History Main / ConfirmedBachelor

** Both Snape and Dumbledore are bachelors for pretty similar reasons. Snape is of the "love lost" variety. He’d been in love with [[spoiler: Harry’s mom, Lily]] since they were kids. She didn’t reciprocate and he pushed her friendship away when he called her a FantasticSlur and became a Death Eater. He fairly directly caused her death and he just wasn’t ever [[SingleTargetSexuality able to move on from her specifically]] or forgive himself for it. Although [[spoiler: Voldemort]] says he tried to convince him he’d moved on, implying he may have fake-dated someone. Dumbledore is of the "gay before it was socially acceptable" type and of the one attempt at love ended in catastrophe type like Snape. Right after he graduated from Hogwarts, his mother died and he got a PromotionToParent over his two younger siblings. A fresh out of [[spoiler:getting kicked out of Durmstrang Grindelwald]] came knocking to his village and manipulated him into running off with him [[spoiler: with his mentally ill sister in tow]] for a whole year. His brother tried to stop them and [[spoiler:she got killed in the crossfire]]. He was also never able to forgive himself for it and decided from there on out, he was going to be a teacher and not ever get involved with anyone else. Although it’s left ambiguous if [[spoiler: Grindelwald]] ever actually reciprocated or if it was just manipulation.

* Comicbook/GreenArrow has been portrayed as commitmentphobic, for example, realising that a LotusEaterMachine where he was married to his son's mother wasn't ''his'' perfect world, but the perfect world other people wanted for him. He becomes a DeconfirmedBachelor in ''Green Arrow and Comicbook/BlackCanary'', but the marriage only lasts 32 issues. His former sidekick Speedy/Arsenal/Red Arrow is TheCasanova and spends his friend Aqualad/Tempest's wedding decrying marriage even as a concept.

* Ser Brynden Tully from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', also known as The Blackfish, is famous for his refusal to marry, despite living in a world where {{Arranged Marriage}}s are the norm and the decision requiring him to cut ties with much of his family. {{Fanon}} has him of the closet gay variety (enforced by the setting, which is not gay-friendly), although he has no known lovers of either gender.
* Creator/PGWodehouse's Bertie [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Wooster]] gets deliberately engaged a time or two early in the series, but the attempts inevitably fall through and as the stories progress, he begins actively avoiding marriage. Unfortunately, he still often becomes ''accidentally'' engaged and must rely on his [[HypercompetentSidekick valet]] [[HeterosexualLifePartners Jeeves]] to get him out of it.
* Literature/SherlockHolmes is one of these because, he asserts, strong emotions such as love would interfere with his ability to be a perfect reasoning machine.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Very few Aes Sedai (female magic-users) marry, many being MarriedToTheJob and some of the rest [[LesYay informally pairing up with each other]] in [[SituationalSexuality the largely women-only]] [[MageTower White Tower]]. The fact that they'd be very likely to [[MayflyDecemberRomance outlive any prospective husband]] doesn't help. The few exceptions are mostly of the Green (Battle) Ajah, who often marry their Warders in a LadyAndKnight BattleCouple arrangement. {{Defied}} by their male counterparts the Asha'man. Those who are already married when they're recruited are allowed to quarter with their families at the Black Tower and those who aren't married are encouraged to do so if they find a willing partner, on the theory that they'll fight harder if they have someone to fight for rather than locking themselves away in an [[VisualPun ivory tower]] as the Aes Sedai do.

* Both Snape and Dumbledore from ''Literature/HarryPotter '' are these for pretty similar reasons. Snape is of the love lost variety. He’d been in love with [[spoiler: Harry’s mom, Lily]] since they were kids. She didn’t reciprocate and he pushed her friendship away when he called her a FantasticSlur and became a Death Eater. He fairly directly caused her death and he just wasn’t ever [[SingleTargetSexuality to move on from her specifically]] or forgive himself for it. Although [[spoiler: Voldemort]] says he tried to convince him he’d moved on, implying he may have fake dated someone. Dumbledore is of the gay before it was socially acceptable type and of the one attempt at love ended in catastrophe type like Snape. Right after he graduated from Hogwarts, his mother died and he got a PromotionToParent over his two younger siblings. A fresh out of [[spoiler:getting kicked out of Durmstrang Grindelwald]] came knocking to his village and manipulated him into running off with him [[spoiler: with his mentally ill sister in tow]] for a whole year. His brother tried to stop them and [[spoiler:she got killed in the crossfire]]. He was also never able to forgive himself for it and decided from there on out, he was going to be a teacher and not ever get involved with anyone else. Although it’s left ambiguous if [[spoiler: Grindelwald]] ever actually reciprocated or if it was just manipulation.
** WordOfGod also mentions Ron's older brother Charlie never married or had children, being [[MarriedToTheJob more interested in studying dragons than romance]].

