Star Trek

In the real world, people get married to have a stable relationship with their partner. Not to say marriage is the only way to do that, a long term committed relationship is just as good. (It's just a bit harder to end a marriage than to end a long term non married relationship) They want to settle down. But Star Trek to a degree is like a soap opera. Soaps match people together, they get too settled and then they break them up. TV answer, that's the reason. Too settled, not enough adventure.

Star Trek reason, there were married Star Fleet members. On Enterprise, on earth, on other ships, at the Academy, etc. But I think the spouse has to know that they are committed to Star Fleet AND the relationship and sometimes the relationship has to take the back seat. It takes a strong person to know that sometimes they can't come front and center that they have to play second fiddle.

To become a main character (senior officer), you usually have to devote a good amount of your life to Starfleet.

Look at all the trouble and fights it put the Obrien's into.

There were also lots of families in Voyager later on.

It's fiction, hon. The writers came up with BS. That's not to say that conflict and SF service wouldn't affect a relationship, but it would have been nice to see more central HUMAN characters with satisfying, but challenging, marriages/partnerships.

Where are you getting Janeway was married? It was never mentioned in the show, tv, or novels to my recollection... She was engaged twice: to Justin Tighe who died along with her father on Tau Ceti Prime and then to Mark Hobbes Johnson who of course gave her the "Dear Jane" letter. In the novels *spoiler alert*------she and Chakotay decided to try to rekindle their romance, but alas her demise put a halt to that.

As far as traditional familes go, we first have to consider what is considered traditional- it varies for some cultures and species. Sadly, if we use the American culture as a refernce point, the concept of the traditional family is dying.  I don't think think that's the reason though for Trek.

Like it was said above, characters do lose some of their soap opery-ness when they're married. In short, people just don't find them as interesting.  And let's be honest, married characters lose their sex appeal and popularity. It's just a fact. 

 The married characters loosing sexyness does  ring true for the pre-pubescent audience...and perhaps some perverts living in theirs mothers' basements...

I hear you on the marraige concept. It's sad really. Perhaps marraige should be in set contract terms kind of like a learners permit and then after the marraige was still intact for a period, the couple can then apply for traditional marraige status? If they fail during the trial period, the marraige is annulled, no questions asked-hey, it may help the divorce rate,lol.

Of course, I am one who believes that we have to have a liscence to fish, hunt, drive, and marry, but not one to have children...why? Because there are some folks who need taken out of the gene pool, lol.