(Update this is like 850 words long putting most of it under a cut I’m so sorry I do not know restraint.)

Long story short, it’s complicated, but basically the only time they were truly happy together was before they married, and were simply best friends. The marriage is what ruined their relationship.

Ariana was childhood friends with Giovanni and his twin brother Giorgio, thanks to their parents all being the leaders of allied crime syndicates. While there was never a formal arrangement, there was always a loose understanding that it was likely Ariana would marry one of the brothers when they were older, to solidify the ties between their families. Ariana knew this and was perfectly fine with it, since she had quite the crush on Giovanni. Giovanni in turn had no real romantic feelings for his childhood friend, while Giorgio did, but Ariana had no interest in the younger twin. When Giovanni announced that, with his mother’s blessing, he was traveling to Kanto to form a new branch of Team Rocket, Ariana asked him to marry her. He accepted, figuring it would happen to him or Giorgio either way, and even if he had no real feelings for her, they say you should marry your best friend, so it should be fine.

It was not fine.

The newlyweds found themselves quickly spiraling into endless arguments, disagreeing on small matters of how to run Team Rocket to what their relationship was – Giovanni assumed that they were just married for the sake of appearances and alliance and it’d be fine to pursue other attachments outside each other, while Ariana was furious at the idea of her new husband already planning to find other lovers so soon after marriage. She loved him, why couldn’t he see that and love her back exclusively with his whole heart? Ariana becoming pregnant about a year later didn’t help matters, as they disagreed on the topic of children as well. Ariana hoped raising their child together would finally make Giovanni fall for her, already planning ways to use the baby to win him over, while Giovanni was dreading the prospect of becoming a father, having little interest in children but knowing it was expected of him. It was during this time that he began his affair with one of his underlings, Delia, dating her in secret even after the birth of his daughter, Marcella.

Despite Ariana’s best efforts, Giovanni never bonded much with Marcella. He spent time with her and did his part to take care of her, but she could tell his heart wasn’t truly in it. When Delia announced her resignation from the team unexpectedly and Giovanni grew upset and moody afterwards, Ariana grew suspicious and after a little digging, was able to uncover evidence of the affair. She was furious at her husband, but not particularly surprised, so decided to get revenge. She knew that Giorgio had held a torch for her for ages, so it wasn’t too difficult for her to seduce him, giving Giovanni a taste of his own medicine (and Giorgio a surprise son to raise on his own once she was done with him). It worked, Giovanni baffled why his own twin brother would go behind his back with his wife. Even if he wasn’t in love with Ariana, it still rubbed him the wrong way, and he’s never been able to quite look at his red-eyed nephew without a trace of annoyance.

After this incidence, the two realized things were quickly heading into irreparable territory, and if they wanted to be able to run Team Rocket together, let alone raise Marcella, they needed to come to some kind of agreement. For the next couple years, they had a tenuous peace, both making concessions for the other and trying to focus on productivity over arguing. This lasted, not without plenty of smaller fights, until around when they were expecting their second child. While Giovanni still hadn’t really warmed up to the concept of fatherhood, he had grown more comfortable spending time with a now 4 year old Marcella, and both he and Ariana were hoping a second child would help continue to smooth things over. Spoiler alert it didn’t.

When Silvio was born, Giovanni felt instantly attached to him in a way he hadn’t with his daughter. Perhaps it was due to being in a better mindset about parenting, or just something unknowable, but his fondness for his son was obvious. Ariana was delighted seeing her husband showing more interest in parenting since this could be the first step to him showing more interest in her too, but this instead seemed to come at the cost of their relationship. A second child added more stress to the already on-a-thread peace they had and more arguments and petty fights broke out than ever. Before long, they could barely be in the same room and things never really recovered from that point.

The two never formally divorce, but they essentially are and while Ariana still holds feelings for her husband, they’re mostly overshadowed by bitterness. Giovanni continued to ignore his crumbling marriage with a string of affairs, and their children grew up fully aware of their parents’ broken relationship, both leaving home and mostly cutting contact as soon as they were old enough to. And that’s the current state of things when the events of the game plots kick off!