The Marriage App ending explained – who won the marriage competition between Belén and Federico?

By Lori Meek - December 8, 2022 (Last updated: February 8, 2024)
the-marriage-app-ending
By Lori Meek - December 8, 2022 (Last updated: February 8, 2024)

We discuss the ending of the Netflix film The Marriage App, which will contain spoilers.

The Marriage App is an Argentinian romantic comedy directed by Sebastián de Caro. Starring Luisana Luisana Lopilato and Juan Minujín as married couple Belén and Federico, the film follows the pair as they attempt to use technology to salvage their relationship. 

After years of feeling frustrated with each other, Belén and Federico purchase a pair of smartwatches designed to keep tabs on their treatment of each other. Each of them can earn or lose “marriage miles” depending on how they treat their spouse. Reaching a certain number of “miles” comes with rewards such as going on a trip with the boys without your spouse. It just so happens Federico has been planning a trip to a cooking competition in Cancun. So instead of talking to his wife about it, he decides the best course of action is to pay for the trip and pretend to be the best husband ever so he can earn enough points, allowing him to go on said trip. 

At first, Belén is excited about her husband’s behavior and genuinely thinks the points system is improving their marriage. But once she learns the truth, she books a trip to India for the same dates as his Cancun trip, leading the pair into a strange competition in which the first to reach 1000 points gets to go on their trip, while the loser has to stay home with their two children. 

It doesn’t take long for our married couple to take their “who’s the best spouse” competition too far. Belén brings home a girl and stages a threesome, earning her points for fulfilling his fantasy and leading to him losing points for lusting after another woman. What Federico does is arguably worse: He gets one of his mates to pretend to rob Belén at (toy) gunpoint so he can play the hero. 

The Marriage App ending explained

After the fake robbery attempt, Federico and Belén attend a party where the guy who pretended to mug her was working as a caterer. She recognizes him by his tattoo and realizes what he husband did for the sake of points. As the two are arguing she also reveals that the threesome never actually happened and that she and her friend drugged Federico so he’d pass out before things got too far. At this point, it’s hard to decide which one of these two characters is worse: The wife for drugging an already drunk man, or the husband for staging a traumatic robbery. 

At first, Federico tries sweeping the whole mess under the rug by cooking Belén dinner and reverting to his usual pointless chatter and empty promises. Belén, however, decides their marriage is over and he moves out. 

Both seem to have moved on in a matter of weeks. Federico quits his job as a dentist and opens a Japanese fast-food restaurant, while Belén puts more effort into her toy-making business. Neither of them goes on their respective trip and, instead, run into each other at their son’s basketball game. After the game, Federico invites Belén to his newly-opened restaurant. Before even arriving at the venue, the pair decide to give their love one more chance. They kiss and make up. In a post-credit scene, we get to see what really happened on the night of the supposed threesome: Nothing. 

What did you think of the ending of the Netflix film The Marriage App? Comment below.

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