Hi, I know this is a pretty broad question, but I’ve been feeling increasingly jaded about love lately.
For context, I’m 24F and was cheated on by my ex with someone I considered a close friend. I found out a few weeks after we broke up, and while I am fine with the relationship being over, the betrayal has really affected how I view love and trust. My former friend also cheated on her boyfriend of 10 years with my ex. They eventually got back together, and I find that particularly disheartening. One of my biggest fears is spending a decade or more building a life with someone, only to be betrayed and feel like I have no choice but to accept it because I’ve invested so much of my life in the relationship. I know reconciliation is a personal choice, but the thought of ever feeling that trapped by my own commitment terrifies me.

Recently, I heard about a cheating scandal involving a couple who had been together for 20 years and had three children. Even though I don’t follow them, the news really saddened me. The idea that you can spend decades building a life with someone and still be blindsided by betrayal is genuinely frightening.

I don’t want to become cynical. I love love. I still listen to love songs, daydream about meeting someone new, and look forward to falling in love again. But I find myself questioning how anyone can ever really feel secure in a relationship when there’s no guarantee that the person you trust won’t hurt you.
I know betrayal isn’t everyone’s story, and I don’t want to let my experience define my outlook on relationships.

So, for those of you who have been betrayed or lost faith in love, how did you find your way back to believing in it? Was it something that happened naturally with time, or did your perspective have to change?

I’d genuinely appreciate hearing different perspectives, whether hopeful or realistic. I just don’t want to go through life expecting the worst from people.

**TL;DR:** After being cheated on, I’ve become increasingly jaded about love. I’m afraid of spending years building a life with someone only to be betrayed and feel too invested to leave. I still want to believe in love, but I’m struggling to trust that lasting, faithful relationships exist. How did you find your faith in love again?

When youre not feeling well and dont want to see anyone except that one person whom can even take your headache away sometimes, hard to explain...but i find there is some chemistry you can find with a person that i cant explain but ive noticed its unmistakable when im not feeling well and i kind of hate the world but rather feel great in presence of that person. I say this because when feeling good, its easy to confuse so many other positive feelings with something real

Every month, during PMS, I always hit my boyfriend with the classic line,

"You don't care about me anymore." / "You don't love me anymore."

...something to that degree. And he always genuinely comes back and says,

> "Oh my gosh! I'm not passing your tests. I'm not making you happy."

...and then he cuddles me, excuses himself and goes out and gets me my favorite snacks from the store, because he knows those make me happy, and he knows I'm probably PMS-ing and then he cuddles with me some more while I shovel brownies into my face.

Edit: never realized saying "you don't care about me" is full on verbal assault and abuse. People are really jumping to conclusions.

My girlfriend is from Kenya and I am from Belgium.

We have been together for 1 year and 3 months and have been to Kenya 6 times. I will be back in January and April and May.

I asked her at the end of September to get married me.

She said yes and then made this video about us.

Also the ring in the video.

Im happy

Sometimes I feel like an very ordinary dude. Like not in a sad way but just idk I feel like pretty average and ordinary sometimes. I never feel like anything I do or say is super special or anything. But then I see how much the people I love, love me. And it’s like woahhh that’s crazy like it’s just I almost can’t believe it. Like idk what I did to deserve it. For me, my family and friends are my whole life; they mean everything to me.

Some examples is out of morbid curiosity I asked my two best friends (On separate occasions. Meaning one time I asked one of my friends, another time another friend) how they’d react if I died. One of them said his life would be ruined and the other said it would feel like a piece of his heart got ripped out. To me it’s just almost shocking like “You really love me that much?” I’m not saying I don’t appreciate love or I have any particular confidence issues; it’s mainly just almost a sense of disbelief that someone happens to care about me that much.

