Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Difference between revisions

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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>.

== Advertising ==

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* Pretty Wanda and her [[Gonk]] boyfriend eventually end up [[Married At Sea]] in ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. At the very least, we know that the boyfriend is a sweet guy since he made sure not to disrupt the easily scared Whismur when digging at Rustboro cave.

* Kaoru of ''[[Nana to Kaoru]]'' ''knows'' he's not much of a catch (short, plain, introverted and bad-tempered), which is why he takes every effort to prevent Nana, his gorgeous childhood friend, from discovering his attraction. Yet she's falling for him regardless. {{spoiler|The frequent bondage/S&M sessions between them are, oddly, how she discovered he's a [[Chivalrous Pervert|good person]].}}

* Dozle Zabi and his wife, Princess Zenna, from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''. [[The Brute|Just look at the guy.]] To his credit, he's [[Happily Married|a loving husband]], a [[~~Daddys~~ Girl|doting father to his daughter Minerva]] and [[A Father to His Men]].

* Dozle Zabi and his wife, Princess Zenna, from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''. [[The Brute|Just look at the guy.]] To his credit, he's [[Happily Married|a loving husband]], a [[Daddy's Girl|doting father to his daughter Minerva]] and [[A Father to His Men]].

* Wapol from ''[[One Piece]]'' is a short, fat and generally absurdly looking guy (and that's only his appearance, not speaking of his personality) who marries with the One Piece world's equivalent of freakin' Miss Universe {{spoiler|(might just be her name, though, as Boa Hancock later proves to be the One Piece world's true [[Worlds Most Beautiful Woman|Miss Universe]])}} after becoming a rich corporate business executive.

** There is also King Nepture and his wife Princess Otohime. This is what [http://read.mangashare.com/One-Piece/chapter-611/page010.html he looks like] and what [http://read.mangashare.com/One-Piece/chapter-622/page005.html she looks like]. We can see where [[Ugly Guys Hot Daughter|Princess Shirahoshi]] gets her looks from.

*** Adding to the fishmen and merfolk concept; Keimi and Hachi. They aren't technically a couple, but Keimi - a cute mermaid - does seem to have a crush on Hachi, who is a six armed octopus fishman and far older than her. This is one of the [[No Hugging No Kissing|few canon crushes]], by the way.

*** Adding to the fishmen and merfolk concept; Keimi and Hachi. They aren't technically a couple, but Keimi - a cute mermaid - does seem to have a crush on Hachi, who is a six armed octopus fishman and far older than her. This is one of the [[No Hugging, No Kissing|few canon crushes]], by the way.

*** Pretty much every fishman/mermaid and so far merman/mermaid couple falls under this. Also considering the almost random nature of seafolk genetics, and the fact that Queen Otohime was somehow able to give birth to Shirahoshi, this might also fall under [[Bizarre Alien Reproduction]] and [[Bizarre Alien Biology]].

* In just about every single work by Adachi Mitsuru, the heroine's parents are this. The heroine gets all of her looks from her mom since it just wouldn't make sense for anything male to want to get in your pants when you get your looks from "that." Heck, sometimes it would only make sense if the mom had cheated somewhere in their marriage. This would, of course, make the heroine [[The Ugly ~~Guys~~ Hot Daughter]].

* In just about every single work by Adachi Mitsuru, the heroine's parents are this. The heroine gets all of her looks from her mom since it just wouldn't make sense for anything male to want to get in your pants when you get your looks from "that." Heck, sometimes it would only make sense if the mom had cheated somewhere in their marriage. This would, of course, make the heroine [[The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter]].

* Played with in [[Tenjho Tenge]]. While Souchiro's mother Makiko Natsume is [[Hot Mom|naturally beautiful]], [[Good Scars Evil Scars|the horrible scars]] [[Scars Are Forever|marring her face]] make for a strange inversion of the trope since {{spoiler|her ex-husband Sohaku}} is now more attractive than her.

* Played with in [[Tenjho Tenge]]. While Souchiro's mother Makiko Natsume is [[Hot Mom|naturally beautiful]], [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|the horrible scars]] [[Scars Are Forever|marring her face]] make for a strange inversion of the trope since {{spoiler|her ex-husband Sohaku}} is now more attractive than her.

* Antonio and Margarita in ''[[El Cazador De La Bruja]]''. Antonio is average looking and a bit portly, though he does have blond hair and blue eyes. Margarita is drop dead gorgeous, sexy, exotic, and always dressed stylishly and made-up impeccably.

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== Literature ==

* Such an old trope that even [[Deconstruction|deconstructing]] it is [[Older Than Print]], as shown by [[Geoffrey Chaucer (Creator)|Geoffrey Chaucer]] in two of ''[[The Canterbury Tales (Literature)|The Canterbury Tales]]'': ''The Miller's Tale'' and ''The Merchant's Tale''.

