History Main / ChastityCouple

* Many Christians believe this was the relationship between Mary and Joseph. This is a core dogma of Catholicism (i.e. denying it is considered heretical), and a standard belief of quite a few other Christian sects, but most Protestant denominations either reject the idea as unlikely or just take no official position on the subject (since the Bible doesn't say). Jesus is explicitly stated to have several siblings in the Bible, though believers in this concept explain them as being born to a prior wife of Joseph's.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed'': Kira has a non-sexual romance with Lacus, but he is a weird case because he lost his virginity, onscreen, to resident {{Yandere}} Flay Allister, yet shares nothing more than chaste kisses and embraces with Lacus. Then again, the very troubled nature of Kira's relationship with Flay could be ''exactly'' why he and Lacus have a romantic-yet-not-sexual (as far as we know) relationship. Interestingly enough, the two are often portrayed in openings naked (especially when they are embraced and posed in a rather sexual manner in the final opening of ''SEED Destiny''), but given Japan's view of nudity as a sign of purity, it's more of a highlight of the quality of their relationship than anything sexual happening between them.

** Helva's first brawn is quite content to regard Helva as like his wife. They [[SerenadeYourBeloved sing together]], and don't seem to care about a physical aspect. The brawn Helva has at the end of ''The Ship Who Sang'', Niall, would ''like'' very much for Helva to have the kind of body he can have sex with. In ''The Ship Who Returned'' he was sometimes unhappy about her unwillingness to use a RemoteBody, and arguments to that effect marked the lowest points of their relationship. However, they stayed together for nearly eighty years until his death and were quite happy for most of that time.
** Nancia in ''[=PartnerShip=]'' has a first brawn who's on the patronizing side. When she's temporarily assigned Forister, she realizes how much she enjoys having a brawn who really cares about her and is interested in what ''she'' thinks and wants and visibly cares about her, so she ditches her first brawn for him. Forister, in their short period together, commissioned a statuette of Nancia as she might have looked if she'd been able to survive birth and grow up as a healthy softperson, which is always something of a romantic gesture in this setting, but he shows no sign of wanting to crack her collumn.
** In ''The CityWhoFought'', after a rocky start [[SpaceStation Simeon]] and his brawn Channa settle into this. Simeon finds Channa quite attractive while not actually harboring any impossible desires for her and tries to 'woo' her, culminating in playing recordings of Helva's most romantic crooning. He's ''very'' jealous when she meets and is very attracted to Amos and [[InterruptedIntimacy interrupts them]], much to their ire. Eventually Simeon settles down and understands that he and Amos are both very important to Channa and her happiness, which is more important to him than her undivided attention. She is still, after all, devoted to him, which all adds up to a certain ThreesomeSubtext where Channa gets something different from each of her partners.

** Tia, as she became enshelled at the age of seven, identifies more with "softshells" or regular humans than most brainships and puts serious money into a RemoteBody after falling in love with her brawn and not being satisfied with a NonStandardKiss. While both of them celebrate these remote bodies as the ultimate cure to brains and brawns wanting each other, in all subsequent books other

May accidentally be confused for ButNotTooGay, where the motivations for not showing intimacy are tied to issues of representing minority sexualities. Compare TheNotLoveInterest, HeterosexualLifePartners, and PlatonicLifePartners, which are all examples of close couples who are not romantically involved.

* ''Brightly Burning'', a standalone novel in the Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar series, features Lavan and his lifebonded soulmate Kalira. Their relationship is entirely chaste... though this may have something to do with the fact that Kalira is a [[CoolHorse horse]]. With a human mind and soul, yeah, but a horse.

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* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': In the ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' storyline ''Sins Past'', Peter is attacked by two people claiming to be his and Gwen Stacy's children. One of the reasons this doesn't make sense is, as Peter points out, that he and Gwen never had sex.

* In the ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' storyline ''Sins Past'', Peter is attacked by two people claiming to be his and Gwen Stacy's children. One of the reasons this doesn't make sense is, as Peter points out, that he and Gwen never had sex.

