Meanings
nounlavender marriage (plural lavender marriages)
plural lavender marriages
- A heterosexual marriage of convenience entered into in the hope of concealing the homosexual sexual orientation of one or both of the spouses.
[Henry] Willson thwarted tabloid attempts to out [Rock] Hudson as gay and Hudson later married Willson’s secretary, Phyllis Gates, in what was possibly a “lavender marriage” meant to further allay suspicion.
2020 May 1, Alexis Soloski, “‘Hollywood’ Offers Alternate History, and Glimpses of a Real One”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2025
Origin
From lavender (“gay, homosexual”) + marriage.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French mariage de lavande
- mariage de lavandemale-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Hungarian levendulaházasság
- levendulaházasságmale-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Japanese ラベンダーマリッジ
- ラベンダーマリッジmale-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Polish lawendowe małżeństwo
- lawendowe małżeństwomale-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Portuguese casamento de fachada
- casamento de fachadamale-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Russian лавандовый брак
- лавандовый брак (lavandovyj brak)male-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Spanish matrimonio lavanda
- matrimonio lavandamale-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Ukrainian лавандовий шлюб
- лавандовий шлюб (lavandovyj šljub)male-female marriage intended to conceal non-heterosexuality
Cite this entry
APA
lavender marriage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lavender%20marriage
MLA
“lavender marriage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lavender%20marriage. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lavender marriage,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lavender%20marriage.
Source: lavender marriage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.