To marry someone in Stardew Valley you need four things: 8 hearts of friendship with an eligible bachelor or bachelorette, a Bouquet from Pierre’s shop (200g) to start dating, 10 hearts afterwards, and a Mermaid’s Pendant (5,000g) bought from the Old Mariner who appears at the far right of the beach on rainy days. You also need your farmhouse upgraded at least once by Robin, because your spouse needs somewhere to live. Give the pendant to your partner and the wedding takes place three days later.
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Here are eight games with relationship systems worth your time if Stardew’s romance loop is what keeps you playing.
| Game | Platform | Genre | Why It’s Great | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stardew Valley | PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox, Mobile | Farming Sim | Twelve marriage candidates, each with fully written heart events | 9.5/10 |
| Rune Factory 4 Special | Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox | Farming RPG | Marriage, children and dungeon crawling in one package | 8.5/10 |
| Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life | Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox | Farming Sim | Follows a marriage across decades rather than ending at the wedding | 8/10 |
| Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Switch | Tactical RPG | Support conversations that genuinely change the story’s ending | 9.5/10 |
| Baldur’s Gate 3 | PC, Mac, PS5, Xbox | CRPG | The most reactive companion romances in modern RPGs | 10/10 |
| Mass Effect Legendary Edition | PC, PS4, Xbox | Action RPG | Romances that persist across an entire trilogy of saves | 9/10 |
| Coral Island | PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch | Farming Sim | A modern Stardew-like with a large, diverse cast of partners | 8/10 |
| Fields of Mistria | PC | Farming Sim | Gorgeous pixel art and an unusually warm romance system | 8.5/10 |
How to Marry Someone in Stardew Valley: Step by Step
Marriage in Stardew Valley is one of the game’s longest commitments. It cannot be rushed in a single season, because friendship hearts accrue through gifts, conversations and heart events that only fire on specific days and locations. Here is the full sequence.
Step 1: Pick From the Twelve Candidates
There are six bachelors — Alex, Elliott, Harvey, Sam, Sebastian and Shane — and six bachelorettes — Abigail, Emily, Haley, Leah, Maru and Penny. Any player character can romance any of them regardless of gender. Krobus, the shadow merchant in the Sewers, is a separate case: he cannot be married but can move in as a roommate once you reach maximum friendship, which grants most of the practical benefits of a spouse without the wedding.
Step 2: Raise Friendship to 8 Hearts With Gifts
Every villager can receive two gifts per week, plus one on their birthday which counts for eight times the normal friendship value. Loved gifts are worth far more than liked ones, so learn your target’s favourites early: Abigail loves Amethyst and Pumpkins, Sebastian loves Frozen Tears and Sashimi, Leah loves Salad and Goat Cheese, Harvey loves Coffee and Pickles, Haley loves Sunflowers and Coconuts. Birthdays appear on the calendar outside Pierre’s, and hitting one with a loved item is the single fastest friendship boost in the game. Talking to a character daily also adds a small amount, so build a walking route past their house. Long farming sessions get comfortable fast with a decent seat, and our gaming chair buying guide is worth a read if you play in multi-hour stretches.
Step 3: Buy and Give a Bouquet
Once a candidate reaches 8 hearts, Pierre’s General Store stocks a Bouquet for 200g. Giving it changes your status from friend to dating, which unlocks the 8-heart and later heart events and allows friendship to climb past the 8-heart cap that otherwise blocks non-dating villagers. You can date several people at once, but doing so triggers a jealousy cutscene if two of your partners see each other at the Flower Dance, and gifting a Bouquet to multiple candidates will eventually cause friendship penalties. Most players commit to one.
Step 4: Reach 10 Hearts and Watch the Heart Events
After dating, keep gifting and talking until you hit 10 hearts. Along the way you will trigger the 9-heart and 10-heart events, which are the emotional payoff of each romance and often the best writing in the game. Some of these require specific locations or weather, so if a heart is full but no event has fired, check a guide for the trigger conditions rather than assuming you are stuck.
