Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Difference between revisions

Line 11:

A popular use of the trope is to have the hot wife be beautiful on the outside only, and on the inside she's a [[Manipulative Bitch|manipulative]], [[Gold Digger|materialistic]], spiteful bitch who doesn't deserve her [[Henpecked Husband]]'s kindness, especially if he is just a [[Meal Ticket]] for her. This could lead to [[An Aesop]] that looks aren't everything and that appearances are often deceptive ([[Unfortunate Implications|Although, this isn't so great on several levels when you think about it]]).

See also [[Beast and Beauty]], [[Give Geeks a Chance]], [[Nerd Nanny]], [[No Accounting for Taste]], [[Hot Consort]], [[Attractiveness Isolation]], and [[Kavorka Man]]; and don't forget that [[Most Writers Are Male]]. May overlap with [[~~May-December~~ Romance]], if the man is old on top of being ugly (or is ugly simply as a result of being old). This trope often gives birth to the [[Ugly Guys Hot Daughter|Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter]]. Contrast [[Model Couple]] and [[Hot Guy, Ugly Wife]].

See also [[Beast and Beauty]], [[Give Geeks a Chance]], [[Nerd Nanny]], [[No Accounting for Taste]], [[Hot Consort]], [[Attractiveness Isolation]], and [[Kavorka Man]]; and don't forget that [[Most Writers Are Male]]. May overlap with [[May–December Romance]], if the man is old on top of being ugly (or is ugly simply as a result of being old). This trope often gives birth to the [[Ugly Guys Hot Daughter|Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter]]. Contrast [[Model Couple]] and [[Hot Guy, Ugly Wife]].

'''[[No Real Life Examples, Please]].''' And note that it's '''Ugly''' Guy, not Average Guy <ref>As attractiveness is subjective, the general rule of thumb should go that the guy is either overweight, dorky looking, dorky acting or has personality issues (like rude table manners) that wouldn't compensate for a mediocre appearance</ref>.

'''[[No Real Life Examples, Please]].''' And note that it's '''Ugly''' Guy, not Average Guy.<ref>As attractiveness is subjective, the general rule of thumb should go that the guy is either overweight, dorky looking, dorky acting or has personality issues (like rude table manners) that wouldn't compensate for a mediocre appearance</ref>

Line 28:

* In the manga of ''[[Air Gear]]'', the incredibly ugly Onigiri proves a huge hit with the ladies in an air trek aerobics program, and has an incredibly attractive and borderline obsessive girlfriend. Then she dumped him... for the gigantically fat Buccha. And then she dumped ''him'' for a guy who was somehow even ''fatter''. Little parts of Onigiri and Buccha died after the experiences.

** This example illustrates yet another potential problem with this setup. If you're a big fat guy who manages to land a hot girl with a fat fetish, you're in serious trouble when somebody bigger comes along.

* ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' plays this trope on the personality ~~axis -- the~~ creepy <s>[[Lolicon]]</s> [[Ephebophile]] teacher Kimura-sensei is revealed, to his students' amazement, to be married... and his [[Memetic Mutation|waifu]] is lovely, to boot. As the students theorize that she must be a real harpy, Yukari-sensei instead ~~predicts -- correctly~~, as it later turns ~~out -- that~~ she must be a saint in order to put up with him. It also helps that she is a [[Cloudcuckoolander]].

* ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' plays this trope on the personality axis—the creepy <s>[[Lolicon]]</s> [[Ephebophile]] teacher Kimura-sensei is revealed, to his students' amazement, to be married... and his [[Memetic Mutation|waifu]] is lovely, to boot. As the students theorize that she must be a real harpy, Yukari-sensei instead predicts—correctly, as it later turns out—that she must be a saint in order to put up with him. It also helps that she is a [[Cloudcuckoolander]].

* While not married, worth noting is Danjuro Eiga & Miyako Miyazaki of ''[[Bamboo Blade]]''. Miyako is a bombshell, while Danjuro has a head shaped like an acorn. To top it off, "Miya-Miya" (as Danjuro calls her) is very loyal to her man, having joined the kendo club solely to be with him, and also deathly afraid of letting the darker side of her nature become known to him.

** It should also be noted that Kojiro stated that an ugly man should have a hot girl [http://www.mangareader.net/668-33072-17/bamboo-blade/chapter-4.html here]

* In ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'', Hatsujo, who is sort of unattractive, has a very beautiful girlfriend, just like every member of his team. Whenever the Cupids lose, we all know they're the ''real'' winners there.