* Benedick in ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'' is explicitly called a confirmed bachelor. In regards to women, he calls himself a "professed tyrant of their sex." [[DeconfirmedBachelor That doesn't actually last long]].

* There is some dispute among historians whether Leonardo da Vinci was of the MarriedToTheJob type or the closet gay type; regardless, he never married.

* Creator/CSLewis seems to have been the "Uninterested in Love" variety for most of his life until he met Joy Gresham and married her at the age of 58. Even then, it was only a CitizenshipMarriage at first, until she got cancer and he realized how much he needed her.
* Washington Irving, author of ''Literature/RipVanWinkle'' and ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'', never married. Apparently he was socially more competent at friendship than love, and at least one biographer called him a better brother than a lover.
* The only unmarried [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidents President]] of the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates was UsefulNotes/JamesBuchanan, although the exact reason for this is debatable. It might be a lost love example. He was engaged to a wealthy woman as a young lawyer but the relationship ended quite suddenly after she heard rumors he was marrying her for money and she died under mysterious circumstances (likely suicide) shortly thereafter. He was notoriously {{Commitment|Issues}}phobic, both in politics and his personal life, the former of which lead to the start of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar. He might also have been, to use modern terms, asexual or gay. He lived with a man, Alabama politician William Rufus King, for over a decade. They were both effeminate and King was widely referred to as “Mrs Buchanan” or “Aunt Fancy” by UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson more specifically. These sorts of living arrangements weren’t uncommon in the mid 19th century and politicians in that era were notoriously catty but on the other hand, King referred to their relationship as “communion”. All of their correspondence to each other were destroyed so there is no definitive answer about the nature of their relationship.

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[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do with getting a four-year college degree]].

* The only unmarried President of the United States was James Buchanan, although the exact reason for this is debatable. It might be a lost love example. He was engaged to a wealthy woman as a young lawyer but the relationship ended quite suddenly after she heard rumors he was marrying her for money and she died under mysterious circumstances (likely suicide) shortly thereafter. He was notoriously {{Commitment|Issues}}phobic, both in politics and his personal life, the former of which lead to the start of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar. He might also have been, to use modern terms, asexual or gay. He lived with a man, Alabama politician William Rufus King, for over a decade. They were both effeminate and King was widely referred to as “Mrs Buchanan” or “Aunt Fancy” by UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson more specifically. These sorts of living arrangements weren’t uncommon in the mid 19th century and politicians in that era were notoriously catty but on the other hand, King referred to their relationship as “communion”. All of their correspondence to each other were destroyed so there is no definitive answer about the nature of their relationship.

[[MarriageTropes Marriage]].[[note]]Or, to some, [[Film/ThePrincessBride mawwiage.]][[/note]]

[[SubvertedTrope It's not for everyone]].

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* Both Snape and Dumbledore from ''Literature/HarryPotter '' are these for pretty similar reasons. Snape is of the love lost variety. He’d been in love with [[spoiler: Harry’s mom, Lily]] since they were kids. She didn’t reciprocate and he pushed her friendship away when he called her a FantasticSlur and became a Death Eater. He fairly directly caused her death and he just wasn’t ever [[SingleTargetSexuality to move on from her specifically]] or forgive himself for it. Although [[spoiler: Voldemort]] says he tried to convince him he’d moved on, implying he may have fake dated someone. Dumbledore is of the gay before it was socially acceptable type and of the one attempt at love ended in catastrophe type like Snape. Right after he graduated from Hogwarts, his mother died and he got a PromotionToParent over his two younger siblings. A fresh out of [[spoiler:getting kicked out of Dumstrang Grindelwald]] came knocking to his village and manipulated him into running off with him [[spoiler: with his mentally ill sister in tow]] for a whole year. His brother tried to stop them and [[spoiler:she got killed in the crossfire]]. He was also never able to forgive himself for it and decided from there on out, he was going to be a teacher and not ever get involved with anyone else. Although it’s left ambiguous if [[spoiler: Grindelwald]] ever actually reciprocated or if it was just manipulation.

* '''The ClosetGay Bachelor:''' ''Pretends'' to be one of the other types to explain why they're single, but it's really just a cover. The term "confirmed bachelor" is often used winkingly as a euphemism for this, although its broader definition is the original one and still widely used.

