What Love Means To You, Based On Your Relationship Status

Engaged: Love means putting in effort. It means doing your best to create a life that both of you can be happy with.

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Lightstock, Shaun Menary
Lightstock, Shaun Menary

Single

Love isn’t about having someone to take selfies with and show off to your friends. You couldn’t care less about how other people perceive you. All you care about is your own happiness. That’s why you don’t need someone that’ll make all of your friends jealous. You need someone who will make you feel comfortable, respected, and loved. That’s all that matters. In your opinion, love and happiness should go hand-in-hand. Otherwise, what’s the point?

In A Relationship

Right now, love feels like the most important thing in your life. Even though you have plenty of other things going for you, like an amazing job and a killer apartment, you feel blessed that you have someone to share your successes with. After years of searching, you’ve finally found the person you’re meant to spend forever with, and no one is going to convince you to tone your happiness down. You’re in love, and there’s no better feeling in the world.

Engaged/Married

Your partner is your best friend–but they also drive you mad. That’s why, to you, love means putting in effort. It means doing your best to create a life that both of you can be happy with. You wouldn’t be where you are today without making sacrifices and compromises. You know that. That’s why you won’t stop putting in effort now, just because you’ve vowed to spend the rest of your lives together. You’ve been dating for long enough to realize that keeping love alive is hard work.

Open Relationship

You have a different idea of love than most people do. Your friends all talk about loyalty and monogamy and commitment. Well, you don’t think those qualities are important. As long as you’re honest with your partner about who you’re involved with and always engage in safe sex, then what difference does it make if you have meaningless sex with strangers? You don’t believe all of your love and lust needs to be confined to one person. After all, you have so much to give.

It’s Complicated

Relationships are confusing as hell. You thought you had a clear idea of what love was, but the person you’re currently involved with is messing with your mind. You don’t want to settle for less than you deserve, but you don’t want to give up on someone you care about, either. Honestly, you’re not sure what to think right now. That’s why you’re currently stuck in relationship purgatory, somewhere in between dating and single.

Friends With Benefits

Sex is incredibly important to you, but you know that love is about more than that. It’s about respect and friendship and commitment. That’s why you’re able to see your FWB for what he is–a body. As much as you love his willingness to go down on you, you don’t want to spend the rest of your life with him. You need someone who does more than make your body shake. You need someone who makes your heart sing. Someone who makes your soul soar.

Divorced/Widowed/Recently Single

Love is never enough. No matter how much you care about someone, there’s always a chance that you’ll end up losing them. Maybe they’ll cheat on you. Maybe they’ll get bored of you. Maybe they’ll drop dead one day. But no matter what happens, they’ll eventually disappear. That’s why, to you, love is all about pain. Pain with a little bit of happiness throw in. Thought Catalog Logo Mark