seem very happy, with a lot of discussion in later books being about how these loving, healthy marriages form and continue to work.
 * Leonard and Griselda Clement from Murder at the Vicarage. That's despite the fact that Leonard did just about the opposite of what he considered conventionally right when he married Griselda.
 * PG Wodehouse loved this trope and used it frequently, sometimes poking fun at how the couple involved were defying the stereotypical norm.
 * Dr. Watson's relationship with his wife Mary, taken at face value; Alternate Character Interpretation pegs the relationship as a Happy Marriage Charade.

Live-Action TV
"Martok: We are not accorded the luxury of choosing the women we fall in love with. Do you think Sirella is anything like the woman I thought that I'd marry? She is a prideful, arrogant, mercurial woman who shares my bed far too infrequently for my taste. And yet... I love her deeply. We Klingons often tout our prowess in battle, our desire for glory and honor above all else... but how hollow is the sound of victory without someone to share it with? Honor gives little comfort to a man alone in his home... and in his heart."
 * Jim and Cheryl on According to Jim. Unlike other Dom Coms that ran during its time, Jim and Cheryl enjoyed a pleasant, equal marriage, with no Double Standard Abuse (Female on Male), Double Standard, or any other things that you watch and think to yourself "why are these two married at all?"
 * The Addams Family: Gomez and Morticia Addams. Also notable in being one of, if not the first on-screen couple who were passionately in love. It says something about 1960s television that a happily-married couple was unusual to the point of being unique.
 * Black satin sheets. In 1964.
 * Ozzie and Harriet Nelson (or at least the fictional versions thereof), on The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet, are arguably the ultimate TV version of this trope.
 * James and Helen Herriot of All Creatures Great and Small.
 * In an amazing achievement for any soap opera couple, Joe and Ruth Martin from All My Children
 * Jack and Helen Pryor on American Dreams
 * Trevor and Roxy Lablanc in Army Wives.
 * As well as Michael and Claudia Joy Holden, Frank and Denise Sherwood, and Roland and Joan Burton. There was the whole thing where Frank and Denise  and Roland and Joan have to deal with , but both couples worked through their problems and got better.
 * Tom and Margo of As the World Turns
 * Rocky and Madge and Lionel and Jean from As Time Goes By. Eventually,  and   become this too.
 * Sheridan and Delenn in Babylon 5.
 * Though they go through just as much hell as everyone else on Battlestar Galactica, by the finale,  are happily married with their kid.
 * Really, they're happily married (or happily coupled, beforehand), from pretty early on. They do go through a lot of hell, but their love for each other never wavers, and arguably is one of the things that allowed them to make it through everything. You really get a sense of their trust in each other after, and Athena doesn't even think about accusing him of anything.
 * Jesse and Laurel of Beachcombers
 * Bernie and Wanda of The Bernie Mac Show
 * Samantha and Darrin in Bewitched. Despite all the efforts of the mother-in-law from hell, they stayed steadfastly in love.
 * Bob and Emily Hartley in The Bob Newhart Show.
 * Also Dick and Joanna Loudon in Newhart...although they
 * As of the end of Season Five, Jack Hodges and Angela Montenegro in Bones.
 * Alan and Amy Matthews, and later Cory and Topanga of Boy Meets World
 * Mike and Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch.
 * Sam Adama and Larry from Caprica. And no, Sam is not short for Samantha. So, yeah, you heard me right.
 * Piper and Leo in Charmed, when they finally get married, of course.
 * Dr. Billy Kronk and Dr. Diane Grad of Chicago Hope
 * Ellie and Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcombe in Chuck don't get married until the end of Season two, but they provide the main stable relationship in the show.
 * As of the season four finale,
 * Despite Married to the Job tendencies, Jurisdiction Friction and alcoholism, Brenda Johnson and Fritz Howard are still passionately in love with each other. They've had their drama, but there's no doubt that they're it for each other.
 * Columbo and his frequently mentioned, but never seen wife.
 * Community has
 * Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable of The Cosby Show, naturally.
 * As well as Cliff's parents, Claire's parents, and for the most part, Elvin and Sondra and Denise and Martin.
 * Mackenzie "Mac" Allen and Rod Calloway of Commander in Chief
 * Gil and Sara on CSI.
 * CSI: NY got in on it too with Danny and Lindsay. They had a tumultuous courtship,pushing each other away repeatedly and Danny slept with someone else (Rikki Sandoval), and there was stress during Danny's but things seem great now, especially with Lucy having come along.
 * Tom and Lynette Scavo in Desperate Housewives. They do have their turmoil and, but they never stop loving each other.
 * Mike and Susan are generally happy together during the times when they're in a relationship (and when they're not it's because of some external obstacle, not friction in the relationship.)
 * Also, Bree and Orson Hodge in season 3 and 4, when not dealing with each other's past misdeeds.
 * Dharma and Greg Montgomery in Dharma and Greg. Most of the comedic tension of the show came from the antics of their friends and parents (who were also happily married). Though,.
 * Rob and Laura Petrie in The Dick Van Dyke Show.
 * Disney Channel has several:
 * Bob and Amy Duncan of Good Luck Charlie
 * Victor and Tanya Baxter from That's So Raven
 * Lloyd and Barb Diffy of Phil of the Future
 * Lizzie's parents, Miranda's parents, and Gordo's parents are all this
 * Steve and Eileen Stevens of Even Stevens
 * Jerry and Theresa Russo of Wizards of Waverly Place demonstrate rather realistically how a happy marriage isn't a perfect one.
 * Wayne and Diane Szalinski of Honey I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Series, though Diane can get understandably flustered by her husband's inventions at times. So in short, their relationship is pretty much the same way it was in the movie the series came from
 * Morgan and Christina Ross of Jessie
 * This trope is also a common occurence in Disney Channel Original Movies.
 * You get this in the Canadian Series' that aired on Disney Channel as well:
 * George and Nora of Life with Derek
 * Walter and Jean Hawthorne of Naturally, Sadie
 * Doctor Who
 * Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright weren't actually married (on the show, at least; some of the Extended Universe books explicitly state otherwise), but nevertheless they remain the first Happily Married couple on the show.
 * As of "The Wedding of River Song", . She may spend her days in prison, but the nights...That's between them, eh?
 * If you include a scene from "The End of Time" part 2,  seem to be happily married and fighting evil!
 * Surely Pete and Jackie Tyler. Sure, they're both technically rebounds from parallel-universe versions of themselves, but they still seem pretty happy with their lot.
 * as of the end of "The Big Bang", solidified in Series 6.
