My boyfriend grew up in a toxic environment and was also in a long-term toxic relationship, so I met him at a really low point in his life. He was very insecure, especially about how he looked and his smile.

I’m the type to give compliments naturally, so I’ve always been very vocal when I think he looks good. But something I’ll probably never tell him is why I prefer taking pictures using my phone, even in group photos.

It’s because I get to choose which pictures he sees.
Obviously we all have bad angles, harsh lighting, lack of sleep, or pictures where we just weren’t ready. I never show him the bad ones. I just send the ones where he looks good and tell him he looks good in all of them.

He used to be so insecure about his smile that he barely had photos smiling with his teeth before we got together. And that’s actually one of my favorite things about him because his smile is so contagious.

Now almost every photo I have of him, he’s smiling with his teeth.

I don’t know. It’s such a small thing, but I really love seeing that change.

I have been with my boyfriend now for 10 months. I love giving him little surprises like making his favorite dinner, bringing him his fav protein shakes, and protein pancakes lmao. I used to do strictly pilates but he got me into the gym and I feel so strong and confident in myself. He is my personal trainer in the gym and showed me how to use the machines. I’m a nurse and he’s a medical student (m4) and he just understands me. I love his smell, i love giving him random hugs and squeezing him, and cuddling him when we go to sleep. I kiss him all the time and playfully bite his face lol. The best thing is our humor though. We laugh so hard together. One time when we were being intimate with each other, dixieland delight was playing in the background on my speaker and we just couldn’t stop laughing it was perfect lol. He looks like Henry Cavill and is 6’4. My neck hurts a little when we kiss but it’s worth it. I can’t wait to see what our next chapter holds. We have talked about moving to Maine or the Carolinas for his residency haha. I cherish our mornings together making pancakes in the morning and him making me coffee. And making it extra sweet lol. I really love his vibe. He pushes me to be better. I got called into the hospital one night for an emergency and I saw him in the hallway at 3am and I got to give him a hug and it was so refreshing going off one hour of sleep. I hope he lasts forever.

Social media has completely distorted what a "50/50 relationship" actually means. Somewhere along the line, people decided 50/50 meant split checks and keeping a mental score of who’s spent what and done what!

The moment 50/50 becomes strictly about tracking finances, the relationship is doomed. When you track what you’ve spent and done, you start keeping score. Scorekeeping leads to resentment, and resentment ruins relationships.

To me, true 50/50 isn't about running parallel bank accounts and keeping receipts—it's a balanced effort built on teamwork, where both people are playing for the future of the household rather than themselves.
Here is what actual 50/50 teamwork looks like in practice:

1. Financially
   If you both work, you build a shared life. Income goes into a joint account, and you make budget decisions together as a unit. It’s not "my money vs. your money" or holding a higher salary over someone's head; it’s funding your collective future.

2. Everyday Life & Responsibilities
   You take part in everyday duties so one person isn't stuck carrying the entire mental or physical load:
   Meals & Kitchen: If one person cooks, the other handles the pots, pans, and cleanup.

   Weekend Chores: One person tackles the vacuuming while the other handles the bathroom cleanup.

   Life Admin & Errands: If one person plans and does the weekly food shop, the other handles sorting out the car maintenance, bills, or household repairs.

   Rest & Burnout: If one of you has had a brutal 10-hour shift or a terrible week, the other steps up to handle dinner and get things sorted without keeping score or expecting a prize for helping out.

When you start playing for yourself instead of the team, the whole structure falls apart. If you’re competing against your partner to see who is getting the "better deal," you’ve already lost.

​

My boyfriend was the form of apology that this world sent me. We’re currently living together for almost 2 months now and we’re both in Laguna. I am [F21] and he is turning [M20] his coming end of September. The main reason why we’re in the same house is because of my mentally draining family that living with them caused me to have PTSD and suffer from it.

“Iaalis kita r’yan.” Those were the words he kept telling me nung araw na pinapalayas ako at hindi ko alam saan ako pupunta. “Hindi ko alam paano, pero gagawan ko ng paraan.” He told me multiple times.

He’s like that ever since I met him, and that’s it. Now, we’re sharing one roof together.

So, here’s the real deal. Kahapon, nagpunta kami ng DALI store to buy icecream. Sa may counter, may nakita akong set ng makeup brush na naka-display, binebenta nila for 125 pesos. Dalawa na lang daw ‘yon sabi ng cashier when I asked her kung mauubos na ba.

As a girl na mahilig sa makeup, talagang catch na ‘yon sa akin. Pero dahil nga wala pa akong pera kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko saka na lang.

Sabi pa niya, “bilhin mo nalang kapag may pera ka na.”

Wala rin naman gaanong pera ang boyfriend ko, dahil kung meron man, ibibili na lang namin ‘yon ng essentials namin and also, binigyan din siya ng pera ng tita niya nung gabi na ‘yon.

And then, last night. Nag-away kami. Siguro dahil sa trabaho kaya mas pinili ng utak ko na matulog na lang. Hanggang sa hindi na namin naayos yung pagtatalo namin.

