Lavender marriage

Lavender marriage is a term coined to describe a marriage between a man and a woman in which one, or both, parties are, or are assumed to be, homosexual. Usually, but not always, both parties are assumed to be complicit in a public deception to hide their homosexuality.

Although there have been a number of prominent lavender marriages in history, the phrase itself came into colloquial use during the 1920s, when the imposition of morality clauses into the contracts of Hollywood actors caused some homosexual stars to enter into marriages of convenience to protect their public reputations, and preserve their careers. The destruction of the career of MGM actor William Haines, who refused to end his relationship with his male partner Jimmy Shields, and enter into a marriage at MGM's discretion, was said to have caused a spate of couples to seek refuge in marriage.

While the term has passed from modern usage, rumors that the practice still occurs to protect careers continue to surround some high profile celebrity couples.

Among the couples and individuals who have been reported or rumored to have entered "lavender marriages", in the absence of any evidence or admission, are:

• King Richard I of England and Berengaria, the daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre. It has been speculated that Richard married Berengaria in order to secure Navarre as a fief next to Aquitaine, a territory which his father, Henry II of England had similarly taken control of when he married Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was allegedly unfaithful to Berengaria and was said to have been reprimanded by a priest for his infidelity and for committing the "sin of Sodom". Nevertheless, Berengaria was greatly saddened distressed when her husband died and was even compelled to sue the Church in order to be recognized as Richard's widow.
• King Edward II of England and Queen Isabella of France. Edward has been rumored to be homosexual and his wife, the queen consort, Isabella of France, later deposed him in concert with her lover, Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Edward's alleged lover was Hugh the younger Despenser.
• King James I of England and Anne of Denmark. James appears to have been bisexual. The couple had nine children. Contemporary Court records speak of rivalries over James' 'male favourites', whom historians have concluded were his homosexual lovers, and whose existence and role caused scandal at the time.
• King Henry III of France and Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont
• John Milton and Mary Powell
• André Gide and Madeleine Rondeaux
• Virginia Woolf and her husband
• Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson
• Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor
• Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli
• Cole Porter and Linda Lee Thomas
• Mary Martin during both of her marriages
• Rock Hudson, who under movie studio pressure, and worried about rumours that a magazine was planning to expose his homosexuality, married Phyllis Gates, a young woman who worked in the film studio.
• Liza Minnelli and Peter Allen; Allen's homosexuality was widely know within the industry at the time.
• John Stoltenberg and Andrea Dworkin, both feminist activists, were both openly gay, but their long-lived, deep friendship led them to get married in 1998. The potentially confusing situation lead Stoltenberg to describe his relationship with Dworkin with the following words: "So I state only the simplest facts publicly: yes, Andrea and I live together and love each other and we are each other's life partner, and yes we are both out."
• Liza Minnelli and David Gest, married from March 16, 2002 – July 25, 2003

See also

• Boston marriage
• Doom Book
• Hollywood marriage