 * Series 4 of The Sarah Jane Adventures confirms that Ian and Barbara are married, and gives us a reappearance from Jo, who is still married to Cliff Jones (RTD specifically mentioned that he wasn't happy with parts of the Expanded Universe saying she and Cliff got divorced).
 * This seemed to be the case with the senator and his wife on Dollhouse. When he's drugged and possibly raped, his first reaction to the blackmail attempt is to take the call girl to his wife. For once, a person who didn't cheat but is in circumstances that can lead to Mistaken for Cheating does the sensible thing and plans to explain the situation to their SO instead of trying to cover up the non-affair for fear of not being believed. And then, the wife turned out to be evil and possibly not even legally his wife. Much as I consider Whedon a brilliant storyteller, I have to say: Damn you, Joss. Damn you so much.
 * Donna and Alex Stone of The Donna Reed Show
 * Robert and Cora Crawley, the Earl and Countess of Grantam, have been Happily Married for twenty-three years. They've actually been married for twenty-four years; it took a while for Impoverished Patrician Robert to fall in love with American heiress Cora after he married her for her money.
 * Tom and Joan Bradford of Eight Is Enough. That is, until Joan was killed off because her actress died. Tom marries schoolteacher Abbey Abott in season 2, and this was also a happy marriage.
 * Paul and Cate Hennessey of 8 Simple Rules, before John Ritter's untimely death
 * Carl and Harriet Winslow of Family Matters. Also Estelle "Mother" Wisnlow and Fletcher later on.
 * Steven and Elyse Keaton of Family Ties
 * Jim and Margaret Anderson of Father Knows Best.
 * Wash and Zoe from Firefly.
 * Of course, this being a Joss Whedon show, it doesn't end well for them.
 * Newlyweds Melvin and Melina, and marriage "veterans" Dean and Sherry in For Your Love
 * Frasier: Niles and Daphne. After they work through their Unrequited Love Switcheroo thing anyway. They're happy and relatively frictionless for exactly one season (10), then Daphne gets pregnant and becomes an overbearing, hormonal harridan (she seems to be back to normal in the final episode, once her child is born).
 * Harold and Jean Weir on Freaks and Geeks. (Series creator Paul Feig said that he intentionally chose for the Weirs to have a happy marriage partly because his own parents had one, but mostly because he was sick of all the dysfunctional parent couplings so prominent on television.)
 * Phil and Vivian Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
 * Eric and Tami Taylor of Friday Night Lights have a great marriage, despite some disagreements.
 * Monica and Chandler in the last three seasons of Friends. Also, Monica and Ross' parents, Jack and Judy Geller (as opposed to the parents of the rest of the gang).
 * Jesse and Becky on Full House
 * Melanie and Derwin Davis of The Game, despite having a tumultuous courtship.
 * The title characters in Gavin and Stacey, as well as Gavin's parents.
 * Agent 86 and Agent 99 in Get Smart once they get hitched in season four.
 * An interesting example is Melinda and Jim on Ghost Whisperer, because they are the main couple, the relationships of her friends get barely any attention, they hardly ever fight, they don't have kids, and it's a drama. But then, this show is sap central.
 * This is challenged when
 * The Howells from Gilligan's Island
 * Glee
 * Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson-Hummel. Both of their first marriages were apparently happy too, since it took them a long time to get over the deaths of their spouses.
 * Rachel's dads, Hiram and Leroy.
 * Both the Goods and the Ledbetters in The Good Life.
 * Wade and Nadine Swoboda from Grace Under Fire
 * The Douglases and the Ziffels from Green Acres
 * on Greys Anatomy, eventually.
 * , two very damaged people, seem to take that road, thanks to some Character Development of the later in season 7.
 * Callie and Arizona as well. (Though they don't appear to be legally married, as Washington State doesn't currently recognize same sex marriages).
 * Sean and Claudia Finnerty from Grounded for Life
 * Jason and Maggie Seaver from Growing Pains
 * Howie and Marion Cunningham in Happy Days.
 * Brad and Jane of Happy Endings
 * Jonathan and Jennifer Hart on Hart to Hart, who were essentially an updated Nick and Nora Charles.
 * Home Improvement: Tim and Jill Taylor definitely qualify.
 * Ralph and Alice on The Honeymooners are always fighting, but the idea that they might ever break up is as inconceivable as Ralph actually knocking Alice "right to the Moon."
 * Charlie and Hope Shanowski from Hope & Faith
 * Lily and Marshall on How I Met Your Mother, although they did break up at one point.
 * This is rather a strange case, because we know that twenty odd years on, when Ted is telling his children about how he met their mother they're definitely in a very happy marriage, so everyone knew that their break-up would work out alright in the end... that said, it didn't stop fans of the show itching to track down the writers and flay them with something hard.
 * I Love Lucy's Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.
 * Will and Helen from Joan of Arcadia.
 * The John Adams miniseries portrays the relationship between John and Abigail Adams as a very passionate version of this. This is borne out by the innumerable letters that they exchanged and assorted other documentary evidence.
 * On the Japanese drama Joshi Deka, Yoshi and his wife Akiko are very happy together.
 * Stephen and Nicole Trager from Kyle XY
 * Elliot and Kathy Stabler on Law & Order: SVU. They do break up at one point when the stress of being a police officer's wife gets to Kathy, but they reconcile later.
 * Ward and June Cleaver of Leave It to Beaver.
 * Drew and Libby Thatcher from Life Goes On
 * Charles and Caroline, Laura and Almanzo, and Mary and Adam of Little House On the Prairie. A Truth in Television for the first two couples, since they are based on real people.(In real life, Mary never married)
 * Nellie Olsen and Percival. Not a Truth in Television, since Nellie wasn't a real person. (She was based on three different girls)
 * The eponymous couple in the final season of Lois and Clark.
 * Rose and Bernard on Lost.
 * Despite having marital issues for the first season or so, Jin and Sun eventually play this straight,
 * As of Season 5's  we also have everyone's favorite couple.
 * Minor characters Horace and Amy from Season 5 as well.
 * John and Maureen Robinson on Lost in Space
 * Paul and Jamie in Mad About You.
 * There are precisely two marriages like this on Mad Men, and even these had to work for it.
 * Harry and Jennifer Crane are noted as Happily Married from the beginning...but then Harry has a one-night stand with Hildy (a secretary) after a typical drunken Sterling Cooper party, and has hell to pay for it when Jennifer finds out. Fortunately for him, she forgives him; he doesn't seem to so much as look at another woman after that.
 * Pete and Trudy Campbell get to Happily Married ahead of everyone else on the series (besides Harry and Jenny) after working through (in agonizing detail) Pete's problems with infidelity and adoption. The Campbells dance a most enthusiastic Charleston at Roger Sterling's wedding, and in the end Pete, after his last indiscretion, decides he never wants to be away from Trudy again. After that, he's seen consulting her about serious stuff fairly often (like the decision to hop over to the new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce).
