Rory: Itami is currently single.
Arpeggio and Mimosa: THAT'S PERFECT!
Mimosa: Oh my oh dear!
Lelei: No. He is no longer single. Itami and I have completed the Three Nights Ceremony.
Tuka: What?!
Arpeggio and Mimosa: THAT'S PERFECT!
Mimosa: Oh my oh dear!
Lelei: No. He is no longer single. Itami and I have completed the Three Nights Ceremony.
Tuka: What?!
— Gate, "The Dangerous Sisters"
Someone wants to keep other people away from someone they have romantic feelings for. They could declare them their "boyfriend/girlfriend" in front of others. They could even say that they're "fiancés", if they are willing to make that level of commitment. But for true shock and awe at getting someone else to back off, nothing quite takes the cake like declaring that they're your spouse, particularly if the person being claimed is just as surprised due to not having even proposed, let alone going through a wedding ceremony.
It's not a blatant lie in the traditional sense. The person making the claim may fully believe it to be the case. Indeed, they may act from that point onward as a doting and caring spouse. In time, the person they've claimed may actually start to see them as their spouse.
It may well overlap with Accidental Marriage if it's learned that the person being claimed inadvertently did something that equates to a marriage vow in another country/world/planet.
While not necessarily Always Female, there are disproportionately more female characters claiming someone as their spouse than there are male ones, though the latter is not unheard of. There are also cases of Incompatible Orientation and Ignoring Sexual Orientation involved, e.g., a straight woman declaring she is a gay man's wife, or a lesbian insisting that a straight woman is married to her, or anyone of any gender claiming an aromantic or asexual partner as their spouse. Unrelated to The Beard, where someone agrees to be someone's spouse on paper to hide their orientation.
Of course, there's an equal chance that the person making the claim of spouse-hood is an Abhorrent Admirer and their unwilling "spouse" is all too eager to be rid of them, though they'll often run into a situation where their unwanted spouse is Too Kinky to Torture.
Another possibility is that a third party will refer to a pair as husband and wife, often jokingly, and equally often after observing some very blatant Belligerent Sexual Tension between the pair. This will often result in protests of "He/She is not my husband/wife".
A group that has both a Team Mom and a Team Dad may well find both of them referenced as husband and wife by the Team Kids, or by their enemies.
And then there is the modern day concept of the work-spouse, someone at work, typically but not always of the opposite sex, with whom someone interacts a good deal and is on basically good terms with, with some mild playful banter, while still acknowledging that they are not married to each other in actuality, and may, in fact, be legally married to other people outside of the workplace.
It is also possible for others to see a pair of Platonic Life-Partners as spouses, though this tends to be relegated to subtext rather than openly spoken (siblings of one of the partners might compare the other member to one of their parents, for example). This is often used to fuel Ho Yay when stating the pair is a romantic couple openly might be problematic.
Sub-Trope of Self-Proclaimed Love Interest. See Self-Proclaimed In-Law, when the self-proclaimed spouse introduces themselves to relatives of the target of their affections. Not to be confused with And Now You Must Marry Me, where a villain tries to coerce someone into a marriage. See also Common Law Marriage, where a long-term couple is committed but not formally married. See also Like an Old Married Couple for moments that might provoke a declaration of spousehood from third parties. See Boyfriend Bluff when such a move is used for protection.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Black Butler has a unique variant; Elizabeth Midford proudly declares herself "wife of the Queen's Watchdog!" when she has to reveal her swordswoman skills to fight off a horde of zombies. Her fiancé, Ciel Phantomhive, is an earl known as the "Queen's Watchdog".
- Chidori RSC: Played for Laughs; when Hikari laments that no boys have expressed interest in her, Izumi says she's in the same boat. Hikari says she'll marry Izumi, and Izumi treats it like they've already had the wedding, saying, "We're married, Hikari." She also suggests it's time for a divorce when Hikari bumps her while they're playing with fireworks after a match.
- Hakumei & Mikochi: Downplayed; while Hakumei and Mikochi never refer to one another as "wife" or "spouse", others around them clearly consider them as such. Narai, the head of the local guild that Hakumei joins, actually says to Hakumei, "You have a wife, don't you?" Hakumei reminds him that she's a woman. It's also clear that Mikochi's sister considers the pair a married couple, even comparing Hakumei to her and Mikochi's father.