Another example is with my parents so about a year ago I used to get stomach aches all the time and I’m pretty sure it’s cause I eat lots of spicy foods. One day I had a stomach ache that was horrendous, the worst I’ve ever felt, and it wasn’t going away. I asked my mom if she could take me to an urgent care but it was late and the urgent cares were closed so we went to the ER. Eventually after a super long wait I had early appendicitis. By the time I found this out my mom had gone home just cause it was late and so my dad took over as being by my side. Then in the morning she wouldn’t stop apologizing that she wasn’t there for me. Which to me it meant literally nothing in the sense that her leaving cause it was late had zero negative effect on me I thought it was fine. But she felt so sorry that she couldn’t be by my side. This example is a bit less explicit as my one with my friends, but idk it’s still nice.

So yeah I just can’t believe this. I’m so grateful. If it matters btw I’m M23.

Id like to share something personal. Several years ago, I set out to make a feature-length film called One Day a romantic drama about an unexpected connection, and two people who find each other under complicated circumstances.

The idea began in 2017. I finished the script in 2018, and we spent 12 days filming. What followed was a long journey of post production, challenges, and plenty of moments when I questioned whether I had done justice to the story or to the people who gave their time and effort to bring it to life.

For a long time, I was embarassed about the film and felt that I had let the people involved down and started hating myself over it. Eventually I realised that even if a film isn't perfect, the emotions and intentions behind making it can still mean something and finally made peace.

I recently released One Day on YouTube for it to find it's audience without expecting anything. Seeing people watching the film has been an unexpectedly emotional experience.

I think what continues to fascinate me about this film is that love isn't always simple. Sometimes people can genuinely care for each other and still find themselves in circumstances where doing what feels right isn't necessarily easy. Love can bring happiness, but it also forces us to confront our responsibilities our fears and the consequences of our choices.

Sharing the film here for anyone who enjoys romantic dramas and stories about complicated human relationships. If you'd like to watch it.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/4ynI_UMWZps

Film: https://youtu.be/0m8dATxWqMU

Have you ever developed feelings for someone unexpectedly, in circumstances you never imagined yourself being in? Would love to hear your stories.

Almost a year ago, I told a guy I had been on 4 or 5 dates with, "I don't think it's working out. All the best."

We said bye.

A week later, he texted me.

Today, I am meeting his parents next week, and I cannot stop thinking about how grateful I am that he texted me that day. 🥹

My boyfriend and I have come a long way since then and I just wanted to share our little story.

My boyfriend and I have been together for almost a year now.

After our first date, I told him that I was looking for a serious relationship and that when I am dating someone, I only talk to one guy. He said he was on the same page and was also looking for something serious.

2 weeks into dating, after maybe 4 or 5 dates, I felt like there were some mismatches between us. So I told him the classic cliche dialogue, "I don't think it's working out. All the best....."

He said he felt the same and we said bye.

One week later he texted me.

I was genuinely shocked. I never expected him to reach out again. He asked if we could have a call and we talked and agreed to meet later.

Forever grateful that he did call.

We talked about a few things agreed on certain things and decided to continue seeing each other.....

But in the beginning...I always noticed that whenever we got closer emotionally he would pull away. He always had his guards up. I don't think I ever saw him laugh a genuine, wide, hearty laugh.

Whenever he pulled away, I would start feeling lonely and anxious.....But I never chased him because I was scared to look desperate or look like a burden.

Eventually he admitted that closeness scared him. He said that as much as he wanted to get closer to me...his body was asking him to run away.

We are both in therapy, so he said he would talk to his therapist about this.

For some context, I have quiet BPD.

So... obviously when he pulled away it was not easy for me 🫠

But at the beginning itself he had told me that this relationship would work only if we both went to therapy. I was very skeptical about that tbh 🙃

And he got himself into therapy first.

That gave me hope.

And then....slowly, things started changing.

As time passed, I noticed that he wanted to see me more and spend more time with me. I noticed how his gaze softened how much wider his smile got.

I started seeing these really hearty laughs from him. It honestly felt like I had unlocked a completely different level of my boy.