* In ''Galaxy Express'' & other works by [[Leiji Matsumoto]], the impossibly beautiful [[Space Pirate]] Queen Emeraldas is hopelessly in love with the [[Gonk|impossibly ugly]] Tochiro.

* In ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', Bulma's mom and dad embody this ~~trope -- he~~'s old and wrinkled (looking like Albert Einstein), and she's ridiculously cute. Ditto for Krillin and Android ~~18 -- she~~'s an attractive blonde, and he's five-feet-tall and has no nose (at best he's [[Ugly Cute]]). Kami only knows what Mr. Satan's wife looked like to have a daughter like ~~Videl -- he~~'s muscular, but exceptionally hairy and weird-looking. Of course, Mr. Satan and Bulma's dad ''were'' both rich and famous. Krillin however, was apparently a very persistent [[Dogged Nice Guy]], although his sparing her life out of "she's cute" probably helped.

* In ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', Bulma's mom and dad embody this trope—he's old and wrinkled (looking like Albert Einstein), and she's ridiculously cute. Ditto for Krillin and Android 18—she's an attractive blonde, and he's five-feet-tall and has no nose (at best he's [[Ugly Cute]]). Kami only knows what Mr. Satan's wife looked like to have a daughter like Videl—he's muscular, but exceptionally hairy and weird-looking. Of course, Mr. Satan and Bulma's dad ''were'' both rich and famous. Krillin however, was apparently a very persistent [[Dogged Nice Guy]], although his sparing her life out of "she's cute" probably helped.

* Hilariously subverted in ''[[Hajime no Ippo]]'', where Ippo's sempai Masaru Aoki has a penchant for ''ugly'' women. At first it's just a consequence of {{spoiler|his beautiful ex-girlfriend Miyuki having cheated on him when in highschool}}, but once he ''does'' settle down with female [[Gonk]] Tomiko (Kumi Mashiba's workmate), he ''does'' get to like her for the [[Genki Girl]] she is.

** To mark on the point even more, when Aoki finally got to challenge the champion of his boxing class, it turned out that Katsukata Imae had ''exactly'' the same penchant for ugly girls. Just look at his girlfriend Sachiko.

** Played straight with the Itagaki family though, the mom's a smoking [[Hot Shonen Mom]], the dad is, well, probably the biggest [[Gonk]] in the series. And a real [[Gonk]], unlike Tomiko who is more realistically plain, papa Itagaki is honestly freakish. [[Justified Trope]] in that, aside of their looks, the Itagaki parents [[Birds of a Feather|share very similar personalities and horrible senses of humor.]]

* In ''Legendz'', this is not only explicitly spelled out, but the ugly guy in question is himself concerned about the obvious disparity. "What the Hell does she see in me?" In fact, Meiko's [[Yandere]]-style obsession with the extremely fat and [[Gonk~~|Gonky~~]] [[Jerkass]] Hosuke is all around extremely questionable; NOBODY has a clue what she likes about him.

* In ''Legendz'', this is not only explicitly spelled out, but the ugly guy in question is himself concerned about the obvious disparity. "What the Hell does she see in me?" In fact, Meiko's [[Yandere]]-style obsession with the extremely fat and [[Gonk]]y [[Jerkass]] Hosuke is all around extremely questionable; NOBODY has a clue what she likes about him.

* Even when young, Genya Nakajima, the father of Subaru and Ginga in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S]]'', is average-looking at best. Meanwhile, his wife [[Hot Shounen Mom|is a female in a]] [[Moe Moe]] anime series.

* Taken to a ludicrous extreme in ''[[Narutaru]]''. Not only is Sato's fiancé ugly & slow-witted, he is apparently afflicted with Downs Syndrome.

Line 78:

*** Also, Deadpool and Black Widow. [[Real Life|No, wait...]]

** Deadpool and Outlaw arguably count, although it's more [[Ship Tease]] that anything else.

** Also, Thanos and Death. Yes, Deadpool and Thanos are romantic rivals and they are [[Literal Metaphor|literally]] [[Death Seeker~~|Death Seekers~~]].

** Also, Thanos and Death. Yes, Deadpool and Thanos are romantic rivals and they are [[Literal Metaphor|literally]] [[Death Seeker]]s.

* Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, in the ''[[G.I. Joe|GI Joe]]'' comics. Though he possesses near-superhuman athletic potential and muscles like a fitness model, he's horribly scarred, at least on his face. (In one example, ''most of his face was cut off'', and he deliberately stopped the bleeding by ''igniting gunpowder on his face''.) Meanwhile, she's a [[Heroes Want Redheads|smokin' hot redhead]] who arguably puts up with way too much of his weird shit than can be justified by ninja sex.

