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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask the difference between "love" and "in love"

3 replies

Schrutesbeets · 15/05/2021 11:13

I know the difference - I know I love my friends, parents, kids. I know this is not "in love".
I know the feeling of feeling in love at the start of a relationship, the excitement, getting to know each other, putting your best foot forward and what not.
I just don't know whether I'm still "in love" with dh.
How is it manifested in long term relationships?
Are you still in love with your partners? Does in change over time to a love of mutual respect and... Something else?
Feeling quite fed up and not sure how to even articulate or put my finger on it, but feel like it's come down to the fact that, yes - I do love dh, but IN love? I'm just not sure.
I know it's not going to be butterflies and passion forever, but how do you all still know that you are in the relationship for the right reasons?
We get on so well, always laugh, I find it hard to imagine life without him, but is that just because our lives are so much one and the same?
Would I be sad to break up? Sure, but I know I'd also be fine.
Sorry, I'm rambling. I guess I just don't know and maybe that is an answer in itself.
Anyone else feeling the same?
Just to not drip feed - we have been together 10 years, 2 kids and own a house together.

OP posts:
User179335678 · 15/05/2021 11:54

I guess I wohld say that I am in love with my husband because I cannot imagine my life without him and also don’t want to. I think it’s the not wanting to think like that which makes the difference.

Honeycombskl · 15/05/2021 12:01

I loved my EXH, and would say I still do. I was in love with him at some point but we lost that. I think the physical aspect of a relationship is what makes the difference, he had a much lower libido than me and could go months without wanting sex. Eventually this led to me not seeing him in that way and the feelings of being in love gradually changed to a more platonic kind of love. We separated as a result (amongst other things) but I definitely still love him as a person who was a part of my life for so long so I can find it hard at times not being in each other's lives as we once were, the thought of us having sex or anything feels weird though so it's very much a platonic love.

michellefromhell · 15/05/2021 12:04

I would say that love comes in all forms. I love my daughter. I love my dog. I love my mother. I love my sisters. But I'm in love with my fiancé. "In love" is mainly a romantic thingSmile

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