Basic Trope: A character who needs to hide that they are gay fakes having a spouse or significant other to appear straight.
- Straight: Alice is a lesbian. She leaves her partner Claire at home and instead takes Bob to the Troperville High class reunion as her "husband" so her classmates don't learn the truth.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice and Bob present a forged marriage license at the reunion.
- Bob is also gay.
- Alice and Bob show their friends a staged wedding video.
- Alice adopts a baby resembling her (or borrows one from a friend), and in order to appear married, she takes both Bob and the baby with her to a friend's house.
- Downplayed: Alice does not take Bob or another man with her. However, she wears a fake or borrowed wedding ring, gives a fake married name at the reception, and makes up an explanation for why her (non-existent) husband isn't with her.
- Justified:
- Alice is still in the closet because of what others might think.
- Alice is a lesbian and through a series of unfortunate events has ended up in a country where homosexuality is punishable by death.
- Inverted:
- Alex is Bob's husband, but they pretend to be friends or siblings around others.
- Alice is in a relationship with Claire, but goes to the reunion alone and tells everyone that she's still single.
- Alice and Bob are a straight couple, but Alice tells everyone that she's a lesbian and that Bob is her brother.
- Gender Inverted:
- Bob is gay. He leaves his partner Dave at home and instead takes Alice to the Troperville High class reunion as his "wife" so his classmates don't learn the truth.
- Subverted:
- Alice tries to kiss Bob, but he recoils, saying "Ew, gross! I'm your cousin!"
- Alice tells a friend on the phone that she is "ashamed of her status". Then she goes to the reunion alone.
- Everyone thought Alice was a lesbian and using Bob as a cover, since they were best friends since childhood. Turns out Alice isn't interested in anyone - male, female, or nonbinary - other than Bob.
- Alice has a definite preference for other women, but Bob is the one guy she makes an exception for.
- Double Subverted:
- When everyone looks at them in shock, Alice tries to cover it up by telling them Bob's just kidding.
- ...but she tells everyone all about her attractive, rich, smart, kind, and all-around wonderful husband home with the flu (or boyfriend fighting in a war overseas). (Who does not exist.)
- Parodied: Alice brings an Imaginary Friend to the reunion, and tells everyone he's her husband. Everyone except Charles believes her.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: No one lies about their relationship status or sexuality.
- Enforced: The suits in charge grudgingly allowed Alice to be lesbian, but don't want her to be shown in a relationship with another woman. They hope to create enough Ship Tease with Bob to override the writer's wishes.
- Lampshaded: "Did you say 'husband' or 'cousin'?"
- Invoked: Alice is concerned about her image, so she decides to start traveling around with an attractive male friend or relative and claiming that he's her husband.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Alice realizes that her plan of hiding Claire and pretending to be with Bob is hurting Claire, so she doesn't go to the reunion.
- Discussed: "I'm thinking about faking being married, so no one at the class reunion learns I'm a lesbian. How exactly do you explain to someone that you need them to fake being your husband?"
- Conversed: "How'd Alice get a boyfriend on such short notice? I think something's up." "He's really her cousin. Didn't you see the last episode?"
- Implied: Alice tells everyone at the reunion that she and Bob are married, though it is stated in a later episode that Alice has never been married and lives with only her "close companion" Claire.
- Deconstructed:
- Someone is bound to be hurt or embarrassed (or both) by all this deception.
- Alice has a lot of self-doubts while dating Bob because she's questioning her sexual identity and is confused by how she can love Bob and love other women. Bob, on the hand, is confused and heartbroken by the fact that Alice is looking at other women and desires a genuine relationship with her. Realizing the lack of stability in the relationship, Bob and Alice decide to break up.
- Bob is either questioning his sexuality or is secretly gay but decides to rush into a relationship with Alice, who's had feelings for him for a long time, because he doesn't want to come out and explore these feelings. During their relationship, Bob still shows interest in other men and while he insists that he loves Alice, she eventually catches on to his wandering eyes and sees that Bob isn't as committed to the relationship as she is. Desiring an authentic relationship, she gently breaks up with him and tells him he should be true to himself.
- Reconstructed: Fortunately for Alice, the lie is never found out—because Bob lives far away, and Alice loses touch with her former classmates (either on purpose or by accident) after the reunion.
- Played For Laughs: ???
- Played For Drama: ???
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