 * As for the rest of the marriages on the show: Roger and Mona Sterling? Divorced. Roger and Jane Sterling? Shot to Hell. Joan and Greg Harris? Complicated at best. Sal and Kitty Romano? A lie.
 * And now we hear that Ken Cosgrove is about to get married, just as he's joining SCDP (and thus rejoining the show). Let's watch as the writers make his life totally miserable!
 * Though it appears, when the higher-ups at SCDP try to get him to use his wife to land an account and he shoots it down, that their relationship may actually be based on (gasp!) love and respect!
 * Hal and Lois on Malcolm in the Middle. The show is unusually frank about the importance of their sex life to their conjugal stability: they have sex twice a day, on average, and when some unusual circumstance makes that average slip, they go a little crazy. At one point, Hal revealed that not only is he never unfaithful, he never even thinks about other women.
 * Their oldest son, Fancis ends up this way, and seems to have inherited his father's sense of devotion to his wife.
 * Mark and Kim Keeler on Make It or Break It
 * Married Single Other didn't actually have a Happily Married couple - The original married couple Dickie & Babs had split up & moved on by the end of the series; whilst Eddie & Lillie are happily in a long term relationship, but aren't married.
 * B.J. and Peg Hunnicutt in Mash. Having to be away from her led to a downward spiral of depression and a campaign of increasingly nasty practical jokes on B.J.'s part. Also from M* A* S* H Sherman and Mildred Potter, which led to him becoming the father figure. And he's a career soldier who's fought in both World Wars and now Korea. These were a complete reversal from the characters they replaced, "Trapper" John and Henry Blake, who despite being married slept with (or tried to sleep with) every nurse in the camp.
 * Allison Dubois and her husband Joe have a pretty stable marriage and three daughters in Medium. This despite the fact that whenever she has a prophetic dream, she ends up waking him up in the middle of the night.
 * Owen and his wife of Men of a Certain Age
 * Mike and Frances "Frankie" Heck of The Middle
 * DCI Tom Barnaby and his wife Joyce from Midsomer Murders have a pretty stable and happy marriage (unusual for a TV detective). She often gets annoyed when he runs off to follow up clues at a moment's notice, but it never seriously threatens their relationship.
 * Jay and Gloria, Claire and Phil, and Cameron and Mitchell on Modern Family.
 * Mork and Mindy
 * Herman and Lily on The Munsters.
 * Joy and Darnell on My Name Is Earl.
 * George and Janet Sunday from My Hero (TV)
 * Michael and Janet "Jay" Kyle of My Wife and Kids
 * Fran and Maxwell on the last season of The Nanny
 * Vance and Jackie of NCIS, which makes him an oddity in the rest of the main cast.
 * Jim and Stephanie Powell of No Ordinary Family have their spats, but there's no denying their devotion to each other.
 * Sandy and Kirsten Cohen, and later  on The OC
 * Jim and Pam Halpert seem to be this on The Office (US version).
 * Also Phyllis and Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration..
 * Snow White and Prince Charming & Cinderella and her prince Thomas in the backstory of Once Upon a Time
 * Nathan and Haley James Scott from One Tree Hill. Yeah, they've had their ups and downs, but given they got married in the first season of a long-running soap-opera, while they were in high school, their long-term marital stability really deserves it's kudos.
 * The TV series adaptation of Parenthood has Zeek and Camille, Adam and Kristina, and (despite some occasional strains) Julia and Joel.
 * April and Andy on Parks and Recreation.
 * For all the ribbing he gets from his co-workers, Jerry has been happily married for quite some time- 28 years to his beloved Gayle.
 * Henry and Margaret Crabbe from Pie in the Sky.
 * Ned and Chuck, the Official Couple on Pushing Daisies. They verged on Sickeningly Sweethearts during Season 1; Season 2 has them transition from falling in love to being in love, as they learn to negotiate the rocky parts of couplehood.
 * Y'know, little things, like.
 * According to Word of God
 * It should be noted that they're not actually married - they couldn't be, as she's dead on paper.
 * Queer as Folk's Michael and Ben are this.
 * Bert and Virginia on Raising Hope have been together for 23yrs after getting married as teenagers because of Virginia's pregnancy.
 * Rita Rocks is based on this trope. Rita is harried, but she and her husband have a very happy marriage.
 * Roger and Val Have Just Got In - Despite their unglamourous rows Val and Roger do seem to be very happy together.
 * Patrick and Audie Gallagher of Ruby and The Rockits. In fact, it's revealed that they're passionately married, and frequently arrange to meet at home on their lunch breaks to spend quality time together.
 * Turk and Carla on Scrubs. Despite a few setbacks along the way, these two have been together since the pilot and proceeded to get married and start a family, and seem to be quite happy together.
 * Also inverted in the case of Dr. Cox and Jordan, who are happy together so long as they aren't married. It was only well after they thought they were divorced that they started a family and when they found out their original divorce was false, their relationship quickly broke down again until Parry decided to ask Jordan to divorce which quickly restored it.
 * Sanjay and Margaret (a.k.a. Ricky's foster parents) on The Secret Life of the American Teenager arguably have the most solid relationship on the show.
 * Jack's mom and stepdad, Madison's dad and stepmom,Grant's parents, and Dylan's parents seem to be this.
 * Reverend Eric and Annie Camden of 7th Heaven. Kevin and Lucy are also presented as this, but some would debate that
 * Matt and Sarah go through a few rough patches, but remain together and in love. Mary and Carlos as well, although they did break up at one point.
 * Charlotte and Harry from Sex and the City. For the most part, Steve and Miranda and Carrie and  qualify as well.
 * Frank and Cyril on Slings and Arrows, despite (probably) not actually being married.
 * Ted and Joan Lawson from Small Wonder.
 * The Kents on Smallville, naturally  and.
 * Batiatus and Lucretia, bizarrely enough, in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, considering that she repeatedly cheats on him with Crixus. Nonetheless, they seem to be deeply in love and totally devoted to one another in every other respect.
 * Stargate Atlantis: Say what you like about Teyla and Kanaan's somewhat Ass Pull of a relationship, they are clearly very happy together, though not actually married, despite the fact that Teyla runs off risking her life every day and a psychopath wants to kill their baby. Those things would usually tend to strain a relationship.
 * Star Trek has a couple of these: Voyager had Tom Paris and B'Elanna Torres (she gave birth to their daughter in the series finale), and both Tuvok and Samantha Wildman had happy long-distance marriages. Deep Space 9 had Miles and Keiko O'Brien (also on TNG) and Ben Sisko and Kasidy Yates as well.
 * By Klingon standards, Martok and his wife Sirella are also happily married. Martok's speach about this is probably the ONLY Klingon Moment of Heartwarming.