* [[Mad Scientist]] Doctor Thaddeus Sivana, nemesis of [[Shazam|Captain Marvel]], could be charitably described as a hideous little troll of a man who makes Dennis Kucinich look like Fabio. His wife Venus Sivana, on the other hand, lives up to her name.

Line 87:

**** And his [[Healing Factor]] may increase the stamina.

** One of the worst cases of [[Depending on the Artist]]. Not many artists remember that Wolverine is about 5' 3" and is covered from neck to ankles in hair, leading to him being drawn more like [[Hugh Jackman]] with a full body wax.

* The ~~Kingpin -- fat~~-looking and monstrous in size, has his gorgeous wife Vanessa and is totally devoted to her.

* The Kingpin—fat-looking and monstrous in size, has his gorgeous wife Vanessa and is totally devoted to her.

* In [[Love and Rockets]], Fritzi's two-time husband and "one true love" is Scott the Hog. He's fat, snaggle-toothed, and apparently has a short penis that barely works. She's beautiful, has huge breasts, a slim waist and curvy hips.

* Obadiah Horn and Sahara from ''[[Elephantmen]]''. She's a tall, slim, curvy African goddess, and he's a rhino-human hybrid.

Line 101:

* The movie [[Johnson Family Vacation]]. Mr Johnson? Overweight and average looking Cedric The Entertainer. Mrs. Johnson? ''Miss America 1984'' Vanessa Williams.

* ''[[Before the Devil Knows You're Dead]]'' paired the overweight Philip Seymour Hoffman with the shapely Marisa Tomei. Ironically, it's ''she'' who is extremely insecure and in constant need of his assurance that he loves her.

* Roger Rabbit of ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'' isn't exactly ugly for a cartoon rabbit, but he is married to the insanely hot Jessica ~~Rabbit--who~~ isn't bad, she's just drawn that way. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] beautifully in the movie by a line from Jessica. Just look at one of the page quotes at the top of this article to find it.

* Roger Rabbit of ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'' isn't exactly ugly for a cartoon rabbit, but he is married to the insanely hot Jessica Rabbit—who isn't bad, she's just drawn that way. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] beautifully in the movie by a line from Jessica. Just look at one of the page quotes at the top of this article to find it.

** And when Eddie later jokes that Roger is presumably "a better lover than a driver", Jessica replies, in all sincerity, "You'd better believe it, buster."

** Inverted for the toon characters, who still see Jessica and Roger as an example of the trope...but to a one they all wonder how Jessica managed to land someone so out of her league.

Line 127:

* In ''[[Time Bandits]]'', the group encounters an old, broken down and hideous ogre whose wife is, inexplicably, Katherine Helmond. Helmond's character was originally supposed to be a female ogre until Helmond suggested that she be a normal woman, with no explanation.

* In ''[[Stand and Deliver]]'' the craggy-faced, potbellied and bald math teacher played by Edward James Olmos has a beautiful wife (as does Olmos in [[Real Life]]). This shows that his intelligence and self confidence have allowed him to get what he wants out of life, just as he wishes for his students.

* ''Couples Retreat'' featured an extreme version of the trope with an enormous, morbidly obese man and his hot twenty-year old floozy of a girl (he wasn't even ~~rich -- but~~ he acted like he had money, buying her a motorcycle). Lesser examples include the pudgy, slobby, older Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn being hooked up with the gorgeous Kristin Davis and Malin Akerman, respectively. Only one couple in the four featured in the movie could be described as a pair of attractive ~~people -- Kirsten~~ Bell and Jason Bateman. One critic even pointed out the implicit sexism going on ~~here -- women~~ providing [[Fan Service]] while dumpy men were shown for female viewers.

* ''Couples Retreat'' featured an extreme version of the trope with an enormous, morbidly obese man and his hot twenty-year old floozy of a girl (he wasn't even rich—but he acted like he had money, buying her a motorcycle). Lesser examples include the pudgy, slobby, older Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn being hooked up with the gorgeous Kristin Davis and Malin Akerman, respectively. Only one couple in the four featured in the movie could be described as a pair of attractive people—Kirsten Bell and Jason Bateman. One critic even pointed out the implicit sexism going on here—women providing [[Fan Service]] while dumpy men were shown for female viewers.

** Vaughn and Favreau actually were thin and decent-looking early on in their careers. Favreau has had weight issues for much of his life which would explain his looks but Vaughn's is a bit harder to figure out.