- My Bride is a Mermaid: After Sun rescues Nagasumi from drowning and he sees her true mermaid form, he's informed by her family that seeing a mermaid in her true form means you either have to die...or marry the mermaid. Sun prefers the latter, while her father, head of a mermaid yakuza group, would rather do the former. Even though no formal ceremony has taken place, Sun refers to Nagasumi as her husband from that point on, even disrupting Lunar's attempt to marry Nagasumi for seeing her mermaid form.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: When Shinji and Asuka are bickering in class, Touji snarkily announces to everyone else, "Hey, look, the newlyweds are fighting." Cue protests from the pair.
- One Piece: Boa Hancock is fond of declaring that she's Luffy's true love or fiancee. Not only has there not been a formal ceremony, Luffy is totally uninterested and oblivious.
- Ranma ½:
- Due to the nature of the laws of the Joketsuzoku, Shampoo already considers Ranma to be her husband, and addresses him as such, often greeting him with "Wo da airen" ("My beloved husband" as Nabiki translates for Akane). While Ranma does consider Shampoo beautiful, and tries not to hurt her feelings, he also rightfully considers Shampoo dangerous and duplicitous, and does NOT want to be attached to her. Of course, she's not the only one vying for his affections.
- In the film, Nihao My Concubine, after Mousse defeats Toristan to rescue Shampoo, he passes out from the exertion, while declaring, "Shampoo is my bride." Notably, it is one of the only times in the franchise where Shampoo responds to Mousse tenderly and with gratitude, catching him before he can fall and cradling him while he's unconscious.
- Seton Academy: Join the Pack!: Ranka tells people that Jin is her mate, in spite of him making very clear that isn’t the case, and when she tells her sister that they’re married Jin almost gets beaten up for it. Ranka’s sister still suspects him of corrupting her even afterward, even though Jin wants nothing to do with her in reality.
- SPY×FAMILY: When arriving late to a party hosted by one of Yor's coworkers, Loid introduces himself as Yor's husband. Yor has to remind him that she only asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend, but Loid accidentally mixed up his plansnote with hersnote .
- Urusei Yatsura:
- Lum insists that she and Ataru are married and husband and wife after he grabbed her horns in a game of tag to save the Earth from alien invasion. This is actually based on an ancient legend that if you grab an oni by the horns, they will grant you a wish, and Ataru had declared "I'm getting married!" when he'd grabbed Lum's horns. He'd meant to his childhood friend Shinobu, but he wasn't specific. Be Careful What You Wish For, indeed.
- Shingo, almost literally raised by television while living in the Mendou family's "Electric Jungle", quickly declared Lum to be his wife. Due to the nature of the "Electric Jungle", he grew up immune to electric shocks, meaning Lum can't dissuade him with her electric zaps. Lum allows herself to be "kidnapped" to force Ataru to come to her rescue.
Fan Works
- Inter Nos: Though Natsuki and Shizuru haven't been married officially, as Natsuki does not have Himean citizenship, after she loses a leg in combat and is convalescing in Shizuru's lodgings at the port of Argus, Shizuru's house slave, a Greek by the name of Hermias, begins addressing Natsuki as "Dominilla", indicating he already sees her as Shizuru's wife. Hermias is also one of the few people Natsuki will favor with a smile.
Film — Live-Action
- Parenthood: When Julie is arrested for panhandling after running away from home to be with her boyfriend Tod, her mother Helen welcomes her back with open arms—until Tod shows up at the door and starts trying to win her back. Helen goes into Mama Bear mode by whacking at Tod with a newspaper, until...
Tod: Julie, you belong with me!
Helen: Let go of her!
Tod: You're my WIFE!
Helen: I said—
(Realizing what she just heard)
Helen: His what?
Julie: ...his wife. We got married a few days ago.
(Helen turns the newspaper on Julie)
Helen: Are you out of your mind?! Are you out of your MIND?!