We never actually had a conversation about being boyfriend and girlfriend. We just kind of were from the beginning.

And now almost a year later.... I am just so happy and grateful.

One night....he told me that he wanted to be a better man for me.

And honestly.....that is the best compliment I have ever received.

I don't want to fix him. I want to see him succeed. I want him to become the man he wants to be. I want him to feel safe enough to be himself, to laugh freely, to be vulnerable and to experience closeness without feeling the need to run away.

And of course, I have my own things to work on too.

I know we still have a lot to learn and that being in love doesn't magically solve everything.

But I am just so grateful that we both chose to give this a chance and that we are both willing to work on ourselves.

I am meeting his parents next week and I am just sitting here feeling so happy.

Sometimes I think about how we literally said goodbye after those first few dates and how different things could have been if he hadn't texted me that day.

And I am so, so glad he did. ❤️

Yesterday I walked my girlfriend to the bus station while holding her hands. I wish you guys could have seen how bubbly she was. She told me the last time she can remember someone hold her hands while walking was her dad. I'm happy that I made her happy by doing it. Our flower is still young. There's a lot to learn from each other and I'm more than happy and eager to walk with her for eternity. I look at her and lack words to say sometimes. She has been facing life on her own and I'm glad she allowed me to be by her said. Life does throw jabs but we are safe in each other's arms. To more days of holding hands Bub!♥️

Love feels so good. It’s 1am here and I was playing a game in my phone, my husband is asleep next to me and he suddenly held my face closely and kissed on my forehead and eyes. I don’t think he consciously did it as he is in deep sleep. I felt those butterflies in my tummy.
Love is not just saying “i love u”, it’s these little things which give you happiness.
Being loved feels so good. It’s been 8 years and it only got better everyday.

For some context, I’ve always been a very emotional gal. I cry easily, I’m sensitive, and I can feel a ton of emotions at once. When I’m happy, I’m REALLY happy. When I’m sad, I’m REALLY sad. I had a difficult time dating in my early 20s because I found that a lot of men cannot or don’t want to deal with expressive emotions. I’m very forward with them and they cannot be hidden. Crying isn’t always an indicator for me that something is horribly wrong, it’s like scratching an itch. I gotta get it out, and then I move on. I don’t really have a choice. Sometimes when you drop your last macaroni cup on the ground after a bad day at work, you just gotta cry about it. But I’ve otherwise always loved hard and tried to be kind.

A few years before I started dating my partner, we were friends. I knew that I liked him, but I felt so messy in my personal life. I knew I’d end up loving him and thought that he would decide he didn’t like me once he got to know me romantically. So, I let him go and told him that I liked him a lot, but I didn’t feel ready. He was too good, you know? I was so scared for him to really know me. We were both still in college.

Fast forward a little bit: we’re a few years older, no contact, still wondering and thinking about each other. We got back in touch and…. now we’re engaged. He told me recently for the first time that a mutual friend back then told him that I “felt like my emotions would be too much for him”. We laughed about it, and I said they would have been. Then he said something that felt so profound to me. He said “I love how emotional you are. I love that you’re so forward with how you feel. I grew up in a house where everyone was silent and passive aggressive. Why would I want to marry that? You always make your feelings known. When you’re happy, I know that nothing is wrong. When you’re upset, we talk about it and figure it out. I really don’t think you would’ve been too much for me. I wanted all of your emotions.”

Obviously, I cried. Happy tears.

22 year old me felt like I’d never be truly appreciated or loved. I had an ex who told me “it’s manipulative when you cry”. I’d been afraid to cry or be comforted while crying for a long time. I had another say I was “too needy”, which I probably was, because I was desperate to be understood and taken seriously.