* In ''[[Buffalo '66]]'', Vincent Gallo's character kidnaps [[Christina Ricci]] and forces her to pretend to be his wife when he meets his parents after a few years in prison. Gallo's character is unkempt, poorly dressed, and has a rotten attitude. Ricci's character still manages to fall in love with him and vice versa.

Line 144:

** Xanth has a few examples, as some attractive women (and they're pretty much ''all'' attractive in those books) have married actual ''monsters''. Tandy and Smash the Ogre for instance. He's half human, but still looks mostly like an ogre (who are ugly enough to curdle milk by looking at it).

** From the same author, in [[Incarnations of Immortality]], Thanatos (aka Zane), the incarnation of death is described as a fairly ugly man, the woman he dates, Luna, is described as one of the most beautiful women of her generation (this is stated as fact and recognized by immortal powers such as Satan, not a subjective opinion). It helps when the Incarnations of Faith & Time team up to do some match making.

* ''[[Baccano!|Drugs and Dominoes]]'' reveals that Keith Gandor (who, while not exactly ugly, is a [[Face of a Thug|very sinister-looking]] [[The Mafia|mafioso]]) is married to a gorgeous and talented pianist named ~~Kate -- who~~ loves him despite his less-than-legal activities, no less.

* ''[[Baccano!|Drugs and Dominoes]]'' reveals that Keith Gandor (who, while not exactly ugly, is a [[Face of a Thug|very sinister-looking]] [[The Mafia|mafioso]]) is married to a gorgeous and talented pianist named Kate—who loves him despite his less-than-legal activities, no less.

* In [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]'s [[Vorkosigan Saga]], it must be noted that both Count Aral Vorkosigan (stocky, thick featured, scarred... the author once described him as Mussolini with hair) and his son Miles (under five feet, hunchbacked, and having a disproportionately large head) both managed to marry women who are quite attractive in addition to their other positive attributes.

** It should be pointed out: though each man is or will be a count, just heartbeats from the throne (or serving as Regent), they each marry their considerably-more-attractive wives for love. This is especially clear in Cordelia and Aral's case, since the reader learns his best and worst traits along with his future wife.

Line 157:

{{quote|'''Fleur:''' "I am good-looking enough for ''both'' of us, I theenk!"}}

* In the chapter of ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'' dealing with pure and [[Death by Sex|unpure]] sex, Edmund Spenser attacked this trope, mercilessly showing all the problems it would, in the medieval viewpoint, lead to (paranoid jealousy from the guy and cheating by the wife).

* Extreme example of Ugly Guy Hot Girlfriend in the [[Discworld]] Novel ''Thud!'' With exotic dancer Tawneee (yes, that's Tawneee with three E's,) and Nobby Nobbs, who requires signed papers from the Patrician to certify that he's ''human''<ref>In all probability, and that only after affidavits from his doctor and midwife.</ref>. It's later explained that [[Attractiveness Isolation|no man had ever asked her out before, all of them assuming she'd be out of their league, which led her to believe she was unattractive.]] Nobby on the other hand, is so used to rejection (as EVERYONE is out of his league) that he asks her out expecting rejection she's so desperate that she accepts. Despite this, she actually ''likes'' him. And he is later implied to have dumped ''her.''

* Extreme example of Ugly Guy Hot Girlfriend in the [[Discworld]] Novel ''Thud!'' With exotic dancer Tawneee (yes, that's Tawneee with three E's,) and Nobby Nobbs, who requires signed papers from the Patrician to certify that he's ''human''.<ref>In all probability, and that only after affidavits from his doctor and midwife.</ref> It's later explained that [[Attractiveness Isolation|no man had ever asked her out before, all of them assuming she'd be out of their league, which led her to believe she was unattractive.]] Nobby on the other hand, is so used to rejection (as EVERYONE is out of his league) that he asks her out expecting rejection she's so desperate that she accepts. Despite this, she actually ''likes'' him. And he is later implied to have dumped ''her.''

** Nobby Nobbs is a very simple man, who might have been putting on a brave face for his friend Colon, but Tawneee simply couldn't cook.

* In ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'', the protagonist blindly chases after a fallen shooting star for the girl he likes, who had become pregnant with an ugly old rich man's child not long before (with even her friends being aware of it).

Line 167:

* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: played straight with Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fox and Cosmo Cricket. Lizzie is stunningly beautiful. Cosmo...well, he has feet as big as canoes (maybe even shaped like them), he has a big nose on a flat face, he has ears as round as pancakes, and he is apparently so fat or bulky that he needs to have his clothes tailored for him.

