Forget generous gifts or OTT displays of affection, the biggest ‘act of real love’ is far more simple and subtle than all that, at least according to one expert.
Chatting about what causes trivial arguments between couples, relationship therapist Dr Laura Berman revealed that most are avoidable – it’s often down to each partner’s individual quirks and how willing we are to indulge them.
You know, all those tiny, individual preferences you have that your partner doesn’t really ‘get’.
‘Often the partner is like, “What’s the big deal?”, and that feels like a slap in the face,’ Dr Berman told PopSugar.
Instead, Dr Berman says that both sides need to make an effort to embrace each other’s little obsessions – and that doing so is probably the biggest ‘act of real love’ you can show to one another.
‘So, even if they don’t know why every candle in the house has to match, if they facilitate and assist, that is an act of real love and romance because it shows that even if they don’t understand it or think it’s important, it’s important to you, so they’re engaging and investing in it,’ she added.
And, instead of getting into an tiff about why it matters whether the throw cushions are arranged just so, it’s up to both people to respect their partner’s feelings and avoid questioning them, she explains.
‘It’s really important that each of you take responsibility for the bar that you’re setting and the unnecessary stress that you’re creating,’ she concluded.
So, yeah, maybe keep that in mind next time you feel like rolling your eyes at your other half’s funny little habits.
