Fake Dating: Meaning, Appeal and How to Write It

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Two people pretend to be a couple. For the family, for the ex, for a career or for a deal. And at some point it is no longer clear what is pretend and what is real. That is fake dating, one of the most popular tropes in romance, new adult and dark romance. Here you will learn what makes the trope tick, why it works so well and how to write it convincingly.

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What does fake dating mean?

Fake dating means a pretend relationship: two characters act like a couple in public although they are not. They pursue a specific goal. The appeal comes from real feelings creeping into a relationship that was supposed to be pure theatre.

Related variants are the fake engagement and the fake marriage, which often merges into the arranged marriage trope.

Why readers love fake dating

• Permitted closeness: Holding hands, kissing in front of others, evenings together. The characters are allowed to be close without having to admit it.
• The big question: Was that just acting or real? This uncertainty carries the tension over many chapters.
• Built-in conflict: The arrangement has rules and an expiry date. Both become a threat as soon as feelings come into play.
• Dramatic irony: Readers often see earlier than the characters that the game has long since turned serious.

Good reasons for a fake relationship

The trigger has to be believable. Why would two people agree to this deal? Proven motives:

• A wedding or family celebration nobody wants to attend alone
• Making the ex jealous or finally getting them to back off
• A promotion, an inheritance or a visa that depends on a relationship
• An image that needs saving, for example for celebrities or athletes
• In dark romance: a deal with a powerful man who trades protection for obedience

It is important that both characters gain something. A one-sided deal quickly feels constructed.

Fake dating in dark romance

In dark romance, the arrangement often becomes a power game. The deal is rarely made freely and on equal terms, the consequences of failure are dangerous, and the line between role and possessiveness blurs. Especially with a mafia boss or a morally grey character, this creates a particularly intense dynamic.

Here, too, the heroine needs her own reasons and her own strength. A deal in which she is only a pawn does not carry a romance.

How to write fake dating convincingly

Set the rules

No kissing without an audience, no sleepovers, it ends after three months: clear rules at the beginning give you the chance to let them break later. Every broken rule is a turning point.

Show the rehearsals

The scenes in which the two practise looking like a couple are among the strongest of the trope. How do you hold my hand? What is our meet-cute story? This is where humour and the first real closeness come from.

Let the line blur

Include moments in which a character does something real although nobody is watching. A private kiss, an honest gesture, jealousy without an audience. These scenes show readers that the game is tipping.

Plan the crisis

Almost every fake dating story needs the moment in which the lie is exposed or one character believes the other’s feelings were only acted. That is the low point before the happy ending.

Perfect combinations

• Forced proximity: When the fake relationship requires a shared room or flat. See our forced proximity guide.
• Enemies to lovers: Two people who cannot stand each other have to look in love. See our enemies to lovers books.
• Grumpy x sunshine: He suddenly has to smile, she has to adore him convincingly. Read more about grumpy x sunshine.
• Only one bed: The classic on a shared trip. See our only one bed guide.

Common mistakes we see in editing

• Weak trigger: If the reason for the deal does not convince, readers do not believe the whole story.
• Feelings come too fast: If it is clear after two chapters that both are in love, the tension is gone.
• Misunderstanding as the only conflict: A conversation that would solve everything but does not happen for 200 pages frustrates readers.
• Side characters without a function: Family, friends and the ex are the audience. They should create pressure and endanger the deception.

Verena’s reading recommendation

From a series I loved from start to finish: classic dark romance at its best, beautifully written, with perfectly drawn-out tension.

Vengeful Lies by T.L. Smith and Kia Carrington-Russell: A contract killer is supposed to kill mafia heir Eli Monti and becomes his fiancée instead. A fake engagement with mortal danger and plenty of banter. Each book in the series tells the story of a different couple and can be read on its own.

Conclusion

Fake dating lives from the question of when theatre turns into truth. A believable trigger, clear rules and scenes in which the line blurs make the trope strong.

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