* Though the goblins in the [[Hollow Kingdom Trilogy]] see their ugliness and deformity as a sign of strength, they always choose beautiful wives whether they are [[Inhumanly Beautiful Race|elves]] or humans.

* [[John Le Carre]]'s [[The Quest for Karla|George Smiley]] (described in his earliest appearances as a "frog" or a "toad") and his [[~~May-December~~ Romance|much younger wife]], Lady Ann. As things turn out, Ann spends most of the marriage [[Really Gets Around|sleeping with other men.]]

* [[John Le Carre]]'s [[The Quest for Karla|George Smiley]] (described in his earliest appearances as a "frog" or a "toad") and his [[May–December Romance|much younger wife]], Lady Ann. As things turn out, Ann spends most of the marriage [[Really Gets Around|sleeping with other men.]]

* [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' books presents petite, sweet faced, and generally harmless-looking Queen's Own Herald Talia; and the love of her life Herald Dirk who is big, strong, has a lovely voice and (at least in Talia's opinion) beautiful eyes... but beyond that is explicitly described as homely at best. A major complication during ''Arrow's Fall'' was his [[Poor Communication Kills|inability to realize]] that she would prefer him over his far more handsome highborn friend Herald Kris.

Line 176:

** Don't forget their best friends, Bernie and Linda, who were perhaps an even more extreme example of the trope. Bernie was played by homely overweight Tom McGowan while Linda was played by thin insanely gorgeous Maggie Wheeler.

* Implied in the ''[[Dollhouse]]'' episodes "Man in the Street" and "A Love Supreme" in the Internet tycoon Joel Mynor's relationship with his late wife, Rebecca, who Joel recalls "was beautiful and she knew it."

* ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'' features an endless parade of incredibly beautiful, intelligent women throwing themselves at Drew, who is perhaps the biggest "fat loser-dork" in TV history (despite the fact that the real Drew Carey used to be a ''Marine''. Eventually he marries, and has a child with, perhaps the most beautiful one of ~~all-- accomplishing~~ ''both at the same time'' no less).

* ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'' features an endless parade of incredibly beautiful, intelligent women throwing themselves at Drew, who is perhaps the biggest "fat loser-dork" in TV history (despite the fact that the real Drew Carey used to be a ''Marine''. Eventually he marries, and has a child with, perhaps the most beautiful one of all—accomplishing ''both at the same time'' no less).

** Curiously, there was an equal number of unattractive or plain-looking women (Wanda Sykes, and elderly Shirley Jones) that he hooked up with. One love interest and near-wife, who was hot when they met because she had recovered from a food addiction, winds up slipping off the wagon because she's dating a guy who eats a lot, she gets very fat, and they end up breaking up specifically because it shows her she can't date someone like him who shamelessly overeats.

*** Note that Drew loved her throughout, and up until the very moment she walked out of his life was sincerely pleading that he found her beautiful and didn't care how heavy she was. While Drew never claimed that he didn't like typically attractive women, the series repeatedly showed that he didn't really care about that once he fell in love with someone.

Line 195:

** Kevin James' character also snags the "hot girl" in the film [[Hitch]].

*** The entire plot of [[Hitch]] centers around a pick-up artist who coaches unattractive men on how to win the hearts of their dream women.

** One episode accentuates this into ~~absurdity--Kevin~~ James loses a noticeable but not extreme amount of weight, and one of Carrie's friends seriously suggests that he's now as physically attractive as she is, and Carrie doesn't seem too happy to hear this.

** One episode accentuates this into absurdity—Kevin James loses a noticeable but not extreme amount of weight, and one of Carrie's friends seriously suggests that he's now as physically attractive as she is, and Carrie doesn't seem too happy to hear this.

** One episode featured Leah's character bringing out an "old" picture with his face photoshopped onto a ripped body. So apparently he got fat after they got married.

** Another episode contradicts that in that if features the first time he came to her house for dinner and in it, he was still overweight.

Line 202:

** Another one: when Earl is working in a fast-food restaurant, his [[Jerkass]] boss keeps abusing him. Earl then visits his house and discovers he has a hot wife who even has a mug labeled "World's Best Lover". But as luck would have it, Earl discovers he has ''two'' hot wives. By punching the boss in the face, he puts him in hospital, where both hot wives go to join him at bedside, see each other and dump him in disgust. [[Hilarity Ensues]]!

* ''[[NYPD Blue]]'s'' Andy Sipowicz. ''Twice.'' Wife #2 - Sylvia Costas (Sharon Lawrence). Two decades his junior. Wife #3: Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) - so out of his league they might as well be different species. Andy Sipowicz has dozens of beautiful women throwing themselves at him, it seems.