* Keiichi and Belldandy from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''. They're in love with each other, have been together for over a year in-universe, and even live together, yet the relationship has barely moved beyond the hand-holding phase. It's AnAesop in the series: It is possible to have a romantic relationship without having sex, and the relationship may even be better without it. In addition, Belldandy is not entirely sure she's ready for physical intimacy, and Keiichi is [[NiceGuy too gallant]] to take advantage of her in the moments she seems to be willing, knowing it's not really what she wants. [[spoiler:Then in chapter 285 it is revealed that Keiichi had his libido/desire for Belldandy suppressed (without his consent or knowledge) by Heaven]], so their chastity turned out to be a ''huge'' plot point.
* Justified in ''Manga/CheerfulAmnesia''. Arisa was always the one that took the lead in her relationship with Mari, so her amnesia means that both of them are at a loss for how to be intimate.

* In the earlier mangas by Creator/MichiyoAkaishi, the protagonists (like [[Manga/HonooNoAlpenRose Lundi and Jeudi]], or [[Manga/TenYoriMoHoshiYoriMo Mio and Shou]]) rarely go beyond kissing, though at least the first couple ''does'' get some naked IntimateHealing. Then it's averted in her later stories like Manga/PrivateActress where not only Shiho and Tomoomi are sexually active, but it's later shown that [[spoiler:Shiho's first time took place ''years before'' with her first boyfriend and client, Naoya, [[TheLostLenore who later died]].]]

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
** Due to how [[TheirFirstTime the first time]] [[spoiler:Katniss and Peeta make love]] [[GRatedSex is merely alluded to]] in ''Mockingjay'' there are fans who believe they didn't have sex until deciding to start a family--fifteen years into their relationship. Has been {{Jossed}} already, but there are fanfictions out there that depict TheirFirstTime as happening after a decade and a half.
** In ''Literature/CatchingFire'', they are a straight example of the trope, as their love affair and subsequent engagement is very public but initially only for show. While Peeta spends many nights in Katniss' bed there's no mention of the two of them so much as kissing during those nights. During the course of the book, Katniss begins to fall in love with Peeta and they engage in a [[TheBigDamnKiss passionate make-out session]] [[BeachKiss on the beach]], but that's as far as it goes before they are separated.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Generally necessary with the Doctor and any companions he might grow closer to. It's a family series, so overtly romantic stuff is out, but [[PlatonicLifePartners platonic stuff]] is all right.
** The Doctor and Rose, more so with the Ninth Doctor, but also with the Tenth.
** Clara and the Doctor - both Eleventh and Twelfth - qualify as this. This is due to an emphasis on friendship (especially from Clara's side), due to TheILoveYouStigma tradition (which also impacted the Doctor/Rose relationship, and even applies to the Doctor's ''wife'', River Song), and in the case of the Twelfth Doctor, also because of his personal NoHuggingNoKissing rule. By Series 9, the "no hugging" part no longer applies, the Doctor being more accepting of Clara's friendly CuddleBug, and even growing comfortable again with hugging her back, as he used to be (when he was Eleventh). There's also the fact Clara sees the Doctor as a friend first and gave a vow to avoid relationships after the tragic death of her boyfriend. (A promise she keeps.) The friendship of the two has an interesting progression, as it starts out fairly flirty and with romantic undertones, but grows more platonic, asexual, and ''intellectual'' as time goes on. The fact the two were in love, however, is confirmed by WordOfGod (the producer/showrunner and the actors) as well as the actions of both characters, particularly in Series 9. They just don't follow "the rules" of on-screen romance. At least the Doctor and Rose got to snog a few times. In a 2015 interview with Wil Wheaton shown as part of a theatrical screening of two episodes, Creator/PeterCapaldi confirmed that the "chastity couple" aspect was intentional because it was "more fun" to play a relationship based upon what was unsaid, rather than just outright saying "we're crazy about each other".

* In ''Sidewinders: Bleeding Texas'', ThePeepingTom follows a pair of StarCrossedLovers (his employers daughter, and the grandson of their neighbor and rival) hoping to catch them having sex and finds this trope at play instead.

* Mikiya and Shiki in ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' are obviously in love, but are chaste to the point of one time sleeping in the same bed with their clothes on and not doing anything. In the final light novel, [[spoiler:it's revealed that in the distant future, they have a daughter named Mana, so at some point, things change between them.]]

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Sheldon and Amy initially agreed there would be no physical relationship, but over time Amy developed into wanting one. While he has no interest in it, he has admitted to her and others that she influenced him and ''he'' considers theirs a deeply intimate relationship even if they aren't physical. [[spoiler: Their relationship became physical as of "The Opening Night Excitation".]]