"Dean: Their marriage wasn't perfect until after mum was dead."
 * Well the mythical Klingon couple, Kahless and Lukara,that conquered heaven with their love in the wedding ceremony might be a CMOH as well as a CMOA.
 * Worf and Jadzia.
 * Spock's parents Sarek and Amanda
 * Frank and Carol of Step by Step
 * Bill and Judy Miller from Still Standing. They're notoriously bad parents, but they love each other and they genuinely love their kids and try to do right by them.
 * John and Mary Winchester from Supernatural until everything turned for the worse.
 * Subverted in parts. It turns out that although they did love each other, their relationship was pretty rocky (with John actually leaving Mary at one point when Dean was a child), but that after she died John pretty much retconned their marriage in the minds of everyone except Dean, who remembers it.


 * John and Kathryn Kennish in Switched at Birth
 * Jim and Elisabeth Shannon of Terra Nova
 * Red and Kitty Forman of That '70s Show.
 * Thirty Rock: Tracy and Angie Jordan, although Tracy has to maintain an Urban Legend Love Life in order to keep his Celebrity Endorsements. It's kind of weird, but, to give an idea, he says that Angela threatens to divorce him if he doesn't have an affair: the image of promiscuity and general "coolness" is what keeps the family afloat, moneywise. As it turns out, he can't bring himself to have an affair; he's just too devoted.
 * Steven and Samantha Bloom in Undercovers. Some critics refer to them as an updated Jonathan and Jennifer Hart.
 * Bob and Kimerly Brown on The Unit are an excellent example.
 * Chris and Reagan Brinkley in Up All Night.
 * Cordell Walker and Alex Cahill-Walker in the final season of Walker, Texas Ranger.
 * The Waltons is in love with this: Grandma Esther and Grandpa Zeb, John Sr. and Olivia, most of the kids eventually, Rev. Fordwick and Rosemary, Ike and Corabeth, Sheriff Bridges and Sara.
 * Dave And Vicky Gold in The War at Home.
 * Jed and Abbey Bartlet on The West Wing. Of course, there was the time where he promised her he'd just be President for one term, and then decided to go for a second one without telling her first...and the time one of her old lies about his MS almost sunk the Congressional investigation into his nondisclosure...and the time she blamed his military decisions for getting their daughter kidnapped by terrorists...but all in all, they were very happy given the kind of hell being President and First Lady puts on a marriage.
 * Peter and Elizabeth Burke, on White Collar.
 * Greg and Kim Warner & Jimmy and Christine Hughes on Yes, Dear
 * Harrison and Cindy Fox on Crazy Like a Fox.

