I want to be able to test this without mods, i just don't know how. I could trigger it, but then i don't know how i would notice it. I am using a mod just to be able to let me see who is being marked as a spouse. But I have had this happen to me TWICE. Once with one of MY OWN PLAYED SIMS.
What happens is, there is a couple in the game, one spouse will attend Family Day, and the game will create a brand new spouse for them out of thin air to attend the festival with them. They do not know this other sim, they've never met, but they are still registered as their spouse. I suspect because their REAL spouse can not attend due to some filters that block them from spawning as a festival attendee. My sims live in Ravenwood (in Moppy Manor, just off the central plaza). January and Alaric von Schatten. Alaric is a vampire, and so he generally will not spawn during the day as a background sim (presumably to keep him from burning up in the sun, fair enough) The other is Kai and Ekade Aether. Kai can not spawn because he is a ghost. (which is kind of silly since it is Ravenwood, and ghosts can spawn here walking the streets unlike most other neighbourhoods, but usually at night, and I have noticed that ghosts don't spawn for Family Day, only at Thinned Veil and Afterlife Anonymous) When it happened to January, I was just like 'NOPE' and instantly deleted the other sim, that was NOT happening, so i did not really look into it more.
And today, I was playing the Specters, and the festival started and after what had happened with January, I looked around for any new sims I had not seen before, and saw one pretty quick. Clicked and saw he was married to Ekade Aether, and is marked as being a Family Day attendee.
I switched to the Aethers to investigate further. He did not show up in his family relationships, they had never met.
But as soon as i had Ekade introduce himself, he did show up in his family relationships. he's got two husbands. (oof that attraction and compatibility to Kai... that's unfortunate, never realized that before)
But as soon as Ekade was my controlled sim, his role changed, and he was called to leave the lot
As I said i would love to test this without mods the next time family day comes around i just don't know how to see if any mystery sims that spawn are secret phantom spouses of other attendees without at least one mod to view their info. But next saturday, I can go there with a non-Ravenwood Sim and see if this happens again with January, Ekade, or Olive (Layne is a ghost in my save, though not the husband of Olive, still just engaged... but i could have them get hitched for testing purposes) or with any other sims, see if it really is that their true spouses are being blocked from spawning because of their occult status, that's just my best guess.