** In between he briefly dated Gibson's niece, Cynthia. She is described as "plain" and seems fairly desperate. Her actress, Juliana Donald, was in her mid-thirties, so it's not impossible for her to have a little [[Christmas Cake]] ~~anxiety -- but~~ she was certainly not bad looking, so to act like an overweight bald guy fifteen years her senior was the only person willing to date her (and that mostly as a favor to Gibson) was a bit ridiculous. If anything she was out of ''his'' league.

** In between he briefly dated Gibson's niece, Cynthia. She is described as "plain" and seems fairly desperate. Her actress, Juliana Donald, was in her mid-thirties, so it's not impossible for her to have a little [[Christmas Cake]] anxiety—but she was certainly not bad looking, so to act like an overweight bald guy fifteen years her senior was the only person willing to date her (and that mostly as a favor to Gibson) was a bit ridiculous. If anything she was out of ''his'' league.

* ''[[Roseanne]]'''s aversion is worthy of mention here; Dan Conner (John Goodman) is average in appearance, as is Roseanne herself. The idea of a family of average, normal-looking people had a lot of appeal with the public... and yet is still too shocking for the networks to make another (at least until ''[[Mike and Molly]]''...).

** Of course, interestingly, there was a list show on E! which showed famous people ''before'' they got famous, and John Goodman did some commercials before he became famous, and ''before he became fat''. One of the female commentators said he looked kinda sexy back then.

Line 208:

*** Roseanne is a shock-comedienne who plays off of her wanting appearance, ala Phyllis Diller, in anti-heroinne fashion.

* ''[[Sex and the City]]'': Charlotte (played by the ''ridiculously'' beautiful Kristin Davis) finds the love of her life ([[Good People Have Good Sex|and the best sex of her life]]) the second she stops going for handsome boy's club types and lowers her standards for her divorce attorney, the chubby and bald Harry. Of course, this being [[Sex and the City]], he's still rich.

** Kristin Davis also played Jerry's girlfriend on ''Seinfeld'' ~~-- until~~, that is, George caused her toilet to turn into a geyser while she's using ~~it-- causing~~ the germophobic Jerry to say "have a nice life."

** Kristin Davis also played Jerry's girlfriend on ''Seinfeld''—until, that is, George caused her toilet to turn into a geyser while she's using it—causing the germophobic Jerry to say "have a nice life."

* ''[[Still Standing]]'', with Mark Addy and Jami Gertz. It's particularly egregious in the High School [[Class Reunion]] episode, when the wife is worried about not measuring up to the [[Alpha Bitch]]. She inexplicably abandons her usual tight shirts and jeans to wear unflattering, baggy clothing and a bad hairstyle. The [[Alpha Bitch]], played by the already-pretty Beth Littleford, wears the wife's usual clothes. The next episode has the wife right back to her usual clothes and hair.

** If I'm thinking of the right episode, most of that took place at a charity-event pancake breakfast, that took place the morning after their reunion party. The baggy clothes and hairstyle might have came from simply waking up and finding something comfortable.

Line 216:

** And in one episode it turns out that her attraction is entirely thanks to Don being a cop, which they both realize after several dates with him out of uniform severely lower Sally's interest.

* ''[[That '70s Show]]'' has Bob Pinciotti... who, not only started the series with a hot wife (played by Tanya Roberts), but also had a romance with Jackie's mother (played by Brooke Shields). At some point he even was seeing both of them at the same time.

* A [[Gender Flip]] in the British sitcom ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'', which sees plump Dawn French paired with tall, dark and brooding Richard ~~Armitage--granted~~, she's the protagonist, and it was only in the season finale, but still. In [[Real Life]], Dawn French was married to Lenny Henry. The show played a little with the issue. Her significant weight gain and eventual loss was even made part of the storyline. So this can depend on which episode you watch.

* A [[Gender Flip]] in the British sitcom ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'', which sees plump Dawn French paired with tall, dark and brooding Richard Armitage—granted, she's the protagonist, and it was only in the season finale, but still. In [[Real Life]], Dawn French was married to Lenny Henry. The show played a little with the issue. Her significant weight gain and eventual loss was even made part of the storyline. So this can depend on which episode you watch.

* ''[[Will and Grace]]'' poke fun at this, with Jack and Karen searching for a new sitcom after the finale of [[Sex and the City]]. Whilst they are channel hopping, they spin through several "Fat guy, skinny wife" shows before hitting upon a "Ugly guy, skinny wife" show.

