For a relatively simple farming game, Stardew Valley has a lot of strange items for players to collect. While the base game had enough weirdness, update 1.6 in early 2024 added a whole new range of strange items that could be bought, found, unlocked, or made. Among these is an item that I only recently discovered in a post-1.6 save: the Spouse Portrait. This special item is only purchasable on certain days if players have maximum hearts with their spouse (or roommate).

The Spouse Portrait is limited to whichever NPC is currently married to the player, but collecting them all is practically a special achievement for any players who want to treat their love life like a Pokémon game and catch ‘em all. Nothing says romantic devotion like an oil painting of your spouse (and all of your exes) in the farmhouse or hidden in a shed somewhere on the farm.

Special Spouse Portraits Were Added In 1.6

The Massive Update Released In Early 2024

Update 1.6 added a lot of weird items to the game. Objects like haunted mannequins, blessed statues, rare trinkets, and even drinkable mayonnaise debuted in one massive free update, all created by ConcernedApe, the solo developer behind the indie darling. Alongside those quirky collectibles is a set of thirteen special portraits, with one for each NPC that can move into the farmhouse with the player. This includes Sam, Harvey, Elliott, Sebastian, Alex, Shane, Emily, Abigail, Penny, Haley, Leah, Maru, and Krobus.

Each portrait is just a simple headshot of the NPC on a single-color background, generally matching the character in some way. For example, Abigail has a purple background to match her hair, while Shane has a blue background to complement his blue hoodie.

These portraits are just simple new pieces of wall furniture, but their exclusivity makes them extra special. The concept of the Spouse Portrait bears a striking resemblance to framed photos in the Animal Crossing series, as both require players to max out their relationship with an NPC and result in a decorative picture of the NPC. Animal Crossing allows players to do this with every Villager in the game, not counting characters like Isabelle and Tom Nook, so there is more freedom than with Stardew Valley.

How To Unlock A Spouse Portrait In Stardew Valley

Romance Is The Only Way To Unlock This Special Furniture

Being able to buy a spouse portrait is a task that sounds straightforward but actually entails years of in-game time. To buy a single spouse portrait, players must first be married to their NPC of choice, which means lots of time building a relationship and giving expensive gifts. Once you're married, their spouse has moved onto the farm, and you have the maximum fourteen hearts in the relationship, the spouse portrait of that specific NPC will be available for purchase from the Traveling Cart.

The cart, with its iconic pig, sits in the Cindersap Forest on select days of the week. To purchase the spouse portrait, you simply need to interact with the cart merchant and fork over 30,000 gold. Being able to buy a portrait of a spouse is the ultimate sign of success in the relationship. It signifies all the effort made through gift-giving, daily chats, and quests. While the portrait does cost a fair amount, it is a very special decoration that’s more earned than bought.

Collecting Every Portrait Is A Fun Non-Official Achievement

Challenge Yourself To Break Hearts All Over The Valley

It makes complete sense that only one portrait would be available from the cart at a time, since Stardew Valley tends to emphasize building lasting and meaningful relationships with the people of Pelican Town. However, for some players, this limitation is only a small obstacle to completing their shrines to every marriage-eligible NPC in the game. To collect every object in the game, players would need to marry and then divorce practically every single NPC to acquire their special items.

Some characters, like Leah, do provide unique sculptures alongside their portraits, which makes them extra worth pursuing for special furniture. Obtaining the spouse portrait for every NPC possible is a fun challenge, and while it isn’t an official achievement, players with plenty of hours in their saves could attempt it for something unique to try. Now that I know about this special item, trying to collect every single one does present a fun Stardew Valley challenge.