Mythology

 * Baucis and Philemon in Greek Mythology. Having entertained Zeus and Hermes unaware, they received a wish. They wished that they would die at the same moment so that neither of them would have to live widowed.
 * And they didn't even die, exactly. At the end of their long lives, as they stood looking at one another, they were transformed into a pair of trees with the limbs intertwined so that they could never be separated. Aaaaaaw!
 * Odysseus and Penelope may be an even better example. If you read The Odyssey, you'll know what we're talking about. Well, okay, there was the stuff with Circe and Calypso but neither of those was what you could call "voluntary" and he did go to the ends of Earth (and Hell, and back) to get back to Penelope. That counts for something.
 * And for her part, Penelope did all she could to hold off the obnoxious suitors and stay faithful to her husband.
 * Surprisingly, considering how the vast majority of the Greek pantheon was constitutionally incapable of anything resembling fidelity, Eros and his wife Psyche qualify.
 * Another example is Perseus and Andromeda. Just the fact that neither cheated on the other is a very good sign.
 * Rama and Sita in the Ramayanna.
 * Right up until he makes her walk through fire to prove that she's innocent of adultery after being kidnapped, casts her out into the forest when she's pregnant with twins, and then drives her to suicide... Yeah, this was my favourite bedtime story till I grew up and read the ending
 * In the version I grew up with, she voluntarily walked through the flame after her rescue. She left Rama when he asked her to do it again later on to prove her virtue to his followers years later, and didn't know that she was pregnant until he went to find her years later and had to fight two badass little kids.
 * The argument could be made that Rama and Sita are an aversion of this trope, actually.
 * Orpheus and Eurydice... until she was dragged to Hades.
 * Thor and Sif. Odin and Frigga. Freyr and Gerðr, though getting her to fall for him does lead to his death. Balder and Nanna. The Norse really liked their gods to be happily married before they were killed by giants.
 * Osirus and Isis were surprisingly non-dysfunctional considering they were siblings. When the former was killed, the latter devoted much of her life to bringing him back.
 * Pygmalion and Galatea
 * Another Greek example: Hades and Persephone. Hades cheated on her once in the three thousand years they've been together (and that's only if you read one, lesser known myth), and the fact that he wanted to marry her (as in, keep her around) rather than have a one-night stand speaks volumes in Greek mythology.
 * Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus
 * Robin Hood and Maid Marian didn't get married in many of the original ballads (usually because she didn't exist yet), but many recent adaptations happily pair them off.
 * Hilariously, Typhon and Echidna of Greek myth. Two of the worst monsters to ever come out of Tartarus (who by the by is their father), the two of them are entirely faithful to one another and support each other in all of their endeavours. Typhon eventually becomes Sealed Evil in a Can, but Echidna never moves on, and all of her young (and there are a lot of them) are also Typhon's. By Greek standards that is wierdly functional.
 * Hector and Andromache in The Iliad in sharp contrast to pretty much everyone else. Priam's a philandering bastard, Helen and Menelaus/Helen and Paris are horribly dysfunctional, and we won't even get started on Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. But Hector and Andromache honestly seem to have been a good match.

Newspaper Comics

 * Calvin's parents from Calvin and Hobbes.
 * Many newspaper-strip comics are more about the travails married people find than about their personal relationship. Dagwood & Blondie, Hi & Lois, Hagar and Helga, Baby Blues, For Better or For Worse.
 * The best of these is arguably Zits, in which the loving, stable marriage between Connie and Walt Duncan infuriates their son Jeremy, by adding to their general dorkiness: their happy stability makes him too well-adjusted to have a tragic backstory. One strip shows the parents talking and laughing over doing the dishes, prompting Jeremy to sigh, "the award for 'person whose life least resembles MTV' goes to..." (or something like that.)
 * The parents in Family Circus.
 * Roger and Andrea from FoxTrot
 * Bob Weber's Moose and Molly are heavy-set, low-rung blue-collar types, totally blissed out on each other.
 * One Big Happy has two generations of married couples and a couple of children living in the same house.
 * Cathy and Irving, when they finally tie the knot.

Theatre

 * The Baker and his Wife from Into the Woods.
 * What?
 * Deconstructed by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth in Company.
 * Paul and Corrie Bratter from Barefoot in the Park.
 * Tevye and Golde from Fiddler on the Roof as revealed in a lovely Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other duet.
 * Their daughters end up happily married to the men of their choices. All three unions face varying external conflicts that try to tear them apart, but the love between the couples never wavers.
 * Wilbur and Edna Turnblad from Hairspray
 * John and Abigail Adams and Thomas and Martha Jefferson from 1776
 * They're utterly batty, but Mayor Shinn and Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn qualify.
 * Captain Von Trapp and Maria from The Sound of Music
 * Whitney and Jessica Olive from Done to Death. Fitting as they are a parody of Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man.
 * The Nurses in The Crucible. The Coreys seem to be as well, despite Giles' innocent accidental accusation of witchcraft on his wife.
 * A few of the vignettes in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change have these kind of couples, namely "Whatever Happened To Baby's Parents", "Sex and The Married Couple" and the untitled one featuring the song "Shouldn't I Be Less In Love With You?" It's indicated that the couple in "Wedding Vows" will be this since, despite some initial last minute panicking, they go through with the wedding because they sincerely love each other.
 * George's parents, Emily's parents, and Emily and George from Our Town
 * The Mayor and his wife from Seussical
 * Barnum and Charity from Barnum