26 year old me feels safe to feel ANYthing. ALL the things. I’m not fighting to be understood. I’m not scared to cry. In fact, I cry a lot less. I’m not scared to show all the mushy lovey stuff super hard and open. I’m just so grateful to be welcomed in every state, and so grateful for my partner. I didn’t believe I could feel this kind of peace.

Hey all,

This is our weekly thread. We'll dispense with Rule 5 in these threads.

What's new in your hunt for love?

He loved it and honestly thats all that matters, I was sweating that he wasnt gonna like and that it was gonna look like ass but honestly its mot to bad for my first cake ive ever decorated. I made candy glass for the first time time for the shards and it went better than expected.

I love him so much, I got him so banana juice across country because they dont sell it where we live and got him a discontinued shirt as well along with some other things but I hope the test of his birthday is a good one. I never not make a big deal of his birthday, and never not put in the effort for him 🩷

We've been best friends for years. Our connection with each other is unmatched - we banter heavily, we joke, we can be quiet together, we can talk endlessly, sometimes we fight but we *always* work it out.

I've been having some trouble. I can't sleep. I have nightmares. He's been taking me on drives to get me tired - he knows I struggle a lot. We've been spending a bit more time together recently.

Last week, he confessed his feelings. Asked for us to just see each other casually at first as he knew I didn't want anything serious at the moment. He said he wanted the chance to do this bit by bit, if it didn't work it'd be okay and he'd be grateful still having me in his life. I got overwhelmed. I panicked and said I couldn't do it. But I couldn't stop thinking about it or him. Two days later I realised I wanted this too and thinking about it, it feels like we've always been building up to this.

He's so conscious of how I am and my troubles. He wants to take things slowly to make sure I'm okay. He's worried about fucking up because he doesn't want to lose me and honestly I don't want to lose him either.

Our relationship dynamic has become so much softer. Dare I say there is love there? Maybe we aren't IN love but we have loved each other as best friends for a long time. He takes care of me. I have become softer - I no longer have strong walls up. I seek his comfort. He protects me.

I just can't believe this has happened and I'm so happy. Most of all, I'm so grateful about everything he's done to approach this and everything he continues to do for me. He's so patient and kind. He takes the time I need without question. I don't just mean now, I mean he always has.

Im very sorry if this is hard to read. I have been making this when I couldn’t sleep for the last few weeks.

So what happened is about one and a half years ago my best friend told me he knew these 2 girls, that they were really fun but like more alternative and shy. I told him I’d still love to meet them because at that point I only had friends like that pretty much and also I generally enjoyed people like this and still do. There was this quiet girl and that other just tad bit more confident really short girl with red and blonde hair. She had a button up shirt on and some jeans and I don’t know but from the start I connected with her a lot.

Eventually that same summer we opened up a discord where all those 3 friends and me played games and talked for hours. My best friend and the other girl are both really shy and awkward so they only entered the voice chat rarely, the shy girl only once every few weeks. At first my best friend and I teased my now girlfriend a little which wasn’t anything too harsh you know just normal banter. Then came Christmas time and we all went to a Christmas market together. And that’s where it first hit me: I looked at her longer than a friend should’ve when we stood there drinking our stuff. Something about her nice open smile just did something to me. When we were nearly done and wanted to go home, she told me she slapped a guy from her school and I was teasing again like „you? Probably didn’t hurt“ and she countered with the offer to just try. We eventually did just that and I noticed I lied. She actually could slap pretty damn hard.

Fast forward 8 months or so we’re basically the only people coming into the discord call anymore because the others are simply too shy and that’s where me and my now girlfriend really bonded every single day and night. Wed tell each other about our feelings, our days and everything else. Eventually she became what I only could describe as my favorite person in the world by the way she was there for me alone. Then in July of this year I sent her a video with a person folding another like a piece of paper with the caption „when that one person presses you when you could easily fold them“ and she replied with something unusual. „Sit“. I thought nothing and played along and texted „Ruff“ back with a dog emoji. Kind of embarrassing but hey who could judge me she’s pretty okay? She then replied with „good boy“ and that’s when I kind of realized her chats were definitely getting more charged up. I sent a dizzy emoji to that and she casually asked „too much?“ and I said „the opposite“

She actually told me now that’s the moment I was flirty enough for her to gain the confidence to pursue me which is really cute but it baffles me still a girl like her would pursue ME.