Literature
- The Apothecary Diaries: One of Jinshi's later gambits to deal with the political pressure he's under as a potential heir to the throne is to prevent any unwanted Arranged Marriages by branding himself with Empress Gyokuyou's family insignia in the presence of her and the Emperor. He then declares to them that his wife will now have to be someone who understands the context or else it'll cause a scandal—and he pointedly clasps Maomao (the only' other witness) to his side while saying it.
- Eien no Filena: Lila, a former slave girl who had been offered to Filena as a "comfort" before "his" first gladiatorial fight, declares that she is Filena's wife, despite the fact that both of them are women. There are no cultural precedents for Lila's claim. She just decided that Filena, who helped free her, is hers and no one else's, and the two of them travel together from then on.
- Gate: Lelei claims that Youji Itami is her husband because they committed the ceremony of three nights (a man and a woman share the same room for three nights). Of course, Itami was utterly unaware of the custom, so the claim is dubious at best, and Tuka is quick to point out that she's spent far more nights with Itami than Lelei had (though Lelei points out Tuka thought he was her father and out of her mind at the time, also making her claim dubious). Demigod Rory Mercury is just irritated because she's been trying to jump Itami's bones for a while, but made no progress, and is not pleased to hear the other two girls can make a claim for him.
- The Knights of the Cross: Zbyszko was almost executed, but just before it Danusia claimed him for marriage as there is old tradition saying that in that case convicted has to be released.
- Marcus Didius Falco: For a long time, Falco maintains that he and Helena Justina are man and wife in every applicable sense, despite their never having had a formal ceremony under Roman law. Helena absolutely agrees and supports him in this.
- Night Watch (Discworld): Having been sent back in time, Vimes briefly ponders going to the Ramkins' house to get help from his future spouse Sybil, who is a teenager (they got married when both were middle-aged).
But even the softest heart would be inclined to harden when a rough, desperate man with a fresh scar and bad clothes barged into the house and said he was going to be your husband. A young woman could get quite the wrong idea, and he wouldn't want that, not while she was holding a sword.
- Spice and Wolf: When Lawrence and Holo start traveling together, one of their first stops is a church, where they are seeking shelter from a downpour. Lawrence tells the Church members that Holo is his "wife", likely due to pragmatic reasons. In any age it is unlikely that the Church would have looked favorably on an unmarried man and woman sharing lodgings. In addition, Holo is a wolf in human form with ears and tail to show it, as well as being revered as a local harvest diety in a time when such things would have gotten her, and any one associated with her burned at the stake.
- Star Trek Expanded Universe: In the Next Generation novel "Q-in-Law", Lwxana Troi tries to pressure her daughter Deanna into marriage by performing an ancient ritual called the Ab'brax, which involves her publicly mourning the "death" of Deanna's mating potential. Deanna eventually gets Lwxana to stop by claiming that she and Data are engaged to be married.
- The Wheel of Time: When Mat realizes that the enemy princess he's kidnapping is the woman he's prophesied to marry, he repeatedly says "She is my wife", to the shock and horror of all present (including himself). He later learns that saying so three times before witnesses is the start of a legally binding marriage in her culture if she answers in kind within a A Year and a Day. Sure enough, after they fall in love, she does.
Egeanin: You cannot say that! You must not say that!
Mat: Why not? She is my wife. Your bloody Daughter of the Nine Moons is my wife!
Live-Action TV
- Castle: "The Fifth Bullet":
- Castle is waiting for Beckett at a crime scene and fawning over a dog tied up outside. He asks Beckett if she thinks he should get a dog. She retorts, "What am I, your wife?" He responds, "Yeah, you're my work-wife." She immediately denies it, but later Castle points to her disapproving stare and says, "Totally my work-wife." A few seasons later....
- Among the respondents to a news bulletin put out by the precinct to identify their amnesiac John Doe is a woman who claims to be his wife. Castle quickly works out she's just a Crazy Cat Lady after the man has an allergic reaction to cat dander on her clothes.
- Firefly: "Our Mrs. Reynolds": Mal is tidying up some cargo shortly after takeoff when he discovers a stowaway: a young woman named Saffron who claims to be his wife. Seems he had unknowingly taken part in a marriage ceremony while celebrating completion of a vigilante job on the planet they just left. Justified, as "Saffron" is actually a Con Artist who tricked him into it to explain her presence on his ship while she prepares to hijack it.
