showmance

English

Etymology

Blend of show +‎ romance

Noun

showmance (countable and uncountable, plural showmances)

1. (colloquial) A romance between cast members or production crew of a play or television show (often reality shows) which only lasts the duration of the show, or its filming.
   • 2004, David Wienir, Jodie Langel, Making It on Broadway: Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top, New York, Allworth Communications, Inc., →ISBN, page 115:

     I notoriously fell for my leading man. I really did. By the third or fourth leading man I said "No, Mom, it's real. I love him. I know it is sort of like a pattern but I love him." There is legitimacy to a showmance."

   • 2005, Jane Ganahl, Single Woman of a Certain Age: 29 Women Writers on the Unmarried Midlife—Romantic Escapades, Empty Nests, Shifting Shapes, and Serene Independence, New World Library, →ISBN, page 161:

     Eventually the tale of a stagehand who seemed to be separated from his housebound wife, but, oddly, not when she came to visit, seemed more amusing than appalling, and I learned not to wince at the various (sometimes painfully) young women who arrived breathless and eager for a Showmance—whether or not there was a wife in the background. [sic]

   • 2008, David Lyle quoted in "Love is in the Air This Valentine’s Day When Fox Reality Channel Premieres 'The Top 25 Hottest Reality Showmances,'" Business Wire, February 11, 2008, 09:00 AM EST, (article):

     In addition to mud-slinging, deception and drama, showmance is one aspect that makes reality television so addicting.