* In ''In the Last Days'' by Lev Tikhomirov, Valentin and Lydia are in love but decide to maintain a chaste relationship. First, since the world is ending, they feel it's no longer the time to think about sex, second, TheAntichrist's ReignOfTerror is underway and they don't want to have children in such a situation.

* Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs from the ''Literature/LincolnRhyme'' novels. Mostly because he's paralyzed from the neck down, but even beyond that they aren't very affectionate people. One book makes it clear that Lincoln is still capable of the physical part of sex (and as a result capable of fathering children), but seeing as he can't feel it they don't bother.

* ''Necromance'' has a {{justified|trope}} example. The main couple, Shibuki and Safina, become engaged in the first chapter, but there's a big problem: Shibuki was killed and became an undead because of the curse of the [[MaouTheDemonKing Demon King]] and because Safina is the Grand Saint, Shibuki can't touch her without getting badly burned. Both ''really'' wish they could be physically intimate, especially Shibuki. However, when they do get a brief chance to spend the night together thanks to an anti-holy element bracelet, they don't go beyond hugging and kisses on the cheek because the church Safina was raised at taught her any sexual act before marriage is "corrupt" so Shibuki decides to hold back even though he admits he does want to make love to his fiancée very much.

* In the ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski'' storyline ''Sins Past'', Peter is attacked by two people claiming to be his and Gwen Stacy's children. One of the reasons this doesn't make sense is, as Peter points out, that he and Gwen never had sex.

* Much of the "gen" fiction produced by the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' fandom falls under this trope.

* In ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheMarriageStone'', [[SlashFic Harry and Severus]] fall under this trope due to their gradually growing relationship under an ArrangedMarriage.
* ''Fanfic/TheMeaningOfOne'' has Harry and Ginny soul-bonded to each other, experiencing everything the other does; it's generally assumed (including by themselves) that they'll marry someday, and they share a bed out of necessity (one of the side effects of the bond is that they find it extremely difficult to fall asleep unless they are making skin-to-skin contact). But being only between ten and twelve years old, they don't go beyond kissing.

* ''Fanfic/FuzzyMemories'' has [[KindheartedSimpleton Gareth]] and [[EmotionlessGirl Violet]], who are in love but rarely ever show any kind of intimate moments with one another. Gareth even mentions later on that while they don't act like a "normal" couple, he does truly see her as the best thing to ever happen to him.
* Invoked in ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust''. Ritsuko deliberately wanted to take things slowly with Maya since she had just come out of an emotionally abusive relationship with Gendo. They do flirt a lot though ([[MundaneUtility by leaving messages in the MAGI changelog]]).
-->They hadn’t slept together, kissed, or even so much as held hands, but she already felt a dozen times closer and happier being with Maya than she had in years pursuing Gendo. She felt positively giddy at times. Maya wanted her just for being her. Maya wanted to hold her, say her name softly, and wake up next to her. Without either of them saying three little words, without a kiss or anything, they were… a couple.
* Zig-zagged in the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WalkingInCircles'', Solas and Evelyn were pretty sexually active before they escaped from the Ostwick Circle but they become this trope after they leave it. During the first two years, it’s because she is [[spoiler:a Tranquil who can’t give consent]] and Solas has lines that he won’t cross so they only touch when he needs to guide or take care of her. They don’t do it for months after she recovered and got the mark either despite having no problems hugging, kissing, or even sleeping in the same bed as the act of sex reminds Evelyn of her trauma during the uprising and her being afraid to give up control to someone else.
** They eventually have enough confidence to gradually move away from this trope, and finally break it in chapter 32, after Evelyn has mentally recovered enough. Solas still treads very carefully when they do it, though.

* In the ''Fanfic/AvantasiaProtagAU'' series, Gabriel and Elderane are this. They hardly act any different after they confess their love than they did before it, which includes nothing further than holding hands and (completely clothed) cuddling. They don't even kiss. [[WordOfGod The author]] confirms they are romantic UsefulNotes/{{asexual}}.

* In ''Film/JEdgar'', J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson are portrayed as being in a romantic relationship but never having sex. The pair share [[BigDamnKiss one kiss]] during a [[SlapSlapKiss brutal physical fight]] which occurred after Tolson confessed his love for Edgar, who only [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove reciprocates]] once Clyde is out of the room. Otherwise, the raciest their relationship gets is holding hands, due to Edgar's deep self-hatred.

