Netflix Movie Asks If a Military 'Marriage for Benefits' Can Lead to True Romance

Everyone's heard rumors about someone who entered a "contract marriage" with a service member just to get access to those sweet military benefits. The producers of the upcoming "Purple Hearts" took those rumors and turned them into a Netflix movie that will start streaming on July 29, 2022.

Here's the description of the plot, straight from the streaming service. "In spite of their many differences, Cassie, a struggling singer-songwriter, and Luke, a troubled Marine, agree to marry solely for military benefits. But when tragedy strikes, the line between real and pretend begins to blur."

Former Disney Channel star Sofia Carson stars as Cassie Salazar and Nicholas Galitzine, who played the lead opposite Camila Cabello in the Prime Video "Cinderella" movie, is the troubled Marine named Luke Morrow.

Cassie has diabetes and is drowning in medical bills when she meets Luke in a bar before he ships out for duty. They decide to get married for those service benefits, but can love be the endgame? If it's not, why is there even a movie?

We've got a first look at "Purple Hearts." Luke makes everyone in his unit listen to his wife sing her own composition over a Zoom call, and things go surprisingly well.

If you're the type of person who's deeply concerned whether movies "get it right" about the military, be warned that the IMDb description talks about Luke's Army service while the official press release says he's a Marine.

Related: How Common are Military Contract Marriages?

So, what's the non-romantic benefit of Cassie and Luke's contract marriage? Cassie gets access to health care and commissary privileges, and can get help in finding employment if she gives up her music business dreams. Luke gets an increased housing allowance and gets to tell everyone he's married.

If "Purple Hearts" becomes one of those Netflix runaway hits, perhaps a new generation of teens will embrace the dream of military contract marriage as a viable path to true romance. We only have a few weeks to wait before we all find out.

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