He is up against an initial misalliance to which others are being added, containing the same characters but no further explanation.
From the telegraph.co.uk
Marriage is the film's subject and it is most moving in its cinematic grasp of a deeper bond than that permitted by the lovers'temporary misalliance.
From the guardian.co.uk
More examples
An unsuitable alliance (especially with regard to marriage)
Misalliance is a play written in 1909u20131910 by George Bernard Shaw. The play takes place entirely on a single Saturday afternoon in the conservatory of a large country house in Hindhead, Surrey in Edwardian era England.