** ''Bullet Garden'' reveals that Firo finally managed to work up the courage to propose to Ennis after fifty years of living together --after which, they proceeded to have two ''more'' decades of innocent cohabitation. The rest of the Martillos find this absolutely ridiculous, ("At least tell me they ''kissed''.") and decide to get them an expensive room on a cruise liner solely because they think [[YouNeedToGetLaid both of them are in such desperate need of a lay]] that it's just getting ''sad.'' The two return from the trip as virgins.

* Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs from the ''Literature/LincolnRhyme'' novels. Mostly because he's paralyzed from the neck down, but even beyond that they aren't very affectionate people. One book makes it clear that Lincoln is still capable of the physical part of sex (and as a result capable of fathering children), but seeing as he can't feel it they don't bother.
* The J.A. Johnstone westerns, on occasion. In ''Sidewinders: Bleeding Texas'' ThePeepingTom follows a pair of StarCrossedLovers (his employers daughter, and the grandson of their neighbor and rival) hoping to catch them having sex and finds this trope at play instead.

* Creator/MaryRenault's novels have a lot of this, as her characters, like her, tend to admire the philosophy of Plato. Notably, Laurie and Andrew in ''The Charioteer'' and Lysis and Alexias in ''The Last of the Wine'', as well as, of course, Plato and Aster in the latter book.
* Carleton and Allen in ''Lord Dismiss Us'' are deeply in love but decide that they "must never do anything". This is the 1960s, after all, and they are idealistic schoolboys.
* Georges and Alexandre in ''Les amitiés particulières'' (''Special Friendships''), published in the 1940s but set earlier. Mind you, they are only 14 and 12 respectively. They are caught tussling in the hay and separated, but the author said that had they not been caught, they would have ended up getting up to some hanky-panky in that scene. Georges, he said, had already started to masturbate but Alexandre hadn't yet; you become like what you love; Georges remained 'pure' initially because Alexandre was, but Alexandre would eventually have become 'impure' because Georges was.
* David and Frank in ''Literature/DavidBlaize''. Frank is attracted to David and has been sexually involved with other boys before, but when Frank nearly makes a pass, David is deeply disturbed; this shakes Frank and makes him realise the 'error' of his ways, and the two boys have a chaste romantic friendship. This book was published in 1916 and the author, the son of a priest, seems sincerely to have believed that homosexual sex was wrong.
* ''Brightly Burning'', a standalone novel in the Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar series, features Lavan and his lifebonded soulmate Kalira. Their relationship is entirely chaste... though this may have something to do with the fact that Kalira is a [[CoolHorse horse]]. With a human mind and soul, yeah, but a horse.

* Shakuntala and Rao are this in the first part of the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'', as pressing the matter would offend Rao's trust with her father, not to mention damaging her usefulness in an ArrangedMarriage. And of course because she is a princess and he is a minor noble.

* In ''Literature/RedeemingLove'', Michael and Angel do not have sex for the first several months of their marriage. Angel offers, [[ReadyForLovemaking quite forwardly]], but Michael refuses to allow it because he knows Angel has a strong emotional disconnect with sex due to her upbringing as a prostitute.
* ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'''s parents intended this for their marriage, as they believed that if they were pious enough, God would give them a child without them having sex. Then Ralph got drunk one night, changed his mind about that, and forced the issue with Margaret, and nine months later, Carrie was born.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
** Due to how [[TheirFirstTime the first time]] [[spoiler:Katniss and Peeta make love]] [[GRatedSex is merely alluded to]] in ''Mockingjay'' there are fans who believe they didn't have sex until deciding to start a family--fifteen years into their relationship. Has been {{Jossed}} already, but there are fanfictions out there that depict TheirFirstTime as happening after a decade and a half.
** In ''Catching Fire'' they are a straight example of the trope, as their love affair and subsequent engagement is very public but initially only for show. While Peeta spends many nights in Katniss' bed there's no mention of the two of them so much as kissing during those nights. During the course of the book, Katniss begins to fall in love with Peeta and they engage in a [[TheBigDamnKiss passionate make-out session]] [[BeachKiss on the beach]], but that's as far as it goes before they are separated.
* ''Literature/{{Maurice}}'' and his boyfriend Clive never go any further than hugging or kissing (and a harmless bit of caressing) each other which is partially justified by the restrictions of [[TheEdwardianEra the time they live in]], partially by Clive's firm support of Plato's philosophy about same-sex relations. Maurice appears to wish for a bit more intimacy at first, but he settles fairly comfortably with Clive's view.
* In the Literature/LeftBehind book ''Kingdom Come'', Buck and Chloe Williams stay together as a couple after they're resurrected in order to be parents to their son Kenny, but because in their new resurrected forms they could no longer have sex with each other, much less even have the desire to, they're fine with the arrangement as long as they know that the Lord will satisfy them eternally.

