Saying "I love you" to your partner for the first time can be simultaneously terrifying and amazing. After mulling over those three words for as long as you probably did, finally saying them and hearing them said back to you is incredibly euphoric — like you've drifted away on cloud nine. And while you're drifting, it's easy to get lost in all the best things about hearing "I love you" back that come once you've said those three words.
I've only ever really been in love with someone once. My current boyfriend told me he loved me for the first time in my bed one February night. The second his big, brown eyes looked into mine, and those words rolled off his tongue, I froze. I wanted to say it back because I was pretty sure I felt it, but what if I was wrong? I didn't want to say it and not know for sure. All I could do in that moment was open my eyes as wide as physically possible and hug him tighter than I ever had before. The next morning, I realized I had been overthinking. I told him I loved him, too, and I've never looked back.
When you finally find the courage to tell your partner you love them, and they say it back, so many incredible things can soon follow. Let's take a look at what life with bae looks like after they say "I love you."
When someone says "I love you" back, it can be an indicator that you're both on the same page when it comes to your feelings for each other. I don't know about you, but I personally struggle with confirmation in my relationships. I have this need to know for sure that the other person is just as invested in me as I am in them, so I feel like I'm protecting my heart. I've been the person who cares more in the relationship, and I didn't like it. Sometimes I feel like I still am, but every time I hear my boyfriend say, "I love you, baby," it shows me we feel the same way about each other.
Before acknowledging you're head-over-heels for each other, you may feel the need to be in tip-top shape at all times — saying all the right things, holding back the not-so-nice truth from time to time — because you want to seem "perfect" in their eyes. "Far too many people balk at being honest from the start. They're afraid of being rejected for speaking their truth," NYC relationship expert and love coach Susan Winter told Elite Daily. But, once those three words have been said, it's suddenly like all the pressure is off, and you can be your normal self. You already know they love you! Not doing your hair, or telling them (nicely) their outfit isn't exactly working today shouldn't change how they feel.
Meredith Golden, dating coach and online dating expert, told Elite Daily that someone who truly loves you "talks about your future together, not like where you are eating dinner next week, but a vacation three to six months out."
Making plans for your future together is one of the most telling signs that you and bae are in it for the long haul. If they don't "make any plans in the future, even the near future," it's clear that they may not think your relationship is going to last, Erika Ettin, dating coach and founder and CEO of A Little Nudge, told Elite Daily.
You know those "I love you, more," "No, I love you more" fights you see on TV? The ones that are super cheesy but also really cute? They're so real. After both of you say "I love you," you might even replace "I love you, too" with "I love you, more." It happens, and while the two of you may constantly be trying to win these fights, they're actually quite enjoyable (as cheesy as they are). While these back-and-forths are silly, it's still fun to be playful with your partner and see who gives up first.
Every morning and night, the one thing my boyfriend and I say to each other is "I love you." It's become part of our everyday routine, and while you'd think that would make those three words lose their value, it hasn't. It may take some time for "I love you" to be an everyday, twice a day thing, but it can happen with time. And I think the simplicity of that unspoken, spoken routine is one of the best things about hearing "I love you" back.
Those three words carry so much weight, and I think we forget that sometimes because we're so used hearing them and saying them to our friends and families. But, "I love you" shouldn't be just another sentence. It should be something you mean with all your heart. Consider making sure the person who you say it to next really deserves it and appreciates it for what it is.
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