Video Games

 * The Fire Emblem series has Ethlin and Cuan, Glade and Selfina, Yuno and Zealot, Dorcas and Nathalie (bonus for being childhood sweethearts) and Lord Pent and Louise.
 * It also contains Canas, who joins the party happily married in Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword, although his wife does not appear. In Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals (which is a chronological sequel to Blazing Sword) it was established that Canas's son Hugh was raised by Canas's mother Niime, resulting in Canas's death being written into the ending of Blazing Sword. This resulted in the fan meme that Canas was "killed by continuity errors".
 * More tragic example from Sacred Stones
 * In the Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn continuity, we have Calil and Largo.
 * Twinsen and Zoe, expecting their first child in Little Big Adventure 2.
 * The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has Rusl and Uli, Colin's parents, in Ordon Village.
 * Not to Mention Yeto & Yeta.
 * Kingdom Hearts has (in theory at least) Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Since they rule together as King and Queen, it's not unreasonable to presume they're married, although it's never explicitly stated that they are.
 * Prior to this they were married with children in Mickey's Christmas Carol, where they played the Cratchits; they also appeared to be married in a dream sequence in Mickey's Nightmare. A particular quote of Walt Disney's from 1933 tends to float around, stating that "In private life Mickey is married to Minnie..." Fans tend to either shrug this off or take it as canon; either way, the main consensus seems to be to keep them eternally courting as to not "spoil the illusion of youth."
 * However, Mickey and Minnie's voice actors, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor, were, in fact, married; Allwine has since passed away.
 * Aribeth and Fenthick were on their way there before Fenthick's trusting nature got him executed at the end of the first chapter of the first campaign.
 * Ron and Desiree DeLite from Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, despite the fact that they are a cripplingly insecure Gentleman Thief and a spend-happy Biker Babe respectively.
 * Two of your units, Karl and Lynn, in Valkyria Chronicles are Happily Married and a full-blown Battle Couple to boot. At the end of the game, after the war, and  also marry.
 * Toshiie and Matsu in Sengoku Basara, who may also qualify for Sickeningly Sweethearts.
 * Atrus and Katran of Myst, in contrast with their epically screwed up family in general. And if those two had paid more attention to what their kids got up to, the Stranger could have avoided twenty years of troubleshooting.
 * Saavedro and Tamra count as well (that is, before Sirrus and Achenar arrive on Narayan...) Sadly, it's never clarified if she survived/stayed single in those twenty years when Saavedro was trapped.
 * Maxim and Selan embody this in Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, doubling as a Battle Couple, even up to the point where.
 * Sue's parents in Mitsumete Knight. Influenced by this, she seeks her ideal husband and wishes for this kind of relationship with him.
 * The Final Fantasy series has several examples:
 * Cid from Final Fantasy III is happily married.
 * Cecil and Rosa of Final Fantasy IV, at least after the credits and in the sequel. The only primary couple in the main Final Fantasy series to date that has managed this, astonishingly. While some other pairs are implied to become this later, Zidane and Garnet of Final Fantasy IX most prominently, only Cecil and Rosa have officially tied the knot, which is what this trope is about. Yang and his wife also qualify.
 * Final Fantasy VI has a tragic example. Cyan and his wife Elaine were appearently this.
 * Final Fantasy VIII has two examples, Cid and Edea and Laguna and Raine.
 * Final Fantasy XII had Ashe and Rassler and their Perfectly Arranged Marriage, but Rassler died in the opening credits.
 * John and Abigail Marston of Red Dead Redemption. Even though Abigail is held hostage for most of the game, John turns down the advances of many women, and does everything within his power to get his family back.
 * Don't forget Flint and Hinawa from Mother 3!
 * Part of the Harvest Moon experience is the player character becoming Happily Married to the bachelor/ette of their choice. Supposed to be a small part of the game, but Popularity Power means that it's grown in importance as the series continues. That aside, within the games themselves are several (dozen) NPC couples, the majority if not the entirety being Happily Married.
 * Subverted in Harvest Moon DS (Cute) where, when you talk to the rival couples after marriage, all but one couple seem to voice doubts about the marriage to the player.
 * Umineko is impressive by managing to have two very unexpected Happily Married couples; Eva and Hideyoshi, in a family full of internal squabbling and backbiting, manage to be good, loving spouses.  And secondly,
 * King's Quest: Graham and Valanice seem to be doing pretty well for themselves, Alexander and Cassima also seem to be doing okay, Cassima's parents seem happy, and it's pretty much assumed that Edgar and Rosella will go here...eventually. In the Fan Remake of King's Quest II.
 * Let's not forget Citan and Yui of Xenogears, who were a Battle Couple in their younger years.
 * Guilty Party has Butch and Charlotte. They may differ in age, height, and even ethnicity, but they're a Battle Couple and Butch is a hopeless romantic anyway. Interestingly, the game's other couple, Dorian and Olivia, is a toss-up between this and No Accounting for Taste—they clearly love each other despite the fact that they argue all the time, but, well,
 * Khalid and Jaheira of Baldur's Gate. Sure, Jaheira is bossy around him but their marriage is a happy one. She also cries when  The player character can also be married with either
 * The player character and potentially three of the four potential love interests from Dragon Age, although you have to put some effort into it.
 * The world of Dragon Age seems significantly more accepting of extramarital affairs than a normal medieval setting, so the only romantic pairing in either game in which the player ends up getting married is with a female Human Noble Warden and Alistair in the first game. Aveline and Donnick end up Happily Married in Dragon Age 2 if Hawke helps out.
 * Other examples include Bryce and Eleanor Cousland, who, Fergus and Oriana Cousland  , Delilah Howe and her husband Albert, as revealed during Nathaniel's personal quest, Danyla and Athras  , Cyrion and Adaia Tabris, Aveline and Wesley Vallen  , and Leandra and Malcolm Hawke.
 * We have Meryl and Johnny getting a happy wedding at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
 * Guybrush Threepwood and Elaine Marley as of the end of Curse.
 * Golden Sun is pretty good at stable families, even when wrecked by disasters. However, the grand prize of this trope goes to Briggs and Chaucha in The Lost Age, whose subplot pretty much consists of each one digging themself a deeper hole and getting bailed out by the other, with help from baby and grandma. The Badass Family that delves into crime together...
 * Even  in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn can't ruin this trope--
 * Catherine:
 * The King and Queen of All Cosmos from Katamari, as shown in We Love Katamari and Katamari Forever.