* The only unmarried President of the United States was James Buchanan, although the exact reason for this is debatable. It might be a lost love example. He was engaged to a wealthy woman as a young lawyer but the relationship ended quite suddenly after she heard rumors he was marrying her for money and she died under mysterious circumstances (likely suicide) shortly thereafter. He was notoriously {{Commitment|Issues}}phobic, both in politics and his personal life, the former of which lead to the start of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar. He might also have been asexual or gay. He lived with a man, Alabama politician William Rufus King, for over a decade. They were both effeminate and King was widely referred to as “Mrs Buchanan” or “Aunt Fancy” by UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson more specifically. These sorts of living arrangements weren’t uncommon in the mid 19th century and politicians in that era were notoriously catty but on the other hand, King referred to their relationship as “communion”. All of their correspondence to each other were destroyed so there is no definitive answer about the nature of their relationship.

* '''The Closet Gay Bachelor:''' ''Pretends'' to be one of the other types to explain why they're single, but it's really just a cover. The term "confirmed bachelor" is often used winkingly as a euphemism for this, although its broader definition is the original one and still widely used.

Whatever the reason, the end result is a character who would otherwise be considered marriageable -- is of the proper age, reasonably attractive, financially stable, confident, hasn't taken a vow of celibacy, etc. -- who nevertheless is unmarried, has never been married, and is not expected to become married.

* The only unmarried President of the United States was James Buchanan. He seems to have been a combination of Lost Love Bachelor (his engagement to a wealthy woman when he was younger got broken off and she died soon afterwards), {{Commitment|Issues}}phobic (his dithering was a habit not only in his personal life but was a huge part of his presidency, contributing to the outbreak of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar) and possibly {{Asexuality}} or closet gay (there's compelling evidence for both possibilities).[[note]]UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson called Buchanan "Aunt Nancy".[[/note]]

* Anne from ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' shows little to no interest in getting married due to the fact that it would mean she couldn't serve Catarina anymore, even turning down Duke Claes' offer to find her a good husband after the awful ArrangedMarriage her father tries to force her into falls through.

* '''The Closet Gay Bachelor:''' ''Pretends'' to be one of the other types to explain why they're single, but it's really just a cover. The term "confirmed bachelor" is often used winkingly as a euphemism for this, although its broader definition is the original one and still widely-used.

* '''The Uninterested In Love Bachelor:''' This character simply has no interest in love or romance, let alone marriage, being too busy with [[BetterThanSex other pursuits]]. Often overlaps with MarriedToTheJob in cases where the character is too buried in their work to even ''try'' to find a suitable spouse, as opposed to cases where they try and fail or wish they had the time to try. For much the same reason, can overlap with CelibateEccentricGenius. If the entire cast is like this despite being of an appropriate age for romance, it's NoHuggingNoKissing. Often overlaps with {{Asexuality}} in fiction, although real life asexuals are often still interested in romance and companionship and some do marry.

Often overlaps with CelibateHero. If one of these characters winds up getting "turned" and becomes HappilyMarried, they have become a DeconfirmedBachelor. Compare AwfulWeddedLife, which is what many Confirmed Bachelors consider marriage to be. Spouses trapped in an AwfulWeddedLife often express anti-marriage sentiments similar to those of certain types of Confirmed Bachelor. See also SuperheroesStaySingle, when celibacy is [[EnforcedTrope enforced]] by the authors rather then self willingness.

* Both Snape and Dumbledore from ''Literature/HarryPotter '' are these for pretty similar reasons. Snape is of the love lost variety. He’d been in love with [[spoiler: Harry’s mom, Lily]] since they were kids. She didn’t reciprocate and he pushed her friendship away when he called her a FantasticSlur and became a Death Eater. He fairly directly caused her death and and he just wasn’t ever [[SingleTargetSexuality to move on from her specifically]] or forgive himself for it. Although [[spoiler: Voldemort]] says he tried to convince him he’d moved on, implying he may have fake dated someone. Dumbledore is of the gay before it was socially acceptable type and of the one attempt at love ended in catastrophe type like Snape. Right after he graduated from Hogwarts, his mother died and he got a PromotionToParent over his two younger siblings. A fresh out of [[spoiler:getting kicked out of Dumstrang Grindelwald]] came knocking to his village and manipulated him into running off with him [[spoiler: with his mentally ill sister in tow]] for a whole year. His brother tried to stop them and [[spoiler:she got killed in the crossfire]]. He was also never able to forgive himself for it and decided from there on out, he was going to be a teacher and not ever get involved with anyone else. Although it’s left ambiguous if [[spoiler: Grindelwald]] ever actually reciprocated or if it was just manipulation.

* Creator/CSLewis seems to have been the "Uninterested in Love" variety for most of his life, until he met Joy Gresham and married her at the age of 58. Even then, it was only a CitizenshipMarriage at first, until she got cancer and he realized how much he needed her.