* Jadzia in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'''s "Soldiers of the Empire" says that she and Worf are this while voyaging aboard a Klingon warship. As they had copulated in another episode, it seems to imply that they were fasting because of the needs of Klingon military discipline rather than being a Chastity Couple regularly.
* [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]] and Angel had to be this upon discovering that [[spoiler:having sex would cause Angel to lose his soul and turn evil]].[[note]]Technically, it's a "moment of perfect happiness" that will cause this to happen, and it's not absolutely certain that having sex with Buffy will cause that to happen every time. But neither of them is willing to risk it again, for very good reason: Angel's soulless alter-ego Angelus is one of the most thoroughly evil vampires in history.[[/note]]
* Salty and Pepper from ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow'' are eventually revealed to be married, with Elsa describing them as "soul mates" who "fell in love at first sight"; but since both suffer from microcephaly and have the intellects of children, their relationship is shown as physically affectionate without being sexual.
* ''Series/WhenCallsTheHeart'' has several couples who court throughout the series, but none of them are affectionate beyond the gentleman offering his arm to the lady or ''maybe'' a non-French kiss.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Sheldon and Amy initially agreed there would be no physical relationship, but over time Amy developed into wanting one. While he has no interest in it, he has admitted to her and others that she influenced him and ''he'' considers theirs a deeply intimate relationship even if they aren't physical. [[spoiler: Their relationship became physical as of "The Opening Night Excitation".]]
* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'' treats Richard and Kahlan's relationship as this in the second season, because sex might make her lose her Confessor power, which would destroy Richard. While in [[Literature/SwordOfTruth the books]], the pair swore off any kind of relationship, thinking it was an insurmountable obstacle [[spoiler:until they found a solution]], in the second season of the series, they plainly and openly act like a loving couple -- they just don't sleep together.
* In ''Series/{{House}}'' one clinic patient was a married couple who identified as asexual but still loved one another. After House determines the husband has a medical condition causing his lack of libido and cures it, the wife bashfully admits she's had sex before but was willing to be asexual for him.
* ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'': Professor Jirafales and Doña Florinda. The whole stitch about them is that he comes to visit her bringing a bouquet of flowers, and she offers him a cup of coffee. Nothing else, save for the occassional time they go out for a walk together, and this even though Quico [[ShipperOnDeck would be more than glad to have the Professor as his new dad]].
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': This is how Dexter and Rita's relationship is at the start of the show. He's a sociopath who [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove can't understand or feel human emotion]], and she's [[BrokenBird traumatized due to extreme abuse by her ex-husband]]; however, they both enjoy the sense of stability from the relationship without pressure to take it outside of their respective comfort zones. Eventually averted when she recovers to the point that she's comfortable initiating sexual activity and he realizes he enjoys it.

* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'':
** In ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonTheTaleOfTwoTowns,'' one of the marriageable bachelorettes, Alisa, is a nun. Because of her status as a servant of the [[CrystalDragonJesus Harvest Goddess]], your relationship with her will, [[JustifiedTrope by necessity]], be chaste. This means that Alisa is the one marriage candidate in the series with whom [[GRatedSex you cannot have a child.]]
** Kasumi from ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsTrioOfTowns'' [[LetsWaitAWhile refuses]] to kiss before marriage.
** Yuzuki from ''Trio of Towns'' won't kiss the protagonist on the lips until they get married.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims''
** All teenage relationships are this. Young Adults can have sex and get married but Teen Sims can't in ''The Sims 2'' and ''The Sims 3''.
** Averted in ''The Sims 4'', as there's an option for Teen Sims that basically functions as the Woohoo action Young Adults and older Sims have, complete with the massive bonuses to the social and fun needs, but without the chance of pregnancy.
* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' has a strong tendency to it:
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Lloyd/Colette.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has Jude/Milla.

