As someone who has been in a relationship with my OH for a few years, since I was 18 and I am now 23. I would still class this as an early stage seeing as we plan to spend the rest of our life together. We text/message each other daily and keep each other company that way. I come out to bring him his lunch and will sit on the tractor with him ( how romantic is that ? do you fancy keeping me company whilst I cultivate the field ?) 
. We are touchy feely, and always settle down snuggled up to watch the tele. OH has always been te perfect gentleman and is very romantic so I have yet to experience a change since the early days of a relationship. Without being TMI our sex life is great , again no change there apart from doing it 8 times a day 
I'm not sure how we managed that.
Now I was speaking to a friend who is five years older than me and she Is unhappy I wont put too much info on here but her husband and herself have drifted apart. As a relationship gets older does the contact and such go with it ? would be nice to see the views of other people on this subject.
Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody
Relationships
Does the passion die out ? what's it like in your relationship ?
harvestwidows · 05/11/2013 12:34
I once had a long term relationship with a young farmer. My gosh they have some stamina 
, despite working 24/7 literally, things never fizzled out after 7 years with him but I myself lost interest in the last couple of years simply because I couldn't keep up with his physical demands (admittedly there was an almost 10 year age gap between us!) and his octopus hands eventually became irritating as they were all over me all the time.
But I have to say, yes, there will be peaks and troughs in a healthy relationship, circumstances such as employment issues, pregnancy, child rearing, hormonal fluctuations due to medication, etc, general seasonal depression, all sorts really.
He is the only boyfriend with whom the 'passion died' as you call it, but there we're several contributing circumstances I suppose. He wanted to settle down and I didn't, he was just too much in my face all the time,not so much 'very affectionate' but constantly grabbing me or groping me. It turned me right orf I'm afraid, eventually.
My current boyfriend I have the serious fancying of pants for and cute er imagine myself fizzing out over him because I'm so completely smitten in every way.
cosy - I don't know whether to feel 
or at your post. So true for so many women.
Does it have to be like that? I don't know. Based on my own personal experience - well, I left the father of my own DC when they were babies so can't really comment. Now my DC are older and I'm in a different relationship, the passion is not hampered at all by life pressures or my DC but BF and I don't live together, which probably has something to do with it. I know that in the years of being a single mother when my DC were small, the only thing I ever wanted to get up to in the bedroom was sleep. The mere thought of sex was exhausting, even assuming I'd had anyone in mind to make me want to have it with them.
I do know of women who say they have managed to maintain the passion throughout their relationship, including the early years of children, but they are rare. They also tend to have a few things in common - babies who sleep well, a very good support network, a DH who does more than his fair share at home, and a life of their own outside the marriage and children.
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.