* In [[Nineteen Eighty Four|1984]], Winston Smith, a 39 year old man, somewhat over the hill by Oceanic standards, physically bent out of shape, and sporting what is apparently a highly unsightly varicose ulcer, manages to have a 4 month affair with Julia, almost ten years younger, described as being in much better physical condition, notably possessing stunning hair and breasts. Considering that both suffer crushing sexual repression and arguably have borderline nymphomaniac traits as well, they seem suited for each other. Julia's a member of a harsh chastity brigade, and sees sex as her best way of sticking it to [[The Man]]. So she's not terribly picky.

* In [[Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]], Winston Smith, a 39 year old man, somewhat over the hill by Oceanic standards, physically bent out of shape, and sporting what is apparently a highly unsightly varicose ulcer, manages to have a 4 month affair with Julia, almost ten years younger, described as being in much better physical condition, notably possessing stunning hair and breasts. Considering that both suffer crushing sexual repression and arguably have borderline nymphomaniac traits as well, they seem suited for each other. Julia's a member of a harsh chastity brigade, and sees sex as her best way of sticking it to [[The Man]]. So she's not terribly picky.

** She is, as Winston points out, "a rebel from the waist down."

** Possibly averted, if you consider that Julia may have been setting Winston up.

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* ''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.

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* ''[[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.

*** John Goodman does also happen to be considered the patron of the Bear scene in the gay community. [[Rule ~~Thirty Four~~]]...

*** John Goodman does also happen to be considered the patron of the Bear scene in the gay community. [[Rule 34]]...

*** 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.

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* 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 ''[[~~I Carly~~ (TV)|I Carly]]'' has a tall, pretty and thin girlfriend named Tasha.

* Short, chubby Gibby on ''[[ICarly (TV)|I Carly]]'' has a tall, pretty and thin girlfriend named Tasha.

* Inverted quite sharply, then played with on ''[[~~Thirty~~ Rock (TV)|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...

* Inverted quite sharply, then played with on ''[[30 Rock (TV)|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.

** 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].

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* 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.

* Examined in a sketch on ''[[Mad TV]]'', where [[Dr. Phil]] asks the fugly husband of a beautiful ([[The Ditz|but dumb]], [[Unfortunate Implications|though that was presented as a positive]]) how it happened: "[[Money Dear Boy|Are you crazy rich?]] [[Hypno Fool|Are you a registered hypnotist?]] [[Biggus Dickus|Do you have a freakishly large penis?]]"

* Examined in a sketch on ''[[Mad TV]]'', where [[Dr. Phil]] asks the fugly husband of a beautiful ([[The Ditz|but dumb]], [[Unfortunate Implications|though that was presented as a positive]]) how it happened: "[[Money, Dear Boy|Are you crazy rich?]] [[Hypno Fool|Are you a registered hypnotist?]] [[Biggus Dickus|Do you have a freakishly large penis?]]"

* Bob and Amy Duncan of ''[[Good Luck Charlie]]''.

** Actually, pretty much every standard Disney Channel tweenybopper sitcom uses this trope for the parents.

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** Also, Rufus and Candy, though not married, probably count as well. Apparently he saved her from an angry waiter and according to a win quote she likes his belly.

*** Necro and Effie too.

** [http://fast1.onesite.com/capcom-unity.com/user/jgonzo/large/47981c1d8d989365a0f5e121acf0b2b8.jpg?v=142782 Huge ''red'' turkish oil wrestler Hakan and his smoking hot wife]. They have seven ''[[~~Daddys~~ Girl|adorable]]'' daughters. While Hakan's face [[Face of a Thug|is quite scary]], he is a muscleman who routinely pours oil all over his shirtless chest, thats got to be some woman's [[Fetish Fuel|fetish]]. Plus he's rich, famous, [[Gentle Giant|and said to be a good dad.]] [[Justified Trope]], considering that, in his culture, being a good father/provider counts for a lot more.

** [http://fast1.onesite.com/capcom-unity.com/user/jgonzo/large/47981c1d8d989365a0f5e121acf0b2b8.jpg?v=142782 Huge ''red'' turkish oil wrestler Hakan and his smoking hot wife]. They have seven ''[[Daddy's Girl|adorable]]'' daughters. While Hakan's face [[Face of a Thug|is quite scary]], he is a muscleman who routinely pours oil all over his shirtless chest, thats got to be some woman's [[Fetish Fuel|fetish]]. Plus he's rich, famous, [[Gentle Giant|and said to be a good dad.]] [[Justified Trope]], considering that, in his culture, being a good father/provider counts for a lot more.

* [[Interspecies Romance]] example: A minor [[NPC]] in ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]: [[Revenant Wings]]'' is a Seeq married to a Viera. Seeq are hideous pig like things, Viera are [[Cute Monster Girl|beautiful]] [[Petting Zoo People|bunny girls]].

** The Seeq is also quite friendly and supportive of the party's quest to save the Aegyl. OTOH, his wife is as cold and aloof as most of her race and just wishes her husband would leave the ship already. Which just raises more questions about how the hell they hooked up in the first place.

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[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Ugly Guy Hot Wife]]

[[Category:Trope]]

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