History Main / SecretRelationship

* ''Film/AugustInTheCity'': August and Clem were secretly together years before, while both [[TheBeard pretended]] they were attracted to guys.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Due to being an interracial queer couple, which is doubly illegal and taboo given the story begins in the early twentieth century of Louisiana, Lestat de Lioncourt (a white Frenchman) and Louis de Pointe du Lac (a black Creole) carefully keep the fact that they're lovers a secret (albeit [[OpenSecret many realize it]]) from all but a few (obviously their vampire daughter Claudia knows). Once, a police officer discovers that they have only one bed in the house and threatens them with a five-year term in prison for a "crime against nature" due to this, but doesn't do anything further.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': [[{{Asmodeus}} Ozzie's]] relationship with Fizzarolli is explicitly stated to be "[[OpenSecret the worst kept secret in all of Hell]]", with practically every demon, imp and sinner knowing or having heard about it. It stops being a not-secret after Ozzie publicly admits that he loves Fizzarolli in order to keep him away from {{Mammon}}, who can no longer {{blackmail}} Ozzie as a result.

* ''Film/ProfessorMarstonAndTheWonderWomen'': Elizabeth, Olive and William keep the fact they're together (or they try to) as bisexuality (along with {{polyamory}}) are taboos, deemed "sex deviations" in the early 20th century.

* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': Anna discusses it with Kyōtarō on a train ride, bringing up how kids back in her elementary school days got together and openly held hands in the hallway. Then says that she personally finds ''this'' trope more fun and [[DoubleMeaning asks Kyōtarō what he thinks.]]

** Sayaka and Kyoko were secretly dating before they hooked up with Kensuke. In fact, their originally wanted him to act as TheBeard before their relationship developed into {{Polyamory}}.

%% * In ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "Pastoral", what causes Cammie to decide to become a SecretKeeper for Roustabout's SecretIdentity is that she learned about this, namely Roustabout and her cousin.

* In ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'' Tim's father and his physical therapist try to hide their relationship from Tim for quite a while, probably because of Tim's recently deceased mother. Tim of course has known all along and figured out they were going to start dating even before they did. He has no problem with it and figures Dana could make a really cool stepmother, which in time she does.

** Between them overall, it's downplayed. The two always walk home from school together, begin hanging out outside of school and try to keep their level of closeness a secret from their classmates, ''especially'' at the start of their third year to avoid [[ShipperOnDeck Kankan's desire to throw a flashmob celebration for class couples.]] But they’re an ''[[TwiceShy unofficial]]'' couple up to that point and actually question if they've been dating the whole time or not.
** They eventually ''do'' start dating for real, but ironically it’s by then that they start letting a select few people close to them know.

* Romio Inuzuka and Juliet Persia, resident StarCrossedLovers ([[ShoutOutToShakespeare notice the names?]]) of ''Manga/BoardingSchoolJuliet'' are from two opposing nations. Juliet accepts Romio's LoveConfession at the end of Chapter 1 (episode 1 in the anime) under the condition that it be kept under wraps. If they were ever to be found out, they would both get labelled as traitors to their countries. They make it their goal to change the world so that they don't have to hide their relationship anymore.

* The plot of ''Manga/DandelionAmongLilies'' revolves around a secret relationship. Mizuho and Ena's both being women causes them ostracism, so they try to avoid being open about their romance. Drama occurs when the more open Ena becomes worried that Mizuho would rather be with a men.

** [[StoicWoobie Hatori]] and Kana. While their relationship may not have been intentionally kept a secret to people outside of the Sohma house, Kana and Hatori formally go to Akito to ask for a marriage blessing. Akito treats this knowledge as a secret that was kept from him (or better said her), and flips out accordingly by smashing a vase into Hatori's head, [[EyeScream effectively blinding him in one eye]] in the process. Kana's witnessing of this and Akito's [[TheReasonYousuckSpeech accusation that this happened because of their relationship]] breaks Kana to the point where Hatori had to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia erase all her memories of their relationship]] to save her from her depression.

* In the execrable FullMotionVideo game ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria 2}}'', the protagonist Curtis insists on this with his co-worker girlfriend. [[spoiler:Which paves the way for freaky BDSM sex with the only other female co-worker.]]

* ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' has a secret love relationship between VainSorceress Sistah Spooky and [[DisabilitySuperpower Mindf**k]]. Even after their breakup the former is horrified by the idea of anyone knowing she was in a romantic relationship with a ''blonde'' woman.
* Lightly parodied/inverted in the last volume of ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' with Stephen Stills and Joseph. The parodical nature comes from the fact that Stephen wasn't trying to hide the relationship. Scott was just a bit too thick to notice (though in his defense, he was suffering from a bit of a mental breakdown.)

* Ginger and Nancy from ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'' are secretly dating, despite the fact Nancy has a boyfriend. Nancy wants to come out but Ginger is worried they won't be accepted well.

* ''[[ComicBook/DCPride2022 DC Pride: Tim Drake Special]]'': Tim masks what he's doing when he goes on his first date with Bernard, as it's his first non-het romantic relationship and he's still figuring out his own bisexuality. He does come out to his friends and family later.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheKingandI'', Prince Chulalongkorn falls in love with Tuptim, a servant girl. They keep their romance hidden as it's strictly forbidden due to their different social status, but are determined to be together. However, until the time is right, they decide to keep their relationship a secret, until the King's advisor discovers their romance and outs them in his plot to takeover the kingdom.

* One takes place in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' onwards, between Ky Kiske and Dizzy. After Ky fetched Dizzy and took her in (in ''XX Accent Core Plus''), they fell in love and even had a son, Sin Kiske. However, they aren't actually married due to various factors (such as Dizzy [[DeathFakedForYou being officially declared dead by the world government]] since ''X'', her lack of legal status as a Gear, Ky being the [[TheChainsOfCommanding High King of Illyria]] ''on top'' of [[ChurchMilitant leading the Holy Order]], and the time she spent [[BarrierMaiden pretty much frozen]]), and very few know that they're together. Other than that, though, they're very content and comfortable with one another. Later the Illyrian crowds find out about Dizzy's existence, ''[[LovedByAll adore]]'' [[LovedByAll her]] [[AllLovingHero for her kindness towards them]], and [[ShipperOnDeck want her]] [[HotConsort to marry Ky]]... without knowing that they're already involved.

* In ''Literature/LovelaceOneTwo'', Andi figures out that Mr. Stone and Ms. Seok are secretly an item.
* In ''Literature/HeartInHand'', Darryl and Alex keep the fact that they regularly have sex with each other a secret from everyone else because they're superstar hockey players under constant media scrutiny. When Alex gets ForcedOutOfTheCloset after cameras catch another man leaving his hotel room, he manages to still keep it a secret that the other man was Darryl until Darryl decides to publicly come out too.

* ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'': Kuroe ''tries'' to do this once she starts dating Arata, as the latter is a popular ChickMagnet and she is worried that his reputation will suffer [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim if he's seen with a "loser" like her]]. But she ends up having to deliver his forgotten lunch to him in view of the whole school, which results in everyone quickly finding out anyway.
* ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'':
** Meiko and Shinichi aka Nachan because [[TeacherStudentRomance he's her teacher]]. While Yuu finds out early on, the rest of the cast doesn't until they're caught and it becomes a scandal.
** Miki and Yuu get tangled up in one because [[FlirtyStepsiblings they're stepsiblings]] and Miki's mother Rumi warned her not to fall in love with Yuu in the first place. She was actually joking, and once they tell the parents, they accept it. (It's handled differently in each media, though.) The ''original'' ending planned (as mentioned in the mangaka's afterword in the last tankoubon) was that Miki and Yuu ''were'' half-brother and -sister and stopped dating, moving onto college. But the mangaka decided to change it when told by her editors that it was crazy.
* The premise of ''Anime/PleaseTeacher'', where Mizuho and Kei are married even though [[TeacherStudentRomance she's his teacher]]. She's also [[HumanAliens half alien]], but that's treated as a much less dangerous secret.
* Nanao and Matsumoto from ''Manga/JunsuiAdolescence'' keep their relationship secret due to it being a taboo GirlsLove TeacherStudentRomance. Their friend Hanada-sensei figures it out regardless.

* In ''Manga/HanjukuJoshi'', Yae and Chitose keep their relationship secret for a while, since Yae is afraid that their peers will judge them for being lesbians.
* In ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'', Makoto and Sekai both decide to date (and sleep with) each other, while Makoto is still in a relationship with Kotonoha, which he also never really breaks off and continues to lead her on. It gets worse from there. [[AxeCrazy Much, much worse]].