* As a general rule, the less lustful a relationship or attempted relationship in ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' is, the better it will go. Fuchsia and Criminy, the healthiest couple, spend most of their time reading to each other, and Slick's relationship with Monique got a lot better after he gave up hope of getting in her pants. The exception to this is Fuchsia's lesbian relationship with Baby Blue, but their friendship seems entirely separate from their gay-for-pay antics.
** The Angels are sort of a spoof of this: they manage to be even purer and more blissful than Fuchsia and Criminy, spending most of their time holding hands and flying around helping people. They also perform "The Wholesome Lambada of Platonic Love" for Slick and Monique.
* Piro and Kimiko of ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'', who clearly like each other but spent several years (in WebcomicTime) working their way up to ''hugging'', a feat which has not since been repeated. [[LoveTriangle Also, Miho,]] who had a more intimate relationship with Piro...in a video game, before the comic began. Completely averted, however, with Largo and Erika, [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove despite Largo's bafflement.]]

* Dominic and Sarah from ''Webcomic/{{Unreality}}'' are clearly shown to be very passionately in love, they both seem to want to advance forward in their relationship, and there's nothing stopping them...except for the fact that they're respectively 13 and 16, on top of the fact that they're ''NotAllowedToGrowUp'', so they obviously aren't going to be hitting the bedsheets anytime soon.

* Gwen and Trent from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' have only shared one on-screen kiss during their relationship. As did Harold/[=LeShawna=], though in their case, Leshawna decides they're BetterAsFriends.
** [[{{Goth}} Crimson and Ennui]] from the SpinOff, ''Total Drama Presents the Ridonculous Race.'' It's eleven episodes in before Ennui casually mentions that they've been dating for three years, and the most physical affection they show is holding hands once. But then, they're both [[TheStoic so stoic]] that it fits rather well.
* WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse, at least initially. Creator/WaltDisney himself said that Mickey and Minnie were happily married outside of their acting career, but did not have a sex life. More modern works tend to disregard this, even going so far as to [[SexyDiscretionShot imply sexual congress]] between the two in the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse2013'' short "[[Recap/MickeyMouseS1E17ThirdWheel Third Wheel]]"

* Pictured above: In the anime adaptation of ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', Tomoya's relationship with Nagisa is strictly hugging but no kissing. Nothing beyond hand-holding is ever shown on screen (and they're usually very awkward about it) and they don't even sleep in the same futon, but in one scene, [[spoiler:Nagisa suddenly blurts out, explicitly and ''to her parents,'' that they've been having sex (which they had to have been because they have a daughter together), and this causes her father to [[OverprotectiveDad freak out]] on Tomoya ("You bastard, CONGRATULATIONS!")]] This is downplayed in the visual novel, where, while nothing is actually shown, intimacy between the two is implied on multiple occasions, and they share the same futon after marriage.

Contrast this trope with its inversion FriendsWithBenefits, in which two people have sex but not romance, while a chastity couple has romance without sex. Both are subtropes of RomanceAndSexualitySeparation. See also InnocentCohabitation, where they just live together and aren't in a relationship, and LetsWaitAwhile, where they're simply putting off the next step. Compare to CantHaveSexEver, where a couple might if they could but they can't so they don't. Naturally, most cases of PuppyLove are going to fall under this trope ([[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior hopefully]]).

* ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'': Nagasumi and Sun are engaged very early on, but for the bulk of the series, they're no more intimate than hugging or HoldingHands. Even after Sun moves into Nagasumi's house, they [[InnocentCohabitation sleep in different rooms]].

* Kirishima Haruto and Mishima Asuka of ''Manga/ATownWhereYouLive'' were in a relationship that bordered on InnocentCohabitation, since they were neighbors, for ''two years,'' and yet they never went beyond the occasional kiss. This is not implied either; it was outright stated by the couple.

** ''Bullet Garden'' reveals that Firo finally managed to work up the courage to propose to Ennis after fifty years of InnocentCohabitation--after which, they proceeded to have two ''more'' decades of innocent cohabitation. The rest of the Martillos find this absolutely ridiculous, ("At least tell me they ''kissed''.") and decide to get them an expensive room on a cruise liner solely because they think [[YouNeedToGetLaid both of them are in such desperate need of a lay]] that it's just getting ''sad.'' The two return from the trip as virgins.

