Marriage

Marriage is the legal and social union of two Sims, wherein the pair officially agree on a permanent romantic relationship. Sims are allowed to marry anyone within the kingdom, including other Heroes, foreign leaders, and Sims of the same gender. Despite intentions, marriage need not be a permanent affair and can be ended through divorce or death.

Wooing and courting

Using Romantic interactions, such as "Woo" and "Bestow Favor", hero Sims can begin to build a romantic relationship with an NPC Sim.

Hero Sim and NPC wooing and courting.

Once the "First Kiss" interaction appears - and if it is accepted - the hero is on the way to a serious relationship and will soon get the "Ask to Court" interaction. If things continue to go well (the NPC Sim is accepting romantic advances), the "Propose Marriage" interaction will become available. If the Hero Sim has a high enough relationship score with the object of their affections, the NPC Sim will accept.

Courting Sims are labeled as "Boyfriend/Girlfriend" in the Relationship Panel, while Engaged Sims are labeled as "Fiancé/Fiancée". Sims can Court (be in a romantic relationship) or be Engaged indefinitely. When Sims are ready to be married, romantic interactions must be used before "Ask for Hand in Marriage" appears (if they are courting) or "Have Marriage" appears (if they are already engaged).

Tying the knot

Once the "Get Married" interaction is available the hero can officially tie the knot with their partner. New Romantic interactions will appear as options for your wedding.

Marriage ceremony at Castle Reception Hall with Officiant officiating.

Sims can get married in one of three places: right where they are or in one of the two churches, if either of the couple is a member of said church. The romantic interaction will allow three choices: "Have Marriage Here", "Have Marriage at Jacoban Church", and "Have Marriage at Peteran Monastery". If a location is unavailable (neither Sim is a member) that choice will be grayed out.

Once the decision has been made (by choosing from the options that are in the romantic interactions), the couple will either stand and wait for the Officiant (if getting married on the spot) or walk to the appropriate church and wait for the Officiant.

Though Sims may be marrying in a church, the clergyman of that institution does not marry the couple. All couples in the kingdom are married by the elusive Officiant, who only appears when he has been called to join two Sims in holy matrimony.

The Officiant will preside over the ceremony and the Sims will exchange vows and rings and then seal their matrimony with a kiss. The Officiant will once again disappear and the two Sims are now officially married. The player will not be able to control their Hero Sim(s) during this time, so it is a great time to snap some nice screenshots of the ceremony and happy couple.

If they are an NPC, the new mate will not be controllable, nor will any children produced from the union. Married Hero Sims can only both be controlled if they are on the same quest. For more on medieval family life, see WooHoo and Pregnancy and Children.

Newly married mates will move in with the Hero sim only if they are commoners; foreign leaders will stay at the Castle. However, if the married Sims are both Heroes, you get to choose where they will live.

Ending A Marriage

Not all Sim marriages end in a happily-ever-after. Sim marriages can end in three ways: annulment, divorce, or death.

Annulment

If the Hero Sim believes he or she has made a mistake in choosing a mate, a marriage can easily be annulled if the couple has not yet WooHooed to consummate their marriage. The "Annul Marriage" interaction will be available under Mean interactions until the couple consummates their union. Note that if a couple has WooHooed before marriage, but not afterwards, the option will still be available.

Divorce

If Sims have already done the deed and the marriage is consummated, "Divorce" is the option they will have to choose. This can be a problem for Agnostic Sims as aspiring divorcees must ask for a divorce from the priest of the church of which they are a member. Sims can always choose convert, divorce, and then renounce their faith. Divorce Jacoban-style will cost 500 simoles. The Jacoban priest will take the money and grant the divorce, no questions asked. The Peteran priest, however, is not as quick to end a relationship. To get a divorce from the Peteran priest, the Sim that requested a divorce will first need to pray and obtain the Watcher's Smile buff before the divorce will be granted. The divorced couple's money will be split evenly between them and if any children are involved, the player will have the option to decide with which parent they will live.

Death

Though death doesn't happen very often in The Sims Medieval, Sims can and do die in the kingdom. If a Hero Sim becomes widowed, they will be able to get engaged and marry another Sim when the time is right. If a Hero Sim dies and has off-spring, one of their children can age up and take their parent's place. The remaining spouse and any other children will move out of the new Hero's residence.

Benefits of Marriage

Unlike other The Sims games, a spouse will not be controllable (unless the spouse is also a Hero who is working on the same quest). Despite this, there are many benefits to getting married:

• After Sims have married, they will receive a gift of $1000 and a random item.
• After the wedding, both Sims will receive the "Just Married" buff which adds 40 points to focus for two days.
• All married Sims will have the "My Better Half" buff (+10) as long as they stay married.
• If a Sim has children, their spouse will help take care of them.
• Both partners share their wealth, so marrying an NPC will give a hero that sim's money, which is usually not a lot. But if two heroes marry this can be very beneficial, especially if one has a very high income (like the merchant or spy) and the other one a very low income (like both priests, the monarch and the knight).
• The spouse will move in with their Hero, so they can be seen more often. (The time spent at home increases if they have a bed available)
• Many Heroes have some sort of way to craft, as a source of money. A lot of these live far away from the town, so marrying them with another Hero, who lives near the town is very helpful. Examples: the Spy, Physician and Wizard live faraway from town, while the Bard, Merchant and Blacksmith do not. So marrying these and changing home accordingly makes it much easier to sell all of their produced goods at the town store.

Good candidates for marriage

Check WooHoo and Pregnancy for things to consider before choosing a partner. In general, the best spouse tends to be one who works close by or lives in the same house as the active hero (if he/she is also a hero sim, you can choose whose home to live in right after the wedding). Much frustration can be avoided this way, especially when it comes to consummating marriages or producing heirs. Marrying certain NPCs is thus more sensible than others, for a particular hero:

Monarch

• Royal Advisor
• Build Master
• Foreign leaders
• Guards
• servants

Knight

• Royal Advisor
• Build Master
• Foreign Leaders
• Royal Servants
• Squire

Physician

• Nurse/Caretaker

Peteran Priest

• Friar
• Acolyte

Jacoban Priest

• Attendant

Bard

• Barkeeper/Barmaid
• Shopkeeper
• Apprentice Blacksmith

Blacksmith

• Barkeeper/Barmaid
• Shopkeeper
• Apprentice Blacksmith

Wizard

• Nurse/Caretaker
• Hopeful Wizard (from the Gilded Guilds quest)

Notes

• Some quests require an unmarried Monarch or Bard, so these two Heroes should not marry unless the player does not plan to do these quests. If a Hero is married, the player will not be allowed to start these quests (unless the Hero ends the marriage).
• In Patch 1.3, a glitch is present that makes a widowed Hero Sim unable to remarry. If a NPC husband or wife is killed, either by Dueling to the death or taking a fatal dive into the Pit of Judgement, the widowed Hero Sim will be able to "Propose Marriage" (i.e. get engaged) but, due to the glitch, the "Get Married" interaction will fail and the couple will be unable to officially marry.