How Do You Show Love?

Not everyone is all cheeky and loving when they’re in a relationship. Some people are known for making grand romantic gestures every once in a while, all documented for social media, of course. Others value an “I love you” from their partner more than anything else in the world. None of them are wrong, they just have different expressions of love – all are valid.

If you stop to think about it for a second, the way your partner communicates how much they love you plays a significant role in the health of your relationship. When you don’t feel content with the way your partner shows their love for you, it’s easy to start wondering if they even do at all. Before you get yourself going down that rabbit hole, start thinking of the ways you show love to your partner instead, and see if they might be a reflection of what your partner sends back to you.

There are many expressions love that don’t involve a grand gesture. Do you use subtle ways to show your partner you love them? Use the interactive list poll below to vote on the best way to partners can show love.

#1 – Talk About Your Future Together

If your partner often talks about upcoming vacations, moving in together eventually, or even planning family holidays together, they’re clearly showing you some love. Whenever a partner talks about the future, it means they’re committed to you and your relationship. This is their subtle way of telling you they want to see you as part of their life. If that isn’t a sign of love, what is?

#2 – Start Flirting

In love, partners will always do something to keep the flame alive. That includes flirting, even after years of relationship. Beyond showing you their love, whenever a partner flirts with you, it means they’re still head over heels about you. It’s a subtle way of also saying how much they desire you and want to be with you. Never stop flirting in your relationship to keep things exciting.

#3 – They Softly Touch You

Whenever your partner touches your hair, your arm, or grabs you by the hand, these are subtle ways of showing their love. Their hand on your back as you enter a room? Yes, love. Their love body language says a lot. If you show love this way, you’re known for cuddling, holding hands, and giving long hugs. Any sort of physical touch are ways people communicate their love.

#4 – Ask About Their Day

Whenever your partner asks, “How was your day?” that’s their effort to make an emotional connection to you. Even if your response is just “blah,” these are signs your partner is showing interest in you and your life. Beyond being courteous, when partners share stories about their day, it keeps them in the now of both of their lives, it’s a way to stay connected beyond their life as a couple.

#5 – Surprise them with a Gift

You’re all about grand gestures. The ways you show love are nothing but subtle. When it comes to buying unexpected gifts, giving them flowers, or sending them chocolates to the office, you are the one. To you, the biggest expressions of love is displaying it in material things that bring joy to your partner.

#6 – Leave them a Love Note

While flowers and chocolates are not your things, love notes are. You understand you both live busy lives and sometimes (most of the time), you can’t go around waiting for a grand gesture. Instead, you focus on the small details like leaving a love note with their lunch, or by the fridge or the mirror. While old school, leaving love notes will definitely warm your partner’s heart and be looked at as sincere expressions of love.

#7 – You Do the Chores

Calling all couples that live together. This is a subtle way of showing your love that always gets appreciated. Washing the dishes, unloading the dishwasher, keeping the toilet seat down, cleaning up the vanity. All these little chores can add up rather quickly. When your partner goes above and beyond to help you complete them without you asking, it’s a love sign that never goes unnoticed.

#8 – You Pay Attention

Instead of staring at your phone while your partner speaks in the background, you pay attention. Devoting your full attention to your partner whenever they’re talking to you is a subtle form of showing your love. Not doing so, makes your partner feel they bore you or bother you somehow. You, on the other hand, understand how important paying attention to whatever it is they’re saying is.

#9 – Take the Kids Away

All the parents out there will relate to this one. The biggest sign of love a parent can show? Taking the kids away for the afternoon. Whenever a parent notices the other is tired or burned out, the biggest sign of love you can show is taking away the kids so the other can relax and recharge. Parenting is a revolving door, and it takes a strong team to make it happen. The next time your partner is struggling, take the kids away for the afternoon, and don’t say anything else, this action will say it all.

#10 – Cook Their Favorite Meal

Another way of showing your love is by combining a few of these other signs: an unexpected gift, paying attention and doing the chores. When you take the time to cook their favorite meal without asking about it before, it means you’ve been listening to their cravings, that you know exactly how to bring a smile to their face, and that you’re willing to take the time to do it for them.

#11 – Planning Things Together

If your partner is always planning activities you both enjoy together, these are ways they’re showing you their love. The same concept applies to whenever they get invited out. When your partner talks about “us being there” instead of “I being there,” it means they see you both as a unit that goes together wherever you want.

#12 – They Remember the Little Things

Maybe you have an excellent memory, or perhaps you pay close attention to detail, but the way you show love is by remembering the little things. You know when your partner has a tight deadline at work that’s been stressing them out, so you plan something special for that day. You know when they’re completing a special project, so you bring them a gift to celebrate. The little things here and there are grand gestures of love that will get noticed.

Whether you’re the type that talks about your future together, or the kind that brings flowers and gifts every so often. The importance is that you keep these expressions of love in mind to make sure your partner knows how much you appreciate them.