The 5 Distinct Stages Of Moving In With Your Significant Other

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Stage 1: You guessed it – The Honey Moon Phase

You’re moving in together! Cue the extreme excitement; you now get to be with each other 24/7, what could be better? You imagine you’ll spend your days snuggled up on the couch; and your nights intertwined in bed. You get to experience EVERYTHING together: grocery shopping, cooking dinner, doing the dishes, unlimited pillow talk.
How could it get any better than this…?

Stage 2: The Stubborn Standoff

Alright, the honey moon phase is starting to get old as you realize you both had a super specific way of doing things, from the way you cut your sandwich (ugh, I cut mine in triangles, he cuts his in squares) to the special type of dish soap they’ve always used, cause GOD FORBID they try a new brand.

So both of your overly stubborn attitudes start getting the best of (both of) you. You start being defiant to ensure the other knows you’re not going to change, especially not for them. Your independent and you’ll be damned if they don’t accept that.

Stage 3: Extreme Annoyance

You laugh thinking back to your honey moon phase, how could you have been so naïve, they are obnoxious! Everything they do pisses you off. Even the way they breathe…scratch that, especially the way they breathe.

Stage 4: Fight Night

The struggle is real, this is not what you signed up for and you’re ready to throw punches. Mainly because you’re stubborn, easily annoyed, and have high expectations and they just keep striking out, so why not pick a fight over something ridiculously stupid. It’ll make you feel better right? Eerrrrtt, wrong again.

Although I will admit this step did help bring me back to reality. Which is why we will explore the much needed Stage 5 next.

Stage 5: Adaption / Reality

Finally the punches have subsided and you’re starting to adapt. You accept each other for everything you are and aren’t. You stop setting the bar too high to reach and start accepting that challenges are a part of life, but if you work together, and use each other’s strengths, you can overcome anything that comes your way.

Here’s when you start to inch a bit closer in bed, and understand that alone time and space are VERY necessary (and healthy). You start to realize and appreciate the little things they do for you that remind you how great it is to not only have them as your significant other, but live with them too.