* The only unmarried President of the United States was James Buchanan. He seems to have been a combination of Lost Love Bachelor (his engagement to a wealthy woman when he was younger got broken off and she died soon afterwards), {{Commitment|Issues}}phobic (his dithering was a habit not only in his personal life, but was a huge part of his presidency, contributing to the outbreak of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar) and possibly {{Asexuality}} or closet gay (there's compelling evidence for both possibilities).[[note]]UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson called Buchanan "Aunt Nancy".[[/note]]

->"Mr Wooster is an agreeable young gentleman, but I would describe him as essentially one of Nature's bachelors."

* '''The ArmoredClosetGay Bachelor:''' ''Pretends'' to be one of the other types to explain why they're single, but it's really just a cover. The term "confirmed bachelor" is often used winkingly as a euphemism for this, although its broader definition is the original one and still widely-used.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', L and Light Yagami fall into the MarriedToTheJob category. Light does become engaged to Misa, but never follows through and his reasons have little to do with romance in any case. Contrary to the wishes of [[{{Shipping}} shippers]] and despite the [[FoeYay subtext]], they are not canonically of the ArmoredClosetGay variety.

* Ser Brynden Tully from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', also known as The Blackfish, is famous for his refusal to marry, despite living in a world where {{Arranged Marriage}}s are the norm and the decision requiring him to cut ties with much of his family. {{Fanon}} has him of the ArmoredClosetGay variety (enforced by the setting, which is not gay-friendly), although he has no known lovers of either gender.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the perk that identifies male characters as homosexual is named "Confirmed Bachelor", thus giving the player the opportunity to invoke the ArmoredClosetGay variety.

* There is some dispute among historians whether Leonardo da Vinci was of the MarriedToTheJob type or the ArmoredClosetGay type; regardless, he never married.

* The only unmarried President of the United States was James Buchanan. He seems to have been a combination of Lost Love Bachelor (his engagement to a wealthy woman when he was younger got broken off and she died soon afterwards), {{Commitment|Issues}}phobic (his dithering was a habit not only in his personal life, but was a huge part of his presidency, contributing to the outbreak of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar) and possibly {{Asexuality}} or ArmoredClosetGay (there's compelling evidence for both possibilities).[[note]]UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson called Buchanan "Aunt Nancy".[[/note]]

* Martin the Warrior from the ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' series is an example of the Lost Love type. After losing Rose in the Battle of Marshank, he never becomes romantically involved with another character.

* '''The [[TheMourningAfter Lost Love]] Bachelor:''' This character might have considered marriage, but their preferred partner is unavailable (either deceased, married to another, of the [[IncompatibleOrientations wrong orientation]], or just [[UnrequitedLove uninterested]]) and they are unwilling to settle for someone else. May seize on a HeManWomanHater attitude as an excuse, similar in some ways to the above.

* '''The [[TheMourningAfter Lost Love]] Bachelor:''' This character might have considered marriage, but their preferred partner is unavailable (either deceased, married to another, or just [[UnrequitedLove uninterested]]) and they are unwilling to settle for someone else. May seize on a HeManWomanHater attitude as an excuse, similar in some ways to the above.

* '''The [[TheMourningAfter Lost Love]] Bachelor:''' This character might have considered marriage, but their preferred partner is unavailable (either deceased, married to another, or just [[UnrequitedLove uninterested]]) and they are unwilling to settle for another. May seize on a HeManWomanHater attitude as an excuse, similar in some ways to the above.

* '''The Lost Love Bachelor:''' This character might have considered marriage, but their preferred partner is unavailable (either deceased, married to another, or just [[UnrequitedLove uninterested]]) and they are unwilling to settle for another. May seize on a HeManWomanHater attitude as an excuse, similar in some ways to the above.

%%* ''{{Series/AdamTwelve}}'' Pete Malloy for most of the series.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', L and Light Yagami fall into the MarriedToTheJob category. Light does become engaged to Misa, but never follows through and his reasons have little to do with romance in any case. Contrary to the wishes of {{shipper}}s and despite the [[FoeYay subtext]], they are not canonically of the ArmoredClosetGay variety.

* [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] in all of his incarnations, due both to the [[ThriftyScot increased expenses marriage and children would incur]] and his personal need [[JerkassFacade to appear as strong, aloof and hardhearted as possible]]. He refers to his NewOldFlame Glittering Goldie O'Gilt (a woman he [[AMatchMadeInStockholm kidnapped and held hostage for a month as revenge for drugging and robbing him]] during the Yukon Gold Rush) as "the only love one I ever knew."