Basic Trope: A married couple doesn't sleep together.
- Straight: Alice and Bob haven't had sex in several years.
- Exaggerated: Alice and Bob never even had sex on the wedding night, rarely (if ever) hug or kiss, and sleep in separate bedrooms.
- Downplayed: Alice and Bob only have sex for children, though they do share a bed.
- Justified:
- Alice and Bob's romance has stagnated, but don't believe in divorce.
- Alice and/or Bob have some kind of medical problem that makes them unable to perform.
- Alice and Bob have agreed to not have sex, for spiritual reasons.
- Both Alice and Bob are asexual, but not aromantic; they prefer to engage into other kind of amorous interactions not related to intercourse.
- Despite being married Alice and Bob have decided that they aren't ready to have sex yet.
- Bob and/or Alice aren't/isn't comfortable having sex because they've/(s)he's experienced sexual abuse and can't help but be reminded of that experience during sex. So they agree not to.
- Bob and Alice have analyzed the very idea of sex, seeing it as bad from a logical standpoint (S.T.D.s, touching organs that pee & poo, vaginal pain if the penis is too big, etc.). So in-order to maintain the idea that they are more logical than everyone-else or simply just because they think it is rational, they decide to refrain from all sex even if they really want to.
- Bob and Alice want to study each other's sexual preferences and what makes good sex so good first, to make sure their first time together is enjoyable.
- Alice or Bob has A.I.D.S. or some deadly S.T.D. or S.T.I. and (s)he doesn't want to risk his/her partner's safety.
- Alice and Bob are married for reasons completely unrelated to love, such as being in an Arranged Marriage or one of them having married the other for the sake of getting a green card.
- Granma Alice and Grandpa Bob no longer feel the need for it.
- Inverted:
- Alice and Bob are Insatiable Newlyweds, or still act like it.
- Alice and Bob have had sex every night for 12 years, but have no plans to ever marry.
- Subverted:
- Alice and Bob have an open marriage.
- Bob (or Alice) is serving in a war overseas and hasn't been home in a long time.
- The marriage is a sham.
- Alice and Bob have sex quite a lot, but it's so rote and passionless that they're just as unsatisfied and emotionally distant as if they were having none.
- Double Subverted:
- But haven't had sex with each other in a very long time.
- They didn't have sex even when Bob or Alice was at home.
- Parodied: Alice and Bob, despite being a married couple, don't even know the meaning of the word "intercourse" nor any of its equivalents.
- Zig Zagged: Sometimes Alice and Bob are implied to go for weeks, months, years without sex, other times can't even be in the same room without doing something sexual together.
- Averted: Alice and Bob have a normal amount of marital sex.
- Enforced:
- Alice and Bob are in a series made during the days of The Hays Code, where even a married couple having sex (or even sharing a bed) was considered scandalous by Moral Guardians everywhere.
- The series is supposed to be family-friendly, so Moral Guardians could still object to a married couple sharing a bed.
- Lampshaded: "No, we don't sleep together just because we're married. We're more like best friends."
- Invoked: Alice and Bob start fighting, and the whole marriage (including the sex) suffers for it.
- Exploited: Claire has long been in love with Bob, and she convinces Bob to have an affair with her because he doesn't feel satisfied with his marriage.
- Defied:
- Alice and Bob agree that they will have sex at least once a week (if not more than that), no matter what.
- Alice and Bob get help for their personal and marital issues (or medical ones). They have sex...and really enjoy it.
- Discussed: "I heard Alice and Bob aren't sleeping together anymore. I couldn't stay in a marriage without sex."
- Conversed: "Why do Alice and Bob still sleep in separate beds? They've been Happily Married for five years."
- Deconstructed: Abstinence from sex can put a strain on the relationship, especially if it wasn't by mutual agreement. (And if it was, then one or both of them may not be up to the challenge.) It may also be a sign of personal or relationship problems, and may lead to cheating or divorce.
- Reconstructed: Alice and Bob are no longer in love but still like each other as friends, so they stay together.
- Played For Laughs: As a Running Gag, Alice asks Bob if it's time to finally push the beds together. Bob invariably replies, "Not tonight, honey."
- Played For Drama: Alice leaves Bob because he refuses to have sex, and because they shared their bills, they both end up homeless.
- Implied: Alice and Bob sleep in separate beds, and act more like best friends than a typical married couple.
- Plotted A Good Waste: Not applicable. (This trope is always intentional.)
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