- Full House: The episode "Greek Week" has the Tanners' extended family from Greece coming for a visit. A teenager names Silvio is immediately smitten with D.J., and after confirming they're not related, he spends a good deal of time with her and eventually asks Danny's permission to walk around the kitchen table with her on his arm. Much to everyone's surprise, Silvio then declares that D.J. is now his wife, as the trip around the table was a marriage ceremony—and to make matters worse, Jesse remarks that he did something similar as a child with Silvio's older sister Elena, so they've been spouses all this time as well. The great-grandparents of the family eventually nullify the marriages by having the couples walk backward around another table. In a case of Shown Their Work, walking around a table is part of a traditional Greek wedding ceremony, although it's purely symbolic and not legally binding in any way.
- Jonathan Creek: In "Ghosts Forge", Jonathan and Maddy meet Robin Priest, a man who is married but having an affair with the vile Mimi Tranter. Turns out, though, that the woman everyone thinks is Robin's wife is not actually his wife — she merely told him that after he woke up with total amnesia after being knocked out while she and her abusive uncle (who died in the scuffle that left Robin unconscious) were trying to burgle his house. Robin's attraction to Mimi is implied (but not outright stated) to be due to her bearing a strong resemblance to his actual wife, who died years ago.
- M*A*S*H:
- Played for Laughs in "Deal Me Out"; CID officer Capt. Halloran has come to arrest Hawkeye and Trapper for operating on a CID man without another such officer present. Before he converses with the pair about what happened during the surgery, Halloran asks if the men in the poker game can be trusted. When they confirm they can, Halloran nods to Corp. Klinger, in drag, and says, "What about her?" Capt. Sam Pak, with the ROK, states emphatically (and as a joke), "She's my wife." It isn't lost on Sidney Freedman, a visiting psychiatrist.
Sidney: That's a very interesting joke, Sam.Sam: [tosses Sid a $5 poker chip] Thanks for seeing me, Sid.
- In "Mr. and Mrs. Who?", Charles comes back from a drunken R&R in Tokyo to have Hawkeye and BJ discover a roll of undeveloped film and women's black hosiery. Then they get a call on the radio from a "Mrs. Winchester", who then arrives at the camp. Zigzagged; Nurse Donna Marie Parker then reveals to Winchester that their "wedding ceremony" was performed by a bartender, not a priest, and they're not legally married, and they get the rest of the 4077th to perform an unwedding to commemorate the event.
- Played for Laughs in "Deal Me Out"; CID officer Capt. Halloran has come to arrest Hawkeye and Trapper for operating on a CID man without another such officer present. Before he converses with the pair about what happened during the surgery, Halloran asks if the men in the poker game can be trusted. When they confirm they can, Halloran nods to Corp. Klinger, in drag, and says, "What about her?" Capt. Sam Pak, with the ROK, states emphatically (and as a joke), "She's my wife." It isn't lost on Sidney Freedman, a visiting psychiatrist.
- NCIS: The season 4 episode "Twisted Sister" has an extremely funny example. Gibbs and NCIS Director Jenny Shepherd are both in Abby's lab, and Gibbs starts to gripe about how much Shepard has been pulling Tony DiNozzo away from the team. Abby interrupts, and goes into a letter-perfect imitation of what the argument would sound like if it continued. As Gibbs and Shepard both watch in bemusement (clearly Abby guessed exactly what they were going to say), Abby wraps it up with, "The kids don't like it when Mommy and Daddy fight."
- The Walking Dead: Maggie Greene never had time to marry her love, Glenn Rhee, before he was executed by Negan Smith. She gave birth to their child, Hershel, after his death and decided to call herself "Maggie Rhee" in his memory. In The Walking Dead: Dead City, Maggie is often referred to as "the Widow".
Web Video
- A Jake and Amir sketch has Amir procuring a marriage certificate from a drag queen and declaring himself married to Jake. As it turns out, he thought that the legalization of gay marriage in the United States meant that gay marriage was mandatory and was acting accordingly.
Jake: I think our marriage is a sham anyway because aside from needing to agree to it, I probably should have at least been present at the ceremony.