If thats not serious love, I dont know what is.
I dated a tall, handsome, fair-skinned Englishman.
One day, I asked him the question.
cottonbro
His response struck me.
Americans are so silly.
I forgot they need to have this conversation about relationships.
Youre my girlfriend, of course.
How is it that things just happened?
What are the signs that a relationship is getting serious if you never actually talk about it?
But being hyper-aware of dating culture, I started to pay attention to my own experiences.
I listened carefully to my friends stories.
This made me realize its possible to spot a serious relationship sans straight up asking the person.
Whatever your show of choice is, youre watching it together.
That may seem trivial, but its a sort of commitment.
You both love the show, but never watch it without the other person.
Youre automatically considered their plus one to every event.
What this means is, they dont want to do life without you.
The events they consider special and exciting are the ones they want to share with you.
They post about you on Instagram
But only if theyre actually an avid user.
If theyre not that into social media, dont fret about this.
Being public with a relationship on Instagram is the equivalent to changing your Facebook status.
Theyve deleted their dating apps
And so have you.
But when things are serious, theres no need for a Plan B.
You are everything they could want, and they arent even imagining getting back on these soul-sucking apps.
For some people, telling their family about the person theyre dating is a huge deal.
Their family feels comfortable enough to add you.
Because youre not just some person, they casually mentioned.
Youve most likely been talked about enough that they felt ok making a move to add you.
That, or theyre beyond nosey.
They also dont care who sees, because you matter to them and they want everyone to know.
Things are new and exciting, plus, youre in bed.
It just makes sense.
But when things start to get serious, sleepovers without sex start to become a thing.
Because youre both not interested in just getting it on.
Youre interested in falling asleep in your arms and waking up to you in the morning.
Youve spent enough nights in to know this answer already.
Youve got their pizza order memorized and know the exact time it usually takes to arrive.
Your partner knows that youre always craving pad see ew, and to order it with extra spicy sauce.
Silence isnt awkward
And thats comforting.
You no longer feel the need to fill up gaps in the conversation.
Silence isnt the death of your relationship.
You no longer feel like you want to crawl out of your skin.
Things are comfortably amazing.
When all is said and done, you should always feel comfortable to ask for clarification.