* While most of their friends, and their parents, are well-aware of their relationship, Nitori and Anna from ''Manga/WanderingSon'' have this type of relationship. It mainly has to do with the fact Anna is a model ([[ContractualPurity so her career would suffer]]), and that Nitori is UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Played for laughs when [[BelligerentSexualTension Ranma and Akane]] try to pretend they were secret lovers all along. Most people don't buy it though; in fact, [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Ukyo]] is convinced Akane is forcing Ranma to lie and the rest of the school knows the two of them aren't really HappilyMarried because they're not arguing.
%%* Ohgi and Villetta of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' have a relationship that remains hidden throughout most of the series.
* ''Manga/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': By volume 8, Reiri officially begins [[BrotherSisterIncest dating Kizuna]] in secret. She has to keep their relationship hidden because she's an adult (age 27) who's sleeping with a minor (17), in addition to being [[SleepingWithTheBoss his Commanding Officer]] ''and'' [[spoiler: his biological sister]]!
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Asuma and Kurenai had been seeing each other, although they tried to keep it quiet and denied that they were. The truth comes out with [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy Asuma's death and Kurenai's pregnancy]], however, and all the other ninja suspected there was something going on between them anyway. It's later shown that they had been married as well.

* [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Reina]] of ''Manga/YandereKanojo'' would very much like to keep her relationship with [[TheStoic Manabu]] under wraps, to protect her status as a {{delinquent}}. Manabu himself doesn't really mind one way or the other, but it quickly becomes clear that [[EverybodyKnewAlready almost everyone knows about it, anyway]].
* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': Reimi Jahana is the CEO of the Jahana Corporation and is almost always accompanied by [[RighthandHottie her adjutant]], Washio. It isn't revealed that she's romantically involved with him, until [[{{ninja}} Chiho]] makes the mistake of entering Reimi's private rooftop rose garden and [[InterruptedIntimacy finds her straddling him, while they were making out]].

* Romio Inuzuka and Juliet Persia, resident StarCrossedLovers ([[ShoutOutToShakespeare notice the names?]]) of ''Manga/BoardingSchoolJuliet'' are from two opposing nations. Juliet accepts Romio's LoveConfession at the end of Chapter 1 (episode 1 in the anime) under the condition that it be kept under wraps. If they were ever to be found out, they would both get labelled as traitors to their countries. They make it their goal to change the world so that they don't have to hide their relationship anymore.
* Kaguya and Shirogane from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' finally start dating over winter break, though they try to keep it a secret to keep Kaguya's family from finding out. Despite this, at least half a dozen people find out before they've even been going out for a month (they didn't even last five ''seconds'' before [[ShipperOnDeck Karen]] found out because she happened to be only a few feet away when Kaguya made her LoveConfession by complete coincidence). Kaguya also takes any chance she can get to show off to the rest of the student council while still keeping it within the realm of a SarcasticConfession.
* The plot of ''Manga/DandelionAmongLilies'' revolves around a secret relationship. Mizuho and Ena's both being women causes them ostracism, so they try to avoid being open about their romance. Drama occurs when the more open Ena becomes worried that Mizuho would rather be with a men.
* ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'' has a few examples.
** Touko and Yuu's relationship is a secret from most of the cast, even early on in the series, when it's just Touko asking Yuu to love her on the condition that Yuu not love her back. Maki witnesses them kissing, and Yuu, terrified of what might happen if rumors spread, forces him to swear he won't tell anyone. Maki agrees, since he enjoys watching other people's love stories play out, but notes that Yuu seemed more worried about Touko than she was about herself. [[spoiler:Later on in the series, it's implied that Yuu's sister Rei, her group of friends, Maki and Sayaka all know about her relationship with Touko, although Yuu hasn't told her parents or Doujima yet.]]
** Riko Hakozaki, Yuu's homeroom teacher, and Miyako Kodama, the owner of a local cafe, are actually dating, but keep their relationship a secret. Riko's the one who's more worried about keeping it secret, since Miyako tells Sayaka the truth when she asks.
** Akari's crush Oogaki claimed that he wanted to focus on basketball when he turned down her LoveConfession, but the truth was that he was in a relationship with Serizawa, the team captain. The two of them wanted to keep their relationship secret to avoid complications with the team, although Doujima is furious with Oogaki for giving Akari false hope.

* ''Manga/LoveAfterWorldDomination'': Fudo Aikawa enters a relationship with Desumi Magahara. Problem is, he's the leader of the "[[{{Sentai}} Gelato Five]]", while [[DatingCatwoman she's one of the top generals of the evil organization Gekko]], so they can't allow it to become public.