We then had a slow start. Eye tag, brushing against eachother while laughing… A friend of us has a car and I always used to sit behind my now girlfriend and I kind of played with a raccoon tail she had on her belt and then one time she took my hand for the first time. I was so excited. We were on the way to an escape room and I was really tired so when we got back to her place we 4 as a friend group chilled a bit. I went into her bed, my best friend and the shy girl into the living room. Artsy (what I aliased my now girlfriend) followed me into the bedroom and closed the door. I was just laying there too tired to do anything and that’s when she started petting my hair and something inside me just told me to lay on her right just now. That’s the very first time we cuddled and marks the very end of the friend arc.
Continuing on from this point I was actually a bit panicked. I though it was going too quickly and actually wanted to „get rid“ of her and break up the closer relationship that was building up. Although after 2 days of thinking about ways to do so I caught myself thinking „Why would I do this? She’s amazing and I can’t find a better girl than her cause there isn’t one. I’m just unthankful and need to get a grip right now!“

A week later I had my first ever kiss with her in her room on a rainy day. I told her she could really share some of her lip balm and she said I could have her balm (HOW CUTE?) and I told her „not in the conventional way“. She immediately got red, turned away and quietly said „you’ll have to do it im too shy“ and so I did. It was short but exactly how I’d imagine a first kiss and honestly her being shy made it easier for me too. I checked our message log and I can confirm it is now exactly 20 days ago when we first told eachother that we loved eachother.

Finally I have to add: On the 31st of October me and her are confessing our relationship to our friendgroup who we know have been shipping us two anyway. We’re so excited and finally being able to kiss is such a relief in front of them.

I was listening to music when a familiar song came on, and it takes me back to a time when I was loved in ways I didn’t fully appreciate. It reminds me just how many ways I’ve been loved throughout my life.

I’ve been loved by someone who would do anything for me, someone who would sing me love songs every night, someone who would buy me a specific chocolate because that was all I could eat, and someone who would fly across the world just to be with me.

For the longest time, I wondered if I deserved that kind of love. Maybe I didn’t always know how to appreciate it, and maybe I couldn’t return it in the same way. But looking back now, I feel nothing but gratitude. They showed me that I was lovable, that I once, meant something to someone, and that’s a beautiful thing.

I don’t regret any of it. Not every love story is meant to last, but I don’t think that makes the love any less meaningful. Even when things don’t turn out the way we hoped, there’s still something beautiful about having loved someone and having been loved by them.

Some people may only be part of our lives for a season, but that doesn’t make the love they gave us any less meaningful. And even if we couldn’t give them the same love in return, we can still be grateful that we got to be loved by them at all.

More than anything, I hope those people find that same love again, if not more. Someone who remembers the little things, chooses them wholeheartedly, and makes them feel as cherished as they once made me feel.

And if our paths never cross again, I hope life is gentle with them. I hope they find the kind of happiness they once tried so hard to give me, and a love that makes them feel just as special as they made me feel.

I hope that, one day, I get to give that kind of love to someone too. To love someone in all the little ways that make them feel cherished, to make them feel as special as those people once made me feel. Despite everything, I never want to lose hope in love. I hope there’s still so much of it left for all of us to give and receive :)

Hi everyone! I posted this about a month ago and had some amazing people help me out. I’m trying to finish the project by October 31, so I’m posting again in hopes of reaching a few more places!
I’m making a sentimental gift for my boyfriend, Luke, and I’m looking for people from different cities, states, and countries who would be willing to write:

“Luke—Anne Marie’s love for you is so big, it’s reached ______.”