Web Comics

 * Fred and Faye MacIntire, Davan's parents from Something*Positive.
 * Also Aubrey and Jason; they are also based on real people, though those people are not a couple in real life.
 * Donovan and Miranda Deegan in Dominic Deegan who still get busy every once in a while.
 * In Umlaut House 2, the three couples that got a Happily Ever After ending in the first series are now Happily Married with children.
 * Dora and Sven's parents in Questionable Content.
 * Martin's father and his new husband too, apparently.
 * The Boy's parents The Mother and The Father in Scary Go Round, and those of his French exchange paramour Elodie.
 * in Bad Machinery.
 * The Donlans, as seen in this Gunnerkrigg Court comic.
 * Kevin and Kell Dewclaw have been happily married since before the strip began in 1995.
 * The Dunkels from El Goonish Shive have a peaceful, happy home life.
 * Ma and Pa Todd from Nip and Tuck... much to their son's chagrin.
 * Fox and Collin of Friendly Hostility. While they're not officially married (being two male college students) and have the occasional rough patch, they confide in and trust one another to a degree rarely seen in main couples in fiction, effectively and quickly resolving situations ripe for Not What It Looks Like misunderstandings.
 * Fox's parents (and Rafi) have been happy together for decades. Fatima also seems to have found someone who suits her.
 * Tom and Karla of Home On The Strange.
 * Dwayne and Nicole Duncan in General Protection Fault. So far,.
 * Greg and Liz Dean, getting into no bigger scraps than little smatterings of Fridge Logic, in-comic. Probably like this in their actual real life, too.
 * Finn and Charlie, from Finn and Charlie are Hitched, have been happily married for years, and are in fact based on the creator and his husband.
 * Mr. Mighty and Jane from Everyday Heroes. Also the neighbors Ed and Joan Generic.
 * In Tales of the Questor, Quentyn's parents' marriage is rock solid as demonstrated by how his father cheers his wife up.
 * In Fans, Rikk's parents are happily married. Later Rikk's marriage to Alysin proved to be rather tumultuous (Aly's tendency toward self-loathing led to her wanting to break it off with Rikk at one point). Currently Rikk and Aly (and Rumy) are a happily married couple triple.
 * Also, Tim and Julia are decidedly so. Will and Shanna had some bumps in the road, but they seem to be working it out.
 * A Magical Roommate is simply abundant with these, including those who got married before and during the plot. The only glaring exception is Lettie and Joralan... but really, where would the story be without their insane antics?
 * Erika and Matt of DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary, both in the webcomic and in real life. Erika herself says that her years with Matt have been the happiest time of her life. Made even more noteworthy by her originally being a 100% lesbian with a very dim opinion of "hetero-normativity" until she met Matt.
 * Julie and Lenny in Our Little Adventure and in a bit of a twist, the two main villains are married as well.
 * [PS238: Malphast's] Parents are quite happy together, although, given they're personifications of Chaos and Order, it's not entirely clear if they're actually married. But if they were humans, they'd probably be a model family.
 * Hala and Luk River from Irregular Elis are a good example. They formed a very good and happy Badass Family.
 * Gen and Uriel of Little Tales, though Gen sometimes tests his sanity.
 * In Thistil Mistil Kistil, Loki and Sigyn
 * Master Payne and the countess, and Balthazar's parents from Girl Genius. Old Man Death and the wild princess also seem to be this, going by his account.
 * In Blue Yonder Jared's abducted parents, apparently.
 * In No Rest for The Wicked, King Gareth and Claire. He even stopped the war because news about her made him lose the will to fight.
 * In No Rest for The Wicked, King Gareth and Claire. He even stopped the war because news about her made him lose the will to fight.

Web Original

 * Broken Saints: Both Shandala's adoptive parents—Mama and Papa Tui—and her biological parents -  - have marriages like this, until
 * DC Nation tends to run with this, despite being based on The DCU, with the Garricks and the Dibnys being the examples other heroes aspire to.
 * In a world where the Critic was never born, apparently The Nostalgia Chick would have been a sweet, well-adjusted, hugely successful director with a baby and a husband. (Even then, her bent towards Black Comedy couldn't help subverting this: in the outtakes her stay-at-home husband breaks down in tears after the Chick and Nella leave, then the baby starts crying and he yells at her to stop. This was presumably cut to show everyone being happier without the Critic.)
 * Persephone and Hades in Thalia's Musings. Persephone faked her own abduction to elope with Hades against Demeter's orders.
 * Vlogger and musician Robert (aka rpeek) and his wife Trish are an adorable, goofy, happily married couple of cut-ups.
 * Several parents of Team Kimba in the Whateley Universe. Chaka's parents are still happy together even with five kids, the oldest of which is about college age. Tennyo's parents have been together ever since they met while both working  Phase's parents are in their fifties with about six kids and still together, even though Phase's father runs Goodkind International and is the richest man on the planet.