[[folder:Light Novels]]
* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'':

* For a short moment, [[ChasteHero Sousuke]] and [[TwiceShy Kaname]] of ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' eventually reach the hand-holding stage (after a ''long'' time). But until [[spoiler:the epilogue]] there is no other form of physical affection. It gets agonizing.

* ''LightNovel/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'''s narration describes Kyousuke and [[spoiler:Mary]] as having been "lovers" in the past, but flashbacks show this love was expressed verbally/mentally, not physically. The trope seems to be both a realistic (as Kyousuke was only 13 at the time) and stylistic choice; it was their naivete that led to their breakup, so showing them do 'adult' things like kissing would cloud that fact. In the present day, [[spoiler:Mary]] glibly propositions Kyousuke...yet is entirely unsurprised when he refuses.
* ''LightNovel/{{Maoyu}}'': The Hero and the Demon Queen are a borderline example since their arrangement of "belonging to each other" makes them husband and wife in all but name. It's a bit enforced on his side because he's a CelibateHero who, despite being genuinely attracted to the Demon Queen, wants to avoid a MayflyDecemberRomance. As for her, it's clear that she does want to be more affectionate, but she's also very innocent and as inexperienced as him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Jinto and Lafiel from ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars'' are always together, flirt and poke fun at each other like a couple would, are deeply connected on an emotional level, and have even agreed to stay that way for their entire lives (or at least [[MayflyDecemberRomance for as long as possible]]), and yet the reader/viewer never sees them do more than hug each other, and even that is ridiculously rare.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', [[spoiler:Todd]] comes out as UsefulNotes/{{Asexual}} and goes to a group meetup of similar individuals. He is surprised to discover that two of the people at the meetup are HappilyMarried to each other. Well, why not? [[spoiler:Todd]] enters a relationship as well, [[CrapsackWorld with mixed results]].

[[folder:Film]]

* People on the autism spectrum often have trouble with physical intimacy due to overstimulation. That is, any tactile sensation feels like it's several orders of magnitude more powerful than it actually is. Thus for a person on the spectrum, conventional sex may be [[SensoryOverload too much for them]]. This is different from asexuality because these people still have a sex drive (and will have sexual fantasies): it's just that their sexual urges may be satisfied by activities others wouldn't consider particularly sexual. Of course, not all autistic people experience this overstimulation since the condition manifests differently in every individual.

* In ''Webcomic/Rain2010'', there's Rain and Rudy (all they do is kiss a couple of times; [[spoiler:makes sense since they're both really not interested in people of the other's gender]]), as well as Chanel and Maria (Chanel is asexual and specifically states that although some aces have or are interested in having sex, she's not one of them; Maria is fully aware and on board). The topic isn't really brought up one way or the other for any of the other couples in the main cast.

* In ''Webcomic/Rain2010'', there's Rain and Rudy (all they do is kiss a couple of times; [[makes sense since they're both really not interested in people of the other's gender]]), as well as Chanel and Maria (Chanel is asexual and specifically states that although some aces have or are interested in having sex, she's not one of them; Maria is fully aware and on board). The topic isn't really brought up one way or the other for any of the other couples in the main cast.

Contrast this trope with its inversion FriendsWithBenefits, in which two people have sex but not romance, while a chastity couple has romance without sex. Both are subtropes of RomanceAndSexualitySeparation. See also InnocentCohabitation, where they just live together and aren't in a relationship, and LetsWaitAwhile, where they're simply putting off the next step. Compare to CantHaveSexEver, where a couple might if they could but they can't so they don't.

* WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and Minnie Mouse, at least initially. Creator/WaltDisney himself said that Mickey and Minnie were happily married outside of their acting career, but did not have a sex life. More modern works tend to disregard this, even going so far as to [[SexyDiscretionShot imply sexual congress]] between the two in the ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse2013'' short "[[Recap/MickeyMouseS1E17ThirdWheel Third Wheel]]"

Contrast this trope with its inversion FriendsWithBenefits, in which two people have sex but not romance, while a chastity couple has romance without sex. Both are subtropes of RomanceAndSexualitySeparation. See also InnocentCohabitation, where they just live together and aren't in a relationship, and LetsWaitAwhile, where they're simply putting off the next step. Compare to CantHaveSexEver, where the couple might if they could but they can't so they don't.