19 Big Differences Between What’s Romantic In The Beginning Of The Relationship And What’s Romantic Three Years Later

Twenty20 / lostinthejungle
Twenty20 / lostinthejungle

1. In the beginning, you’re slowly but surely falling in love with their perfume or their cologne or whatever they use for their signature scent. Three years later, you’re just trying to learn to deal with the smell of their farts.

2. In the beginning, you fall asleep every single night with your arms around each other. Three years later, it’s more about getting a solid five to six minutes of hard cuddling in before you call it a night and move into whatever position is actually comfortable, even if that means rolling to complete opposite sides of the bed to have your space.

3. In the beginning, your relationship is full of late nights, pillow talk, and an inability to fall asleep before two in the morning because you can’t stop touching each other. Three years later, when they ask you if you’re ready for bed at 9:30, you think it’s the sexiest thing they’ve ever said.

4. In the beginning, you are shy around each other and you try to do everything you can to seem flawless. Three years later, you’re peeing with the door open because you don’t want to have to pause your conversation just so one of you can go to the bathroom.

5. In the beginning, you excitedly make plans for Valentine’s Day that involve a beautiful dinner and cards and every single Valentine’s Day trinket you guys find at Walgreens. Three years later, every day feels like Valentine’s Day… except instead of bringing each other chocolate or flowers, you’re bringing over Imodium because they’ve got a mean case of diarrhea.

6. In the beginning, you are constantly worried that you have something in your teeth when you’re around them because you’re crazy about them and want to look your best. Three years later, you know that if there’s pepper in your teeth, they’ll just straight up tell you or, better yet, get it out for you. (Yes, ew. But also strangely convenient.)

7. In the beginning, you’re having way too much fun sending each other racy Snapchats. Three years later, Snapchat is still a high priority, but you’re more concerned with including them on the list of friends you send your heinous double chin pic to than you are of sending them something cute or sexy.

8. In the beginning, you can’t resist drowning each other in compliments. Three years later, you still say nice things to each other, but they’re balanced out by frequently voiced reminders that you drive each other crazy or find each other ridiculously annoying sometimes.

9. In the beginning, you select your meal carefully at a restaurant. A salad, or some plain pasta – whatever’s easiest to eat and least likely to get on your face or stuck in your teeth. Three years later, you’re eating the biggest cheeseburger they’ve got while moaning appreciatively and making strangely sexual noises that have nothing to do with your partner next to you. They aren’t even noticing, because they’re doing the exact same thing.

10. In the beginning, you literally go into a panic filled with nerves and giddy excitement whenever you see that they’re calling you. Three years later, you’re still excited to talk to them, but rather than answering with a nervous and breathy hello, you usually answer with some kind of joke or a weird, unattractive noise. Or just a relaxed “hey” when you’re feeling lazy.

11. In the beginning, you try to look as good as possible in front of each other. Three years later, they make you feel sexiest when you just woke up and look like you were hit by a train.

12. In the beginning, they’re happy to show up at one in the morning when you text them for a booty call. Three years later, they’ll show up at one in the morning to bring you tylenol when you have a headache, or to just lay with you because you don’t want to be alone tonight.

13. In the beginning, it feels like you only have eyes for one another. Three years later, you’re both well aware of the fact that you are bound to find other people besides one another attractive, and rather than getting defensive and insecure, you just tell each other about it and then laugh.

14. In the beginning, you’re attracted to them for their best and most obvious good qualities, like their hair or their eyes or their body. Three years later, you’re still attracted to those things, but now your attraction comes from things more personal, like their handwriting or their voice or the way they look when they’re reading a book.

15. In the beginning, you get butterflies just from hearing them say your name. Three years later, the butterflies aren’t as frequent, but they’re replaced with a more stable, strong, deep contentedness just from being around them.

16. In the beginning, pretty much every song you hear that is even remotely related to love makes you think of them. Three years later, there are still a lot of songs that make you think of them, but more so than that, there’s one or two songs that hit so close to home, you honestly feel like they were written about the two of you.

17. In the beginning, you’re always buying them cute little presents, like a candle or a picture frame. Three years later, you’re grabbing a new toothbrush for them when you’re out buying one for yourself… and they’re surprisingly grateful for it.

18. In the beginning, it’s an endless journey of telling one another new things about yourselves. Three years later, they’re reminding you that salsa gives you acid reflux when you’re considering going to a Mexican restaurant, and you’re telling them not to have ice cream before bed because it gives them nightmares.

19. In the beginning, you love maintaining an aura of mystery about your hygiene habits and trying to act as though “looking this good” is effortless. Three years later, you’re telling them you have to shower before bed because you haven’t shaved your legs in like three weeks. Now that’s ~*RoMaNcE*~ Thought Catalog Logo Mark

I’m a staff writer for Thought Catalog. I like comedy and improv. I live in Chicago. My Uber rating is just okay.

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