Western Animation

 * Avatar Roku in Avatar: The Last Airbender got his perfect happy family.
 * And eventually, so did Aang and Katara.
 * Tenzin and Pema in The Legend of Korra.
 * Barney and Betty of The Flintstones. Oddly, Fred and Wilma fall under No Accounting for Taste.
 * Oddly enough, this seems to be the case across the board with all the parents of Kids Next Door, even the villainous ones. The only exceptions are Numbuh Two's, whose dad is missing and presumably deceased; and Grandfather. In fact, while the heroes fight against evil adults and are suspicious of adults in general, their parents are an exception.
 * Numbuh One's parents were practically made for each other.
 * In the Grand Finale, it's stated that and  got married; and it's made clear both couples are practically meant to be with one another.
 * Hermes and LaBarbara from Futurama, usually.
 * Fry's big brother apparently led a Happily Married life also, and.
 * Fry's, Leela's and Amy's parents, as well.
 * George and Jane in The Jetsons.
 * Homer and Marge Simpson. Yeah, they have arguments and the like, but they genuinely love each other and they always bounce back. And when their current troubles do genuinely threaten their marriage, it's always treated as a Big F'n Deal, not just life as usual.
 * Indeed, it's quite possible that Homer Simpson is the most faithful husband on network television, despite his flaws. Especially odd considering beautiful single women keep throwing themselves at him, and he keeps turning them down flat. Not to mention at least one gay guy!
 * Shown quite well in The Simpsons Movie.
 * Ned and Maude before the latter died.
 * Hank and Peggy Hill in King of the Hill are also an example of this, with Hank probably the second most faithful guy on network television, experiencing several moments where beautiful women threw themselves at him and him turning them down.
 * Dale Gribble could probably be named the MOST faithful guy on network television, if his actions mean anything. He worships the ground his wife walks on, pampers her, never says an unkind word to her, trusts her completely, the works. Even when his hero - a genius of an exterminator - throws herself at him, he pushes her away with a rant about his marriage vows that implies that he thinks his utter devotion to fidelity should be obvious to anyone, as well as mentioning that his wife "the greatest woman there ever was." All this is fairly undeserved: Nancy cheated on him for fourteen years and passed off her lover's son as Dale's. Considering that her lover, John Redcorn is Native American and the boy is the spitting image of him, that's a testament to Dale's faith or stupidity. However, after she stopped cheating, they became at least as happy as Hank and Peggy, and much more affectionate. Of course, this is mainly because Dale never found out about his wife's affair - he trusts and loves her so much the thought of her cheating on him doesn't even cross his mind. Oh yeah ... that's one guy whose never gonna mess around. Ever.
 * To answer your question, it's a testament to his stupidity. When he came along on a vision quest John Redcorn had arranged for Joseph, he had a vision of a man wearing a large Native American headdress having sex with Nancy, and then one of Joseph being born wearing that same headdress. He interpreted this to mean that he was actually Native American. Also he thinks John Redcorn is gay.
 * Not to explain the joke, but the reason why Dale being so utterly trusting of Nancy is funny is that he's also the most intensively paranoid person imaginable about every other person on the planet, even his best friends and son.
 * Mr. Dr. (rocket scientist) and Mrs. Dr. (neurosurgeon) Possible on Kim Possible. Even better is that it's clearly a marriage of equals.
 * Can't forget Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable.
 * Family Guy's Peter and Lois Griffin. Sometimes.
 * A more obvious example is Joe and Bonnie.
 * Cleveland and Donna on The Cleveland Show.
 * American Dad has . The events of the 2010 Christmas episode indicate it may actually last.
 * By the end of season 6,.
 * The fact that Jack and Maddie are happily married in Danny Phantom is actually a justification Danny uses on Vlad Masters, who desires the latter.
 * Heck, even the Maddie program Vlad made admits that she's always loved the Jack program.
 * Despite being utterly batty, Mr. and Mrs. Turner from The Fairly OddParents are a tight-knit, mutually supportive couple. Most of the time, that is. Cosmo and Wanda qualify as well.
 * Half the time their entire motivation is making Timmy happy and the other half is ignoring him, almost deliberately. They practically share a Hive Mind.
 * Don't forget Jorgen Von Strangle and the Tooth Fairy.
 * Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper from Blue's Clues, despite being salt and pepper shakers
 * Doc and Drew in The Secret Saturdays.
 * Strongly hinted that the only reason Looney Tunes' Pepe Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat (yes she has a name) aren't this is because Pepe just smells bad.
 * Papa and Mama Mousekewitz from An American Tail
 * David Xanatos and his wife Fox on Gargoyles, despite both being (somewhat) evil.
 * Zachary and Eliza Foxx on Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. Granted, it's mostly in the Backstory, as she was captured in the pilot. Still, it's clear that Zachary is utterly devoted to her and their kids. Eliza was even Fighting From the Inside to warn, then later comfort, her grieving husband in "Psychocrypt."
 * Hugh and Lila Test from Johnny Test.
 * Dexter's parents from Dexter's Laboratory
 * Phil and Gertie Shortman from Hey Arnold! Their son, Miles - Arnold's father - is shown to be in the same kind of relationship with his wife, Stella, for the brief time they're shown.
 * All the parents on Rugrats(and subsequently All Grown Up!) are this. Chas and Kira (Chas' first marriage appears to have been this as well), Stu and Didi, Betty and Howard, and Charlotte and Drew.
 * Especially Chas and Kira. As seen in the episodes "Finsterella", "The Big Sneeze", "Bow Wow Wedding Vows", "Babies In Toyland", "Sweet Dreams", "Mutt's in a Name", and "Kimi Takes The Cake" just to name a few.
 * Linda and Lawrence on Phineas and Ferb are happily married and happily raising the children from their respective first marriages together.
 * The parents of Dave the Barbarian are shown to be in this type of relationship in their brief appearances between fighting evil
 * Mr. and Mrs Long on American Dragon: Jake Long
 * Jimmy Neutron's parents.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Oblong. She gave up her wealth and pampered life to be with her beloved. They also go at it like animals -every- night.
 * Enzo Matrix and AndrAIa of ReBoot start out as Just Friends (with a little flirting and some arguable crushing on the part of AndrAIa), but after a Plot-Relevant Age-Up, they're firmly in the Happily Married department.
 * The Wild Thornberrys has Nigel and Marianne — the family that films nature documentaries together stays together!
 * The parents of PB and J Otter.
 * George of the Jungle and Ursula.
 * The Weekenders: Tish's parents.
 * Gumby's parents.
 * Another Battle Couple: Jack and Helen Bennett (aka Bionic-1 and Mother-1) from Bionic Six.
 * My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake, who run the Sugarcube Corner bakery.
 * Also, after going through hell to actually get married, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.
 * In a rare overlap with Unholy Matrimony, we have the Monarch and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch from The Venture Brothers.
 * In a rare overlap with Unholy Matrimony, we have the Monarch and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch from The Venture Brothers.

Real Life

 * The problem with living examples in Real Life is that it's typically too soon to say whether they're an example. But George Burns and Gracie Allen were confirmed this by the time they became famous, and were happily together many more years than anyone in show business. Compare Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, famously Happily Married for 20 years, until they divorced.
 * Hideaki Anno of Studio Gainax, and Miyoko Anno, author of the Sugar Sugar Rune manga, natch. Fans of anime all know that Anno continuously struggled with depression, and the infamous Neon Genesis Evangelion shows his true colors in animated form. After he married Miyoko, however, he got better big time, and the fact that he rebuilt Evangelion into a still edgy work with a light at the end of the tunnel this time speaks volumes.
 * A famous person example: as shown in this picture, Rick Moranis and his then-alive wife Ann seem to be very happy together!, as they go for a walk in New York City with their then 3-year-old daughter.
 * James Rolfe has been happily married to his wife since November 2007. She sometimes posts blogs on Cinemassacre under the name "Mrs. Nerd".
 * Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi. They married in 1974 and remained together until his death in 2009.
 * Mick Foley and his wife Colette.
 * Betty White and Allen Ludden.
 * Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards.
 * Angela Lansbury and Peter Shaw.
 * Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber, as told by the former to David Letterman in 2011.
 * David Beckham and Victoria Adams.
 * Definitely Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. Married on August 5, 1964, Brooks said that "From that day, until her death on June 5, 2005, we were glued together."
 * Mark Hamill and his wife, a nurse he met after a motorcycle accident inbetween A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back
 * Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were famously happily married.
 * Eiichiro Oda (the creator of One Piece) and his wife, Chiaki Inaba.
 * The longest-married living couple in the world was Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher from New Bern, North Carolina. They married in 1925 and were together 86 years until Herbert's death in 2011 at the age of 105. They even had a Twitter page (!) where they dispensed romance advice. Some of their tidbits include: A.) There's no "secret" to making a marriage last, only commitment; and B.) Being together isn't a contest and you shouldn't be keeping score of who does what, since you're on the same team.