What Is a Lavender Marriage?

9 min read

In case you’re happily coupled and/or trust-funded enough not to have noticed, being single is quite expensive. Which is one of the reasons lavender marriages are making a comeback on TikTok.

Historically, a “lavender marriage” referred to a seemingly heterosexual union between a man and a woman wherein one or both parties was secretly part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Designed to conceal sexual orientation in a time when being queer could result in severe discrimination or violence, the term is most famously linked to early 20th-century Hollywood, when queer stars entered straight-presenting marriages to protect their image and reputation—and, of course, “their value to studios as box office draws,” says queer historian Justin Bengry .

Fast-forward several decades, and, in