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The ways in which couples are formed and their relational dynamics in rural communities of Madagascar are examined here. Focus is trained more specifically on the role of the family in the choice of spouse and the birth of the first child. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected in a rural district of Hautes Terres showed that on the one hand young women and men have considerable freedom in the choice of spouse, yet on the other that the family’s control over the couple’s fecundity_mainly concerning the birth of the first child_is still very strong. Socio-economic changes such as the development of migrations and schooling, land saturation or monetarization of the economy have enabled couples to gain a certain degree of autonomy in relation to their family. Marriage no longer represents a great collective issue, whereas procreation remains under family control, to the point that a couple who do not provide rapid proof of their fertility can be pressurized into breaking up.