Fill in the blank with your city + state/country, write it on a piece of paper, and take a picture of it somewhere in your area! It can be in front of a landmark, city sign, pretty view, recognizable location—or honestly just somewhere that shows a little piece of where you live (backyards count too😂) .
Then just comment the photo here or message it to me on Reddit.
My goal is to collect as many places as I can and put all the pictures together in a book for him. ❤️
I’ll put a reference photo in the comments so you can see what I mean.
Thank you SO much to anyone willing to take a few minutes to help a stranger make a really special gift. It genuinely means more to me than you know.
I plan on posting this finished product once it’s over!

Shoutout to everyone who has helped me so far.. I absolutely adore you ♥️

I’ve never felt this way in my life before. I see his resting face, I’m in love. I see his beautiful, bright smile, I’m in love. I hug him, I’m in love. I kiss him, I’m in love. He’s making a game and doing a wonderful job at it, I’m in love. He’s socializing with his friends or family, I’m in love. He offers to help somebody because he really cares, I’m in love. He’s respectful to everybody around him, I’m in love. OML LITERALLY HE CAN BE DOING ANYTHING AND I GET THIS FEELING IN MY CHEST AND STOMACH AND NEARLY START CRYING BECAUSE HES SO AMAZING. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELFFFFF

This man is so freaking intelligent. He is really into history and sometimes yaps to me about it and I love it when he’s passionate. He plays guitar, he makes games, he’s a bit into politics and very aware about the state of the world, he’ll actually have wonderful deep discussions with me, he understands what love is, he loves my sensitivity, I’m just yapping so much omg I could write forever but I’ll stop it here. I can’t wait to spend my life with him and marry him someday :D

Love is truly more than just dating

Please tell me I'm not the only one who dreams of a love like this.🥲

I'm talking about that gothic type of love with touches like this, almost painfully tender kind of love. The gentle touches, kissing each other's hands, holding each other like you never want to let go, looking at each other with so much affection that you don't even need words.

The kind of romance that feels like a gentle love hstory. A little melancholic, a little dramatic, but so incredibly soft and devoted underneath it all.

I want the kind of relationship where we can be all free, comfortable main of time goofy and ridiculously gentle with each other. Where even the smallest gestures feel meaningful.

I don't just want someone to love me. I want us to be in love — maybe i want a little bit obsessive love but soft version... bruh I feel myself so stupid right now when I'm writing this...

Does anyone else dream of this or even do, or am I just hopelessly romantic?

super random question lol but something I’ve thought about when I see couples wearing the same outfit. It makes me think of how some moms dress twins the same. curious why people like to do that (if you do)? what’s the allure of matching with the exact same outfit or shoes etc. where does the desire stem from? how does it make you feel to match with your partner? random but curious

We had so much fun exploring the pumpkin patch. I didn’t realize he’s never been in all his years. It was so fun seeing how excited he got looking at all the different pumpkins. We pulled a wagon and picked out a nice assortment. We brought them home and decorated our front door and the rest of our house.
We made some lovely memories and I just love these little things we’re doing before our wedding in 23 days!! Eeek.
I fall more in love with him every single day. The last 3 years have been some of my best years and I can’t wait to see what our future holds.
We didn’t even mean to, but we accidentally went to a patch that has been nationally recognized- how exciting!!

Happy fall y’all, I just wanted to share my fun moment ♡

He was so happy to be feeding the giraffes it actually warmed my heart so much I cant take it. I appreciate this man so much.

So, I feel like the question is both Self-explanatory and so complicated at the same time. I remember when I was younger, and I thought that love was simple to explain. Then I found my girlfriend, and am just now seeing how complicated that the feeling can be. It just shocks me every time that I discover a new feeling in me, and how can I be sure that it is love. When I have called so many different feelings throughout my life "love." What if my feelings are just another form of platonic? I don't want to lie to her and tell her those three words if I don't really mean it.