{{quote|'''Karen:''' "Ugly guy, skinny wife? * shakes head* No, America is not ready for that just yet."}}

Line 230:

*** [http://www.seinology.com/lists/list-jerry.shtml This list] shows just how extreme an example this is. The list of ''notably'' gorgeous women who were his girlfriend at some point is truly remarkable. Jane Leeves, Courteney Cox, Teri Hatcher, Lori Loughlin, Christine Taylor, Kristin Davis, Debra Messing, Amanda Peete, Marcia Cross... it's good to be the Seinfeld.

** Kramer didn't do too badly either, although this was explained by his [[Kavorka Man]] appeal.

** Jerry's nemesis Newman (played by Wayne Knight of the [[3rd Rock from the Sun]] example cited above) was also occasionally seen dating very attractive women as well. In fact, in one episode, Jerry was stunned to discover that his girlfriend of the week used to date ~~him--and~~ that it was HE who dumped HER, because HE didn't feel that SHE was pretty enough to suit HIM. Utterly discombobulated by this, Jerry dumps her.

** Jerry's nemesis Newman (played by Wayne Knight of the [[3rd Rock from the Sun]] example cited above) was also occasionally seen dating very attractive women as well. In fact, in one episode, Jerry was stunned to discover that his girlfriend of the week used to date him—and that it was HE who dumped HER, because HE didn't feel that SHE was pretty enough to suit HIM. Utterly discombobulated by this, Jerry dumps her.

* ''[[Friends]]'': Although David Schwimmer is not ugly, throughout the series, we are given the [[Informed Attractiveness|impression that Rachel is WAY out of his league]] and it's a miracle he was ever able to end up with her. In fact, their relationship is often described as "every geek's dream that he can land a babe like her." Furthermore, Ross is consistently portrayed as the "Ugly Guy" is nearly ''all'' of his relationship when he's at-worst [[Hollywood Homely|odd-looking, not ugly]].

** Chandler receives the same treatment (despite being played by the handsome Matthew Perry) in his relationships and throughout the course of his relationship with ~~Monica--in~~ one of the early episodes Phoebe even mentions this trope in conversation with him:

** Chandler receives the same treatment (despite being played by the handsome Matthew Perry) in his relationships and throughout the course of his relationship with Monica—in one of the early episodes Phoebe even mentions this trope in conversation with him:

{{quote|'''Phoebe:''' "You know how you always see these gorgeous women with these really nothing guys? You could be one of those guys!"}}

*** Somewhat justified in that Chandler and Joey are classified as "the funny one" and "the cute one," respectively. Chandler isn't necessarily ''ugly''; he's just not the best-looking guy on the show.

* From ''[[Mad About You]]'', the beautiful Leila Kenzle with Richard Kind, who bears a marked resemblance to [[Magilla Gorilla]].

* Seen in ''[[Homicide: Life On the Street]]'', even though interestingly enough, we never see the man in question. When a beautiful woman reports her husband's disappearance and presumed murder, suspects include his equally gorgeous mistress (who's innocent). One of the detectives expresses complete shock and confusion as to how a "2", as he describes the victim, was able to not only snag two "10's", as he describes the women, but was also able to string them both along when they both could have easily dumped the cheating lout.

* Used in ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]''. "Uncle Phil" is played by the portly James Avery, while "Aunt Viv" is played by the gorgeous and svelte Janet-Hubert Whitten (and later Daphne Maxwell-Reid), although an episode that flashed back to over a decade previous showed that Avery's character was slimmer and more conventionally attractive before he got into the wealthy world of high-powered ~~law--and~~ Vivian makes it abundantly clear to Will that Phillip's weight does not affect her feelings for him. It's also worth noting that while Phillip is a large man, it's because he is a ''large'' man who could snap other guys in half over his knee if he wanted. This is also true of his actor, 6'4" former Navy man James Avery.

* Used in ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]''. "Uncle Phil" is played by the portly James Avery, while "Aunt Viv" is played by the gorgeous and svelte Janet-Hubert Whitten (and later Daphne Maxwell-Reid), although an episode that flashed back to over a decade previous showed that Avery's character was slimmer and more conventionally attractive before he got into the wealthy world of high-powered law—and Vivian makes it abundantly clear to Will that Phillip's weight does not affect her feelings for him. It's also worth noting that while Phillip is a large man, it's because he is a ''large'' man who could snap other guys in half over his knee if he wanted. This is also true of his actor, 6'4" former Navy man James Avery.

* Seen in the short-lived sitcom "[[Daddio]]", which had the schlubby Michael Chiklis playing househusband to a pretty attorney.

