Types Of Love Relationships

Romantic Love

This is what Hollywood wants us to think love is. The foundation is passion, that giddy, swept-of-your-feet feeling. Along with that, there’s often a sense of emotional closeness, so strong, that you feel at one with your partner. The problem with this type of love is that there’s no commitment. Once the excitement wears off, and the day-to-day routine sets in, this love can fizzle out fast.

Fatuous Love

This is the Las Vegas drive-through-chapel-love. Love that makes you think you should spend a lifetime together after you’ve only known each other a week. As with the romantic variety, there’s plenty of passion, but there’s also a sense of commitment, hence the instant-wedding! What’s lacking, though, is intimacy. The two people involved hardly know each other. It leads to questions like, “What do you mean you ‘forgot’ to finalize your divorce?!”

Companionate Love

This is the elderly couple walking hand in hand through the park. It’s also the grumpy, old pair who always seems to have regular spats, yet, wouldn’t dream of leaving each other. Even after the passion has died down, the closeness and commitment are stronger than ever. Of course, that’s not to imply that all older couples lack passion, or that this love is reserved only for the elderly!

Empty Love

Of all types of love relationships, this one is hardest to call “love”. It’s really more a type of respect held up by moral values. It’s the kind of thing that happens when a married couple no longer feels much of anything for each other, but stays together for the kids, for financial reasons, or just out of sheer momentum. Often both partners still feel genuine regard and respect for one another, but neither emotional intimacy nor physical passion are anywhere to be found.

Consummate Love

Here we’ve hit the mother lode! This is the love most of us dream of finding some day. It’s everything all rolled into one; deep emotional intimacy, toe-curling passion, and rock-solid commitment. People who share this type of loveoften consider their partner their best friend, or the “one thing” they can count on. Naturally, this relationship’s bound to hit a few storms along the way, but this type of relationship has everything it needs to weather those storms without sustaining any serious, long-term damage.