By Amy Osmond Cook for Divorce Support Center
“I wanna know what love is. I want you to show me.” The rock band Foreigner made that desperate request thirty-two years ago, and we are still wondering about the answer today. With summer romance in full swing, many are looking for relationship advice on how they can keep the fireworks flying in a relationship that is worth protecting. A common truth behind some of today’s most enduring relationships is that it takes work to keep that spark alive, and these four dating tips will help ensure your love is a total blast.
Relationship Advice On How To Keep The Spark Alive
1. Keep dating. Typically, a secure, committed relationship means we don’t have to pay close attention to it, right? Wrong! Relationship experts stress that just the opposite is true. Marriage counselor Michele Weiner-Davis says that many times her clients can’t recall the last time they spent any time alone together. “They are just not recognizing that romantic time with one another is what a relationship should be about—it should not just be the icing on the cake,” she says.
Related Link: Have a Front Row Date Night to the Fireworks on a Circle-Line Cruise
2. Stay connected. A healthy relationship needs to be nurtured. That means your significant other needs to be reminded regularly that you are his or her number one fan. By using today’s technology, you can drop a message to your main squeeze in any form. Be careful who is on the receiving end, however. UsMagazine.com reported on Kelly Ripa’s experience sending a photo of her toned behind to her husband, Mark Consuelos. Unfortunately, the photo made its way to her in-laws’ iPad instead. “My mother and father-in-law respond from their email and they’re like, ‘Dear Kelly, we are so proud of all your hard work,’ she said. ‘Your exercise classes are really paying off.'”
Related Link: Balance Work and Love Like a Celebrity Couple
3. Stay interested. When the relationship began, we wanted to know everything about our new love interest. As your relationship continues to progress and evolve, staying curious about what makes your partner tick keeps you both engaged in the relationship. “Romantic profundity embodies frequent acute occurrences of intense love over long periods of time, along with romantic experiences that meaningfully resonate in all dimensions, helping the individuals flourish and thrive in all dimensions of love,” wrote relationship expert Aaron Ben-Zeev, Ph.D. In other words, the best relationship advice to follow is recognizing and celebrating the new, positive discoveries with your partner which will keep things hot in the relationship.
Related Link: Famous Couple Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs Exchange Promise Rings
4. Do whatever it takes. When you have made up your mind that you are committed to this relationship, you will find the little things that often chip away at a marriage won’t be a factor in yours. For example, actor Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, have made a promise to each other not to be apart for more than two weeks at a time. They have been together since 1996. The decision to stay committed early on will be the foundation when difficult times challenge the relationship. Since actor Dax Shepard opened up publicly about his personal struggles with addiction as a result of childhood abuse, his wife, Kristen Bell, has remained supportive of her husband and offers public support to others who live with mental illness and addiction. “Seeing the world through his eyes has really opened mine to knowing that it is a disease, and nobody is choosing to drink more than others. They are doing it because of a variety of reasons, and they deserve the attention of a mental health professional, and not the county jail or however else we’re choosing to pretend we’re fixing the problem,” says Bell.
The secret dating advice behind a healthy relationship is that there is no secret. But it does require an understanding of what you want in a loving partner and an awareness of what you are willing to share. Then, by investing time in keeping private time a priority, being generous with loving gestures, staying curious about your partner, and being fully committed to the success of the relationship, you are destined for a lasting love that lights up the room.
