House of Cards: 10 lessons every couple can learn from Claire and Frank Underwood

Frank and Claire Underwood are the most ruthless political partnership since the Macbeths — apex predators of Washington DC who will stop at nothing to get into the Oval Office. Nick Curtis gets some love and life advice from TV’s foremost power couple
Naked ambition: Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire (Robin Wright) Underwood (Picture: Allstar)
Allstar
Nick Curtis @nickcurtis27 February 2015

1. Take tough decisions together

Frank and Claire have apparently chosen not to have children, a bold step in a world where kids are an important part of any politician’s arsenal, but a wise one given their likely nurturing abilities. It’s important for people to know their limits, says couples therapist Michael Kallenbach (relationshipcounsellinglondon.co.uk): ‘These two are so self-centred and narcissistic that if they did have children, it might be a rocky road.’

2. Value a hard mind in a hard body

The Underwoods are fit: Frank lets off steam on his water rower and Claire pounds the pavements, taking Frank with her when his running machine breaks. ‘It’s a really good thing to exercise together, and if you’re getting up early in the morning or staying up late to do it, it helps if someone is with you,’ says health and nutrition expert Melanie Brown (melaniebrownnutrition.com). ‘It’s also about keeping yourself sexy and attractive for your partner.’

3. A little of what you fancy does no harm

The couple’s complicity is emphasised by the occasional fag they share, while Frank indulges in periodic visits to his favourite rib shack. ‘If you are living a pretty healthy lifestyle, you can allow yourself the occasional indulgence,’ says Brown. ‘When you go out for dinner, you have to have what you like and not count calories, because that kind of eating is sensual — you are doing it for pleasure, endorphins, not for health.’

4. Share everything

The Underwoods are driven by their joint ambition, mutually devoted to the furtherance of his political career, the profile of her environmental charity, and their own desires: they even share the favours of one of his security men for the night. ‘It’s important to have shared goals,’ says Kallenbach. ‘The Underwoods are obviously drawn together by excitement and playing dangerously. And if they have agreed to play outside the rules, then in terms of their relationship that’s OK.’

5. But don’t discuss everything

Both Underwoods are unfaithful: Frank starts an affair with young journalist Zoe Barnes as an exercise in power and manipulation; Claire sleeps with an old flame. They tacitly approve each other’s actions and only discuss them if strictly necessary, for damage-limitation purposes. ‘It can be healthy for couples to do things separately,’ says Kallenbach.

6. Learn how to charm

Mostly, Frank and Claire give people what they want to hear; they’re good at body language and eye contact (in Frank’s case, even with the viewers). Communications trainer Julia Haythorn (aninfinitespace.com) says: ‘Giving good eye contact is no guarantee of authenticity, but if you are standing in front of 50 or 100 people staring at the ceiling, it will look terrible. You have to be able to speak to what your audience wants, and once you know what they want, you can work on your style and your body language.’

7. But know when to be direct

Claire sacks half her staff, then sacks the woman who helped organise the sackings. Frank often tells a rival that he plans to crush him. Oh, and if people prove truly irksome, Frank kills them. Not advisable. Haythorn says: ‘Anyone from a politician to a primary school teacher wants the same thing, which is to be understood and to get their message across. What’s important in communicating is that you come from a place of authenticity. The Underwoods are authentic in the sense that they know exactly what they want and where they want to go.’

8. Dress to impress

Claire’s wardrobe of muted, monochrome body-con outfits and her severe blonde crop emphasise her racehorse frame and dramatic bone structure. Frank, meanwhile, is constrained by the Capitol uniform: dark suits, sober ties. ‘Claire’s fashion statements are an expression of intent,’ says style commentator Polly Vernon, author of Hot Feminist (out on 21 May). ‘They’re uncompromising and sharp. While I’d very much hope your lifestyle doesn’t incorporate Underwood-grade degrees of ruthless ambition, Machiavellian scheming, propensity for murder etc, I recommend channelling Claire’s capacity to do sexy, without ever veering into the territory of slutty. Frank’s suits are little more than a plain foil to his wife’s look. It’s just one of the ways in which he defers to her.’

9. Let your home reflect your personality

There’s no sense of try-hard interior design with the Underwoods: their townhouse is opulent and top-spec, but otherwise muted and functional, including the basement den where Frank unwinds with shoot-em-up video games. ‘Their home is enviably clutter-free,’ says Vernon. ‘I don’t know where they keep their ugly stuff... I guess it’s hidden, like their souls.’

10. Stand by your man, or woman

Did we mention that Frank kills people and Claire doesn’t seem to mind? We can’t really cite this as a suitable inspiration for real-life couples, but we bet most of you can’t help envying the Underwoods’ solidarity.

House of Cards season three is available now on Netflix (netflix.com/gb)

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in