Step 5: Upgrade Your House
Robin’s first house upgrade costs 10,000g and 450 Wood and adds a kitchen plus a bedroom. You cannot propose without it, because there is literally no room for a spouse. Order it as soon as you can afford it; construction takes three days and blocks other Carpenter’s Shop projects while it runs. Many players end up waiting on this step rather than on hearts, so bank gold in your first summer.
Step 6: Find the Old Mariner and Buy the Mermaid’s Pendant
The Old Mariner appears on the far eastern side of the beach, past the broken bridge you repair with 300 Wood, and only on rainy days. He sells the Mermaid’s Pendant for 5,000g and will only sell it if you meet all the requirements above: 10 hearts, dating status, and an upgraded house. If he refuses, one of those three conditions is missing. Rain is seasonal luck, so check the TV weather channel each evening and keep 5,000g reserved. Playing on Switch or handheld and want the TV weather readable from the couch? Our gaming monitor buying guide covers sizes and text clarity at typical viewing distances.
Step 7: Propose and Attend the Wedding
Give the Mermaid’s Pendant to your partner exactly as you would a gift. They accept, and the wedding occurs three in-game days later in the town square, with the whole village attending. Festivals take priority, so if the wedding date collides with a festival, it shifts by a day. After the ceremony, your spouse moves into the farmhouse, gets a personalised outdoor room, and begins helping with watering, feeding animals and occasionally repairing fences.
Life After Marriage: Children, Gifts and Divorce
Married life is not static. Your spouse will periodically ask about having children once you upgrade the house a second time and add a nursery; you can have up to two, and they grow through four stages before becoming toddlers who wander the house. Keep gifting your spouse weekly, because spouse friendship decays if ignored and a neglected partner gives noticeably colder dialogue. If you change your mind entirely, Mayor Lewis keeps a book in the Sewers that processes a divorce for 50,000g, which resets that character’s friendship to zero. There is also a shrine on Ginger Island that can erase your spouse’s memory of the divorce for a second chance. Players who use hotkeys heavily for gifting and tool swaps should read our mechanical keyboard buying guide. If you play co-op with a partner over voice, a clear mic matters; see our gaming headset buying guide.
Marriage in Multiplayer Co-op
In co-op farms, players can marry each other instead of villagers by crafting a Wedding Ring, which requires 5 Iridium Bars and 1 Prismatic Shard and is unlocked from the Traveling Cart for 500g. Married players share a bedroom in the host’s farmhouse and can still each marry NPCs on separate saves. NPC marriage rules are otherwise unchanged in multiplayer, and two players cannot marry the same villager on the same farm. Long co-op sessions with friends are easier with a reliable controller, and our wireless controller buying guide covers battery life across brands, while our gaming laptop buying guide helps if you want a portable machine for co-op nights.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Marry Someone in Stardew Valley
How long does it take to get married in Stardew Valley?
Most players marry somewhere between late year one and mid year two. The limiting factors are usually the 10,000g house upgrade and finding a rainy day for the Old Mariner, rather than friendship hearts, which climb steadily if you gift twice a week and hit birthdays.
Can you marry more than one person in Stardew Valley?
You can date multiple candidates by giving several Bouquets, but you can only be married to one villager at a time. Dating several people triggers a jealousy cutscene during the Flower Dance and can cost you friendship points with everyone involved, so committing early is simpler.
What happens if the Old Mariner will not sell me the pendant?
He refuses when a requirement is missing. Confirm that your chosen partner is at ten hearts, that you have already given them a Bouquet so you are officially dating, and that Robin has completed at least the first farmhouse upgrade. He also only appears on rainy days.
Can you divorce your spouse in Stardew Valley?
Yes. A book on Mayor Lewis’s desk in the Sewers files for divorce at a cost of 50,000g, after which your former spouse’s friendship drops to zero and they treat you coldly. A shrine on Ginger Island can later erase their memory of the divorce so you can start again.
