Popsugar Love & Sex Advice The Meaning of True Love 47 Things That Define True Love 12 March 2019 by Hilary White Image Source: Getty / wundervisuals Along with the new wrinkle on my forehead and the increasing severity of hangovers, getting older has also brought me something a lot more welcome — it's brought me a little bit of wisdom. With each passing year, we understand more about ourselves and our relationships. My significant other and I have been together for over five years, and I've had some of the best experiences of my life with him. We've also had some pretty difficult ones. While I'm not sure there's one true secret to making things work, I do know that it's possible if you're both really in it together. We've changed over the years and so has the nature of our love. We've experienced the excitement of falling hard for each other, we've challenged our resilience with a move across the country with each other (and a very grumpy cat), and we've started over in a new city with no money and few friends. We've celebrated births of family members together and mourned the loss of them, too. We've experienced the novelty of the honeymoon phase wearing off and a deeper, more peaceful kind of love settling in. Falling in love is easy; staying in love is something you have to work at daily. Over the years I've seen little signs (often at the time not realising what they were) that helped me decipher what true love really is and what that means. Here's what I've learned. — Additional reporting by Maya Berry Related: 24 Signs You've Found Your Soul Mate 1 Love is seeing a person every day and still missing them when you're apart. Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Diggy Lloyd 1 / 47 2 Love is listening. Image Source: Getty / South_agency 2 / 47 3 Love is using the bathroom with the door open because they were in the middle of a story and you really had to go. Image Source: Getty / Mahbub Khan 3 / 47 4 Love is smiling at them while they're sleeping. Image Source: Getty / Django 4 / 47 5 Love is picking up their favorite treat on the way home so they will be surprised when they get there. Image Source: Getty / Ashley Gill 5 / 47 6 Love is respect, but not submission. Image Source: Getty / EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER 6 / 47 7 Love is challenging each other to be the best people you both can be. Image Source: Getty / Jacobs Stock Photography Ltd 7 / 47 8 Love is asking for forgiveness. Image Source: Getty / 10'000 Hours 8 / 47 9 Love is forgiving. Image Source: Getty / PeopleImages 9 / 47 10 Love is letting them be their own person and always being your true self with them, too. Image Source: Getty / valentinrussanov 10 / 47 11 Love is committing to them and meaning it. Image Source: Getty / Justin Lambert 11 / 47 12 Love is addressing problems and challenges, not avoiding them. Image Source: Getty / Hill Street Studios 12 / 47 13 Love is holding their hand when they are sad or scared — or just because. Image Source: Getty / Petri Oeschger 13 / 47 14 Love is the absence of judgments. Image Source: Getty / Robert Daly 14 / 47 15 Love is compromise. Image Source: Getty / PictureNet Corporation 15 / 47 16 Love is cleaning up the cat, dog, or baby poop, even if it's not your turn to. Image Source: Getty / svetikd 16 / 47 17 Love is arguing, but not attacking. Image Source: Getty / PeopleImages 17 / 47 18 Love is honest, even when it hurts. Image Source: Getty / Tetra Images 18 / 47 19 Love is letting them know you'll always be there for them. Image Source: Getty / Christopher Malcolm 19 / 47 20 Love is finding a balance. Image Source: Getty / GCShutter 20 / 47 21 Love is recognizing the value of the other person and telling them. Image Source: Getty / 10'000 Hours 21 / 47 22 Love is selfless. Image Source: Getty / Colin Anderson Productions pty l 22 / 47 23 Love is saying "I love you" any chance you get. Image Source: Getty / martin-dm 23 / 47 24 Love is support and encouragement. Image Source: Getty / Sam Edwards 24 / 47 25 Love is patience when things don't go as planned. Image Source: Getty / Compassionate Eye Foundation/Mor 25 / 47 26 Love is eating at your favorite restaurant and talking about your days. Image Source: Getty / Hill Street Studios 26 / 47 27 Love is laughing at inside jokes no one else will ever understand. Image Source: Popsugar Photography / Paul Kabata 27 / 47 28 Love is something that makes you both happy. Image Source: Getty / Eva-Katalin 28 / 47 29 Love is losing sleep because they haven't come home yet. Image Source: Getty / Adene Sanchez 29 / 47 30 Love is sometimes admitting you're wrong. Image Source: Getty / NicolasMcComber 30 / 47 31 Love is supporting their passion, even if you don't share that passion. Image Source: Getty / Daniel Milchev 31 / 47 32 Love is never, ever watching a new episode of your favorite show without them. Image Source: Getty / FluxFactory 32 / 47 33 Love is corny as hell. Image Source: Getty / PeopleImages 33 / 47 34 Love is chemistry. Image Source: Getty / wundervisuals 34 / 47 35 Love is loving their friends and family (or at least trying to). Image Source: Getty / skynesher 35 / 47 36 Love is letting them pick the next trip you take. Image Source: Getty / izusek 36 / 47 37 Love is being partners. Image Source: Getty / Tomas Rodriguez 37 / 47 38 Love is sharing the covers. Image Source: Getty / Willie B. Thomas 38 / 47 39 Love is imperfect. Image Source: Getty / skynesher 39 / 47 40 Love is letting the small things go. Image Source: Getty / laflor 40 / 47 41 Love is skipping the party and going to bed together early. Image Source: Getty / Pekic 41 / 47 42 Love is a kiss on the forehead. Image Source: Getty / skynesher 42 / 47 43 Love is laughing at stupid things together. Image Source: Getty / Nick Dolding 43 / 47 44 Love is not just talk, but action. Image Source: Getty / PeopleImages 44 / 47 45 Love is boring. Image Source: Getty / 10'000 Hours 45 / 47 46 Love is exciting. Image Source: Getty / Graiki 46 / 47 47 Love is home. Image Source: Getty / Mixmike 47 / 47 AdviceRelationships