Culture & Entertainment

10 Black Couples On TV That Make Love Make Sense

Kiarra Sylvester

Oct 27, 2018 14:19 PM +0000

Black love looks good on all of us. We wear it well, our many variations of brown and black skin welcomes the glow. The sad reality is that we don't see it as often as we'd like to in our day-to-day lives, and we certainly don't get enough of the good stuff represented in the media -- especially in the age of reality TV where the limits of black love are tested for a little more airtime.

However, that's not to say there are absolutely no representations of black love in the media and when they're good, they're great. "Great" meaning we find ourselves transferring our own hopes, wishes, and dreams onto these characters. You know in that way some of us feel so closely invested in Ghost and Tasha's marriage that we hate Angie and thus remind Lela Loren of it every chance we get? But in a less stressful way than that. I have no clue what that means about us and the way many of us become attached to fictional couples on TV, but I like to think it's because we believe some elements of these relationships are admirable and thus attainable.

Because I'm not just talking about any couples, here are 10 black married couples on TV that make us love love even more.

Unfortunately, Bill Cosby wasn't half the man that his character Cliff Huxtable was. However, it is my hope that his actions in real life don't negate all that all the hope that he and his on-screen wife, Claire Huxtable played by Phylicia Rashad gave us when it came to our aspirations of black love. As an on-screen couple, they were everything we don't see in media portrayals of black couples -- they were perfection. They seemed to have intimacy that transcended all the odds, were successful in their own rights, gave each other room to be themselves, and despite their own "got their ish together-ness" as a couple, they never sugarcoated the struggle or forced their children to fit into a box of what they portrayed.
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Randall and Beth defy all the odds. They're the more nuanced, transparent Huxtable family if you ask me -- the more modern Cliff and Huxtable. Their lives are far from perfect, but they stray from the typical storylines of black love that include infidelity or financial insecurity and tackle some of the more daunting and yet less discussed issues that black couples, like anyone else, face. Beth allows Randall to be emotionally vulnerable. While he appreciates Beth's strength in ways we often don't get to see positively portrayed on TV (re: typically a black woman's strength is a black man's downfall). I will cop to the fact that Randall has to do a better job at seeing past his own needs and allowing space for Beth to be vulnerable instead of constantly having to wear the cape, but I also believe that their fictional love will get them through and to that point.
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Amanda Seales who plays the only married friend of the Insecure cast, Tiffany, called out fans who swore that the narrative of a good marriage was too good to be true for her on-screen marriage. After all, why is it our natural inclination to not assume cheating instead of good will and bliss? This was my assumption as well but not only did Seales remind us of how important it was for us to see healthy imagery of black love on TV to counterbalance that of reality TV shows like Love & Hip Hop (one of the many VH1 shows that have created a "franchise" rooted in the "dysfunctionality of black couples"), but also shared how strongly Issa Rae felt about having them be the relationship that "isn't just crumbling."
For the most part, they come off as having their shit together, but there is just enough transparency to let their friends and viewers know that like any marriage, it's not all sunshine and roses for them either. No less, the key to their marriage like many others is committing to the vows that they took. We don't know why Derek moved out but it seems like they're committed to not only making it work but moving past the past without the baggage that we typically see in the resolution. This is atypical for black love portrayals, as we tend to get characters who are filled with rage, bitterness, or constant deceit and just as Seales pointed out, seeing tumultuous relationships "normalizes dysfunction as essential to love. And it's not. And we don't see that."
She went on to add, "And when that is such a large franchise and has such a great reach, and you are speaking to such a large number of women who already don't have the same access, the tools, resources, and education that is about their self-love and their pride and relationships, it's deleterious on a larger scale than its white counterparts."
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James and Florida Evans were a power couple. Yep, I said what I said. No, they didn't have a dime to their name but they were both team players, always striving to provide the best for their family while maintaining intimacy. I'm not only talking about intimacy that takes place in the bedroom, although that was implied from time to time as well. James and Florida showed us the importance of hugging, talking and sharing, submission, and so much more. The couple made time with one another despite circumstances being less than ideal and being the parents of three adolescents. Not to mention, when one of them were in low spirits, the other was always there to lift them up.
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We couldn't get through not one episode (or it was very rare) without Martin telling his longtime girlfriend and eventual wife how bad she was. Martin and Gina, for me, depicted a couple who were complete opposites in their personalities but didn't allow that to stop them from thriving. Furthermore, this couple like many of the other couples on this list, worked towards debunking the myth of the angry black couple on behalf of both genders but especially towards men. Martin was never afraid to show Gina that he was in love with her and sometimes that meant he was begging for forgiveness, and thus showing a wider range of emotions than what is typically allowed or depicted of black men.
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Although Janet and Michael only got married because she got pregnant while they were teens dating -- you would never know. Their love is fun, energetic, and flawed but much like its predecesor Martin, the couple makes their obviously opposite qualities mesh quite well. They work through common and cultural marital issues, including raising a family and they make it look damn good.
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These two went from being the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker on All in the Family in a decent neighborhood to "moving on up ... to a deluxe apartment in the sky." Regardless of their address though, George and Weezy, remained the same people they've always been. With love, Weezy wasn't tolerating the shenanigans that George was constantly partaking in and especially not at her expense on the rare occasion that her thought he was running things.
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Think Bernie Mac Show meets the Huxtables and that's what you get with Rainbow and Dre Johnson, who are one of the more recent additions to family TV and they're here to stay. This couple is most authentic in that not only are their personalities extremely different but so were each of their upbringings -- making their onscreen dialogue all the more authentic. How they perceive love (for one another and their kids) are drastically different but these two make it work (we were shook when we thought they might not in season four), and make a splash as they navigate these major differences with a new child in addition to the eldest four children that they have. Life won't ever be perfect or predictable and neither will our spouses, but if there's love we'll make it work -- that's the type of love that Bow and Dre inspire.
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I know. I know. Elizabeth was dead but you can't negate that Fred's love for her alone was epic and makes them a "heaven sent" couple. He was always ready to meet his maker if it meant he got to be with dear old 'Lizabeth again. Fred didn't date much until his long term girlfriend and fiance Donna came into the picture and I like to think that had a lot to do with him taking the time to heal from the loss of his great love.
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Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv weren't necessarily at the forefront of the Fresh Prince but we can't ignore that they were one of our favorite black marriages. There were times where these two had to find the romance again but it was never an issue for long -- in fact, they found themselves having a newborn child just as all of their children were finally leaving the nest. But the best part about these two is how firm they stood when it came to their zero tolerance for outsiders disrespecting the love they had for one another.
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