To say that the marriage of Marcus Brutus and Portia Catonis was a failure would be… well. An understatement. It was not a failure in the way most marriages were a failure. There was no screaming or hurling of vases that had been given as expensive wedding gifts from people you really didn't like to begin with (their taste in expensive vases didn't help). No - I rather think that Brutus, at least, would have welcomed that development. It would have been a sign of passion in an otherwise god awful boring relationship.
They were both good people. That was the problem. They both had 'A Reputation'. That was the other problem. They were both more interested in their reputations than they were in making the bedroom a place you'd want to spend any time. They both obviously hadn't been introduced to the idea of a 'Reputation In the Sack'.
At any rate, they were the product of a classic love match of Shakespearean proportions. That and philosophy. Darn philosophy, always getting in the way of the sexy times. Unless you're an Epicurean. Then you GO for it, girl. Anyway. Mr. and Mrs. Junius Brutus (Did you know they were first cousins? Just imagine the children…) needed to rediscover the spark in their marriage right quick, and a 15th honeymoon probably wouldn't be of much use. It's amazing the amount of paper work that can be gotten done on vacation in Honolulu. No... Something more drastic was definitely required.