Have you ever posed as someone's spouse or partner--or had someone pose as yours?

Have you ever pretended to be a partner in a nonexistent relationship?

This doesn’t just happen in the movies. There are all kinds of reasons why, to keep the peace or avoid embarrassment, a person might want to show up with a phony date and pass them off as a steady partner.

An engagement broken just before a major office party. A secret lover who has to stay hidden. A partner the family wouldn’t accept. Along comes some kind of event, and someone (you?) is desperate for a substitute just to get through it.

Not saying it’s a great idea. Just saying it happens.

Have you ever been a party to such a pretense? What was it, and why?