* Short, chubby Gibby on ''[[iCarly]]'' has a tall, pretty and thin girlfriend named Tasha.

* Inverted quite sharply, then played with on ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]''. Played with after the one-night stand between Frank and Jenna in "Retreat to Move Forward", where the slovenly Frank is embarrassed to have slept with the attractive Jenna. Of course, he had his reasons...

* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''~~--At~~ least to human eyes, [[Genius Ditz|Rom]] is goofy-looking even for a Ferengi, albeit nicer than most. By the end of the series, he has married the [[Interspecies Romance|Bajoran]] [[Fan Service with a Smile|Dabo girl]] Leeta.

* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''—At least to human eyes, [[Genius Ditz|Rom]] is goofy-looking even for a Ferengi, albeit nicer than most. By the end of the series, he has married the [[Interspecies Romance|Bajoran]] [[Fan Service with a Smile|Dabo girl]] Leeta.

** Also on ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' with [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QtCCpnksVIQ/TZEC0DbMuaI/AAAAAAAAAHA/OjPyimSQAws/s1600/neelix122.jpg Neelix] and [http://www.vidiot.com/st-voy/images/VoyagerLien1.jpg Kes].

* Jay and Gloria on ''[[Modern Family]]''. Constantly [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in the show, and many of the other characters (particularly Claire) assume she is a [[Gold Digger]] until they get to know her better.

Line 252:

* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' had Tobias (David Cross) married to Lindsay (Portia de Rossi).

** It's also implied with the Veals, but since Mr. Veal is played by [[Firefly|Alan]] [[Perverse Sexual Lust|Tudyk]]...

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' discusses the trope with the [[Patient of the Week]] being a smoking hot woman married to a rather large guy. What does she see in him? He was the only guy there after she dated the attractive jerky guys. J.D. often gets accused of this by watchers of the show, but he's not actually ~~ugly -- it~~'s just Hollywood casting for hot girls that makes everyone a model.

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' discusses the trope with the [[Patient of the Week]] being a smoking hot woman married to a rather large guy. What does she see in him? He was the only guy there after she dated the attractive jerky guys. J.D. often gets accused of this by watchers of the show, but he's not actually ugly—it's just Hollywood casting for hot girls that makes everyone a model.

* While ''[[The Munsters]]'' looked like people from a halloween party, Herman was a frankenstein monster and Lily is a hot vampiress.

** Of course, Lily sees Herman as gorgeous and worries about other women stealing him away due to this. And considering how they all consider their pretty niece as 'odd-looking', their view of beauty is skewed from the cultural norm.

Line 270:

== Mythology ==

* The Ur-Example might be Hephaestus of Greek mythology, the ugliest ~~god -- even~~ outright deformed or ~~crippled -- who~~ married Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty herself. The Greeks weren't exactly shy about exploring the consequences, ~~either -- Aphrodite~~ was constantly cuckolding her husband, who, like most immortals (except [[Clingy Jealous Girl|Hera]]), just mostly put up with it (he ''did'' ask for her) and spent as little time around her as possible. He ''did'' play several relatively harmless pranks on Aphrodite in revenge for illicit affairs, such as trapping her and Ares (her lover) in an indestructible net that he constructed. One story claims that he puts up with it because she can become a virgin again by bathing in the ocean. There are multiple versions, however:

* The Ur-Example might be Hephaestus of Greek mythology, the ugliest god—even outright deformed or crippled—who married Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty herself. The Greeks weren't exactly shy about exploring the consequences, either—Aphrodite was constantly cuckolding her husband, who, like most immortals (except [[Clingy Jealous Girl|Hera]]), just mostly put up with it (he ''did'' ask for her) and spent as little time around her as possible. He ''did'' play several relatively harmless pranks on Aphrodite in revenge for illicit affairs, such as trapping her and Ares (her lover) in an indestructible net that he constructed. One story claims that he puts up with it because she can become a virgin again by bathing in the ocean. There are multiple versions, however:

** In Homer's account Hephaestus demands his bride-price back after catching them, which basically means they divorced. Homer also has him remarry the goddess Thalia.

** In another, Hephaestus demanded Aphrodite's hand in marriage in return for getting Hera off a magic throne he stuck her on in revenge for literally throwing him out of Olympus for being an ugly baby, and yet another is that Zeus ordered her to marry because she was causing trouble among the gods and she picked Hephaestus because he's the god of jewelry (another legend has Zeus choose Hephaestus because he was the most stable of the male Olympians... which says something about the rest of the immortals, since at a later point he tried to rape his half-sister Athena when she showed him some attention).