Do you know that there are 5 different stages of relationships and you have to go through all of them if you want you and your partner to become the endgame?
Falling in love is a beautiful thing, and is most definitely one of those experiences that you can never get enough of. Getting together with the person you love, and having them love you back is one of the most exhilarating and lovely feelings ever.
But this honeymoon phase doesn’t last forever, and you know what? That’s completely natural. Every relationship goes through stages that set the course for the relationship.
More specifically, every relationship goes through 5 stages, and in these 5 stages, you will experience attraction, doubt, disillusionment, stability, and finally commitment.
While you go through these stages, both of you will realize whether you are meant to be with each other or not and whether your relationship is a healthy and forever-kind one.
The 5 Stages Of Relationships
1. Romance and Attraction
This is that stage where you are slowly getting to know each other, and are gradually falling for each other. This phase is also known as the honeymoon phase, where everything seems perfect, and you just can’t have enough of one another.
Your partner seems perfect and flawless. Your relationship seems to be the best one in the world, and your happiness knows no bounds.
This honeymoon phase lasts for about two months to 2 years. Even though this stage comes with a lot of fun and excitement, it doesn’t last forever.
This is one of the major reasons behind some people constantly changing partners, as they try very hard to remain in this zone.
In this stage, you only focus on your similarities and keep on ignoring each other’s flaws, spend all your time together, and try your best to avoid conflicts and friction.
Read The 4 Core Elements Of Romantic Attraction, According To Psychology
2. Reality
Once the infatuation phase starts to disappear, reality starts to set in. All the things that you had ignored because you were in the throes of excitement, will slowly start to make themselves more visible.
The reality phase lasts for about 6 months to a year, during which both of you try to decide whether you want to be together or not.
More often than not, most relationships tend to break down during this phase, because one person realizes that they might have chosen the wrong partner for themselves.
If you are able to accept each other’s flaws and differences, and most importantly, respect each other for who you are, there’s still a chance for you to be happy together.
It’s not that you don’t love each other anymore, it’s just that this stage makes you focus on their flaws all the time, and you constantly question the authenticity of the relationship, since it doesn’t seem like fantasy anymore.
3. Disillusionment and Disappointment
Once reality has set in, it is followed by disillusionment and disappointment.
You fight about minor things, and even though you know that arguing all the time is bad, you still can’t help but be angry at each other all the time.
You don’t realize that conflict is a part and parcel of every relationship, which is why you only focus on the negatives and think that the relationship is not meant to be.
You think about breaking up for good, or even getting a divorce. It’s an emotionally overwhelming time, but you can make the situation better with trust, strong communication, and mutual support.
If you see that both of you are able to move past each other’s differences and are able to find harmony and peace together, then only will you be able to move on to the next stage.
4. Stability and Intimacy
If you’re able to deal with all the problems and roadblocks that you faced in stage three, you will successfully progress to stage 4, which is the stage of stability and intimacy.
No relationship can survive without these two pillars, and once your relationship enters this zone, you can rest easy. After navigating through the murky waters of differences, dissimilarities, friction, and obstacles, you are finally where you wanted to be.
The excitement of stage one is gone, but you are fine with it now because now you know that a stable relationship isn’t always about excitement.
Yes, you still fight but you love and feel connected to each other more than ever. The love is deeper and more meaningful and both of you slowly start to accept each other, just the way you are.
Everything starts to fall in place, and you start thinking about spending the rest of your lives together.
Read 4 Practices To Build Intimacy In Relationships
5. Commitment
This is the final stage in your relationship, and very few couples make it to this stage. If you reach this stage, that means both of you genuinely want this relationship, accept and love each other the way you are, and work as a team.
The relationship means a lot to you both, and you will never let go of each other that easily. Even if you have fights and disagreements, you always handle them in a healthier and more mature way.
You respect each other, listen to each other, and are able to have uncomfortable and difficult conversations without feeling the need to avoid them or shove them under the rug.
You discover each other again. You might not feel the same excitement of the first stage, but the romance and love you share now are much more beautiful and whole-hearted.
You look towards the future together with a strong bond and understanding between the two of you.
Knowing about these 5 stages of love can help you understand love and relationships better.
It’s important for you to understand that even though you might lose that initial excitement, you will have a more meaningful and deeper love in the later stages of your relationship.
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