So your significant other has finally fessed up and said “I love you” and you find yourself awkwardly sitting there twiddling with your thumbs. You’ve been dating for a while now and everything is going perfectly but you are barely half way through the honeymoon stage yet. Those dreaded three words are bound to come out at some point soon, right? Well hopefully in this case it is in the far future or at least we pray for.
Responding to your partner when they say those three iconic words for the first time can be tricky when the feelings aren’t mutual. So here are some of the best and worst ways to do so. Take your pick.
Explain Your Feelings
While you might not be feeling the love just yet, be sure to tell them how you are feeling at this stage in your relationship. The best way to respond to your S.O. is to describe the growing emotional connection you’re feeling. It’s an easy way to get out of saying something you don’t mean while considering your partner’s feeling and provide them with security and not a complete and utter shut down. Your easy peasy solution to one hella awkies situation.
Pretend You Didn’t Hear Them And Hope For The Best
“Maybe if I just continue on with what I’m doing and make no eye contact, they’ll think I didn’t hear it and change the subject.” While this might seem like a cool way to play something off, it is a pretty dick move. Not cool.
Ok so I’m sure we all agree that this is an awful response. It ain’t ideal and you should probably opt for something a bit more upfront. It’ll only get more awkward this way.
Acknowledge Their Feelings
Moving at different paces is not a bad thing. Most likely, your feelings won’t always be the exact same as your S.O., there always seems to be one of us that is more keen than the other. It’s natural. So if your partner does decide that it’s time to take the relationship to the next level, don’t be awkward about it! Ok tbh the first few hours after an I-love-you encounter may be super weird *cue crickets*, but if you can talk it out, things are bound to get back on track. And all you need to worry about is their response to when you confess the L word.
When You Say Nothing At All
You’ve embraced your inner Ronan Keating and learned that sometimes it’s better when you don’t respond. Right? Maybe not in this case. If your S.O. finally builds up the courage to let out their feelings, then maybe you could return the favour and let something, ANYTHING, out too.
This hand-down has to be the worst response of them all. Let’s hope that you never have to deal with this nightmare of a situation.
Thank Them
Bianca, your girlfriend of three months has went out on a limb and fessed up on her undying love for you. You stare her blankly in the eyes and respond with “Thanks”. Like it’s some sort of gift she had just given you. What’s up with that?
Super cringe worthy moment and not an ideal response that any of us would want to hear, especially not Bianca. Things could get pretty awkward from here on. Where’s that rewind button when we need it?
While there isn’t a specified ‘right’ way to respond (if only) to “I love you”, there are definitely a lot of wrong ways and I think we’ve covered just about the worst of the lot! So good luck to all you lovers out there who are thinking about dropping the L-bomb, and to those who’ve already heard it.
Image Source: Paramount Pictures