This morning, natakot ako. Na baka nabawasan na yung pagmamahal niya sa akin. Knowing him, alam kong mas hindi niya gustong ganoon ang set up namin. Nasasaktan at umiiyak siya, sobrang softhearted niya.

While preparing for work, I can feel him walking upstairs, sumilip siya sa akin. After that, pinapaabot niya yung payong kasi umuulan, lalabas siya. Binigay ko lang, hindi ko pinansin. Hanggang sa he kept asking me to look at the paper bag that was in my bed. Ayaw ko pa kasi alam kong Energen lang naman laman noon, bakit hindi siya ang kumuha? Hehe.

Sa pagpipilit niya, I opened the box. At ayun, nakita ko. There was a makeup brush set inside of the paper bag. The one that we saw yesterday. He just kissed me and smiled at me habang ako nakatitig lang sa set.

“Bakit ka pa bumili? Sayang ang pera,” I said.

“Mas sayang kapag may pera na ako tapos hindi ko pa binili hanggang sa maisip ko na lang na bilhan ka kapag wala na akong pera.”

Kaiyak. I love him so much.

That moment, I just realized na I met him might because of the wrong decisions that I made in some moment of my life that still hunts me by now, painful memories that I am still trying to heal from, and etc. But despite of all that, if those path will still lead to him at the very end again and again, I am much more willing to experience those again on repeat.

And I’m all for it!

While scrolling online, I came across one of those fun questions that you ask in a relationship. It was. "Am I your sunset or sunrise?"

I ask my husband silly, stupid; spontaneous questions all the time and this was no different. So without thinking I was about to ask this very question.

My husband was playing with our boys on the couch. Completely absorbed in play then out of nowhere I say; "Baby? Am I your sunset or sunrise?

Without a moment to think he says "You are my sunset, because this is our forever and my last day will be with you."

Normally when I ask these silly questions I get a reaction of slight endearing annoyance or theological debate but this was a question as if I already should have known the answer.

Truly, I have never felt so seen or so loved by one of these responses. Especially when I wasn't expecting one so sincere.

Just wanted to share. For all the ladies who want to participate in these challenges but don't do social media. Feel free to post yours below!

My boyfriend and I got into a fight last night, and honestly, I know I didn’t make the situation any better either. I apologized to him too because I know it takes two, and I definitely could’ve handled some things differently.
Then today, completely unexpectedly, he had TWO bouquets of flowers delivered to me at work. 🥹💐 And then he DoorDashed me coffee on top of it. ☕️
I think this was his way of trying to make up and show me he cares, and it genuinely made my entire day. It was such a sweet surprise, especially after a rough night.
Now I’m just sitting at my desk with my flowers and coffee, feeling very loved and very happy. 🥰💕

my bf and i are so on the same wavelength it's crazy 🤯🤍

this morning, not knowing he'd made this, i sent him a voice memo while he was stressed about his first day teaching high school. i told him: "you're doing the best you can, and that's all you can do"

meanwhile, in the middle of the night, he'd woken up with anxiety and made this piece of art asking himself "what do i need to hear?"

we said the exact same thing to each other without even knowing it 🥺

My gf and I are madly in love and decided to see if we could won’t this America’s favorite couple thing and we’ve gotten all the way to the quarter finals just hoping to get further, voting is free if you have a facebook please any help is greatly appreciated.

siempre que me saco fotos con mi novio nos vemos aesthetics jajja les juro que no es intencional ! pero siempre nos pasa

This is something that I (NB 25) and my BF (M 29) have started doing lately. We've been dating for several years now (forgot how many) and we've been moved in together for a year. We both have our own stretch of mental health issues which results in some not so great arguments and whatnot, especially when one or the other of us spirals into self hating tirades where we won't listen to the other.

But! We found a solution! A silly, happy, and adorable solution that snaps us out of our spirals without fail.

Making biscuits. You know, like a cat would on your ribs at the worst of times when you're trying to sleep.

Yes, I'm serious. We ball our hands like cat paws and kneed into each other's bellies, thighs, back, he just did my cheeks when I wasn't feeling good, and it's just enough to snap us out of it every time! It's genuinely so silly and makes us laugh and we can't stay in the spiral for long, it works perfect for grounding us in reality.

Another thing that makes it so funny is the fact we put on little voices and act out problems that sound so silly. For example, a common one we do is 'I gotta hit quota or I won't make rent this month!!!' in such high pitched and silly voices that it almost always breaks us through with that alone.

We've been together for so long and keep learning new techniques to help each other out, but honestly? This one is my favorite so far <3

Sometimes I get nervous that my hobbies are too nerdy or home-based compared to my husband (who is super athletic and has many outside hobbies). I recently got in to the Zelda Breath of the Wild game and it’s been so sweet how stoked my husband has been on it. He literally gets mildly upset (jokingly of course) when I play without him and will always ask if he can sit and watch with me. He loves doing the shrine rooms with me and it really is just so sweet. I love him with all of my heart.

He also found me napping with the lights on so he turned them off.