Love is one of the great motivations of the human being, and in fact, having a partner is one of the great vital objectives that people have.

Being in love is great, and it makes you wake up every morning like you’re on a cloud. However, that initial period of infatuation then has to be worked on. Being in a couple is a constant negotiation where, in many occasions, different personalities coexist .

Keys to a Healthy Relationship

This clash of personalities, interests and even objectives can turn relationships into a real ordeal. There may still be a great attraction, however, the difficulties that may arise and especially the poor communication, can cause the relationship to become toxic. So that this does not always happen we must:

  • Love from freedom and respect
  • Communicating effectively
  • Negotiate and propose intermediate solutions
  • Sharing time with your partner
  • Pampering the relationship
  • Change if necessary
  • Trusting the Other
  • You can read more about these tips in our post: “The 7 keys to a healthy relationship”

Love according to Sternberg’s theory

There have been many theorists of love, one of the best known is Robert Sternberg. In his triangular theory of love, the American psychologist states that there are three different components that manifest themselves in any relationship: intimacy, passion, and commitment:

  • Intimacy : Intimacy refers to affection, to getting closer to one’s partner, to that connection we only feel with the person we love.
  • Passion : Is the intense feeling of being with that person in an intimate way and expressing romantic desires. It is the excitement and the intense desire to spend moments alone with the other.
  • The commitment : Commitment is the decision to be with the other person and to maintain that love over time. It is what helps to overcome bad moments.

Types of Love Couples

In love, not everything is black and white, but there are many ways of loving. But how can we classify couples? Following Sternberg’s theory, é ste proposes different types of love and, therefore, different types of couple .

In this article you can find the different types of partners. They are as follows:

1. Infatuation

Infatuated couples are characterized because they only have one of the three characteristics mentioned in the previous section: passion. Despite being together, the members of the couple do not really know each other , which results in low intimacy. Likewise, they do not feel commitment either. Infatuation may refer to the beginning of the relationship.

2. Empty relationships

Empty love is that which is characterized by commitment, but there is no passion or intimacy . Basically, it refers to marriages of convenience.

3. Romantic couples

Romantic love is characterized by intimacy and passion, however, there is no commitment . It would be the typical summer love or short relationships in which nothing is rationalized or pacts are established between the people involved. Everything is experienced spontaneously without trying to establish it as a clearly solid relationship.

4. Sociable couples

Sociable love refers to the love that two people feel when there is intimacy and commitment, but not passion . For example, when they have been in a relationship for many years and no longer have intimate encounters, but rather are governed by routine and by those shared activities that can also be done in the social sphere beyond the domestic.

5. Fatuous relations

In these couples intimacy is never built . They are characterized by passion and commitment, but not by intimacy. This makes it frequent to keep many secrets from oneself, even if these are important and concern the other person involved in the relationship. Love is experienced as a one-sided experience.

6. Consummate love

The relationships that present this kind of love are the ones that can be happy. They are healthy relationships, which possess the three components of Sternberg’s theory : intimacy, passion and commitment.

Other partner classes

However, depending on the quality of the relationship, the time they have been together and the values of the couple, there are other types of partners:

7. Best friends

They say the couple is a friend with erotic moments. Sometimes, intimate moments are shared with that person who is your faithful friend. In this type of couple, the members may have been friends already at school, they grew up together and shared great moments of friendship . One day, the way they saw each other changed, and then romantic love arose between them. However, it can happen that people meet each other at a later age and after being best friends they end up as a couple.

8. The Fighters

According to a popular saying, close loves are the most loved. This may be true with this type of couple. They have arguments every now and then and get along like cat and dog, but there they go, rowing against the tide. If you are friends with one of them you are probably tired of comforting him. And, even if you don’t understand it, either one of the members has low self-esteem, or their moments of intimacy are really excellent.

9. Those of the common hobby

Without a doubt, sharing a hobby with your partner is one of the best ways to keep the relationship alive . Some couples go camping together, surfing or climbing. Others are fitness enthusiasts, and others are partygoers and night owls. These couples share many moments together and enjoy each other.

10. Those of a lifetime

Some couples met each other really young and have spent their whole lives together . These couples are certainly the ideal couple in the eyes of the people, but not all relationships are this lucky. Many break up along the way due to the wear and tear produced by the accumulation of crises and quarrels, or by the loss of passion or intimacy.

11. Long-distance couples

Sometimes, it can happen that love arises but the person lives somewhere else . Many decide that this is not the way to live and one of the two moves to where the other is. However, for various reasons this is not always possible, and some couples have to spend a long time apart. The distance is not good for the relationship, so this type of couple does not usually last long.

12. The couple of interest

Even though we find it hard to accept, some people are in a relationship out of interest . Whether it is for financial interest, to get the papers or not to be alone. As sad as it may seem, they even get married. This is a way of understanding love in which this feeling has an instrumental purpose.

13. The Madly in Love

There are some couples who love each other to the hilt, who post photos of themselves on social networks all day long and spend 24 hours together. If they go out with friends, they are all over each other “making out nonstop”. These couples cannot spend a single moment without each other because they are madly in love .

14. Those of the open relationship

Many couples are of the classic type, however, there are exceptions. Some are liberal couples, so they have a different way of thinking than traditional couples. While many would think that sleeping with others is a betrayal and an infidelity, liberal couples think that for the health of the couple, they should introduce other actors into intimate relationships. Have you heard of polyamorous relationships?