By Samantha Peters
Anyone who follows gossip news is probably well aware that the celebrity media gets plenty wrong and is far from an authority figure.  But, even when the media is wrong about the status or longevity of a celebrity relationship, for example, it knows how to interpret individual and publicly-displayed signs. It knows how to assess, even if it can’t always see the full picture.
The celebrity media’s outsider assessment skills can actually be used by anyone who seeks to examine their own relationship.  Now that Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and now that the seasons have begun to change, it’s as good a time as ever to take a step back and do just that.  It’s time to figure out if your relationship is growing, stagnating or declining. How is your chemistry?   How happy and excited does your significant other make you feel?  Though difficult, these are all good questions to ask.
Related: How to Master Being in a Relationship
That said, rather than answering these oft-abstract questions, try to instead assess your relationship from a more public, outsider perspective — and let the celebrity media give you a hand.
As an example of how to do this, we’re going to look at the ongoing relationship between actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Victoria’s Secret model Erin Heatherton.  Heatherton is just the latest in a long line of tall, thin, blonde models that DiCaprio has been known to date.  From her perspective, although Leo is 15 years older (sugar daddy definition, anyone?), we can’t blame Erin for finding his charm and his fame too irresistible to ignore.
Based on their relationship (and on the celebrity media’s reaction), here are a few factors that any couple can assess:
Family Involvement
Love them or hate them, but our families usually know us better than we’d ever like to admit.  In fact, they can probably form a pretty solid opinion of whether a relationship will work — or should work — in the long run.  At the beginning of January, Leo took Erin out for an upscale New Year’s Day brunch — with his mom.  The celebrity media reported Erin and Leo’s mom chatting, laughing and generally hitting it off.  This was interpreted as a good sign for their relationship.  How would the paparazzi view the time you and your significant other spend with family members?
Related: Zoe Saldana Goes on a Movie Date with Bradley Cooper’s Mom
Time Together
A good relationship is one in which couples find ways to truly enjoy the time they spend together.  All too often, the paparazzi spots a celebrity couple lounging on the beach for hours on end without communicating, or sees them sitting and sharing a silent dinner together.  While a less communicative couple is not in and of itself a sign of a stagnant relationship, it certainly compares less favorably to the couple spotting laughing and interacting in a lively manner.  When Leo and Erin took a romantic vacation to Mexico last month, they were photographed zip-lining their way all around Cabo San Lucas. According to the celebrity media, this was another positive sign.  When outsiders view your relationship, do they see it as fun and enjoyable?
Public Plans
Amidst recent news that Leonardo was spotted in Sydney (where he is filming The Great Gatsby) with top Australian models, but no Erin in sight, speculation emerged that the couple had broken up.  However, Leo, Erin, nor either celebrity’s publicist has been willing to make any comments about the relationship in the first place.  Some in the media have interpreted this as a sign that nobody involved believes that the couple has much of a future.  What do you and your significant other tell friends about your future plans?
These are just a few things to consider while assessing your relationship.  Although the celebrity media is not always to be believed, and even though Leo and Erin are certainly not reflective of every couple out there, you can still learn from their publically-displayed actions — and from the media response — when trying to determine where you and your significant other currently stand.
Samantha Peters is a passionate follower of Hollywood celebrity relationship gossip. She loves blogging about ways to sustain successful relations, which sometimes requires assessing your relationship using a little celebrity media. Samantha lives in beautiful San Diego, California, and makes frequent trips to west L.A. to go shopping and celebrity spotting.
