I Love Being In Love But I Hate People’s Reactions To It

My boyfriend and I are shamelessly, wholeheartedly in love with each other and unafraid to admit it to each other or to the world. Unfortunately, it seems like everyone is hating on us for being happy together. I can’t post a pic, talk about our future plans, or even hold his hand in public without being met with someone’s eye roll, sarcasm and cynicism. I’m so tired of everyone hating on our love.

  1. We need to embrace openly, loving couples that want to physically show their love. Why do we hate so much on PDA? I’m not talking about the couple that wants to have a full-on make-out sesh in the middle of the Chipotle because even I’ll admit that’s a little much. I’m talking about casual PDA—you know, the couple that sits side-by-side at the bar on a Saturday night, that’s cuddled on the train or holds hands when they walk down the street. When couples are openly affectionate, it shows that they actually enjoy being together. It’s beautiful to see the good, loving energy between two people and we should welcome more of that positive energy in the world.
  2. If you can’t be happy for someone else then maybe you have a bigger problem. In my experience, people hate because they’re unhappy with their love lives or in their relationships. Sure, it can make you feel lonely or jealous when you see a happy, loving couple doing their thing, but to belittle their love and make them feel bad about it isn’t cool. Instead of hating, why don’t you focus on yourself and take the time to find out what it is that you want in a relationship so you can feel the same way?
  3. Let’s celebrate healthy relationships instead of obsessing over bad ones. I’m pretty confident that nothing is more irritating than the friend who obsesses over her crappy, dead-beat boyfriend and going-nowhere relationship all the time. I think that instead of indulging in those kinds of relationships, we should spend more time celebrating the good ones! Wouldn’t you rather your friend break up with Dead-Beat Brad and start dating Loving Luis anyway so that you can finally stop hearing the same complaints all the time? If your answer is yes, then you need to stop hating on gals like me who are in healthy, loving relationships. You can’t have it both ways!
  4. Great love is hard to identify these days. I feel like great loves are super hard to find these days! In addition to the old school way of dating, there are so many dating apps, websites and meet-up mechanisms set up to help everyone find the love of their life and yet so many people are STILL single. I think that it speaks to the fact that people are picky and life-changing love is rare and special. So, when it’s real and good, we should use it as an example of what’s worth fighting for rather than tearing people down for having it at all.
  5. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. Honestly though, what irritates me the most about this is that people can be nasty for no reason. Like, why comment at all on my photo or go out of your way to text me just to tell me that you think we’re gross? Do you get satisfaction out of projecting your jealousy and insecurities onto me? Do you feel better when you try to make fun of me for being happy and in love?
  6. I’ve had my fair share of bad relationships, so let me bask in this really good thing. Like many women, my love life features a mixed-bag of success and failures. But the wonderful thing is that I really feel like I’ve finally found my person. All I want to do now is bask in this feeling because I know how much it sucks to be on the other side of it. I deserve that—we all do!
  7. I don’t post on social media about my relationship for you anyway. I like to think of my Instagram as a photo catalog of my favorite moments, people, and places. I post so I can have visual reminders of the things that make me happy. I’m not trying to show you up, make you jealous, or remind you that you’re single AF when I post. The point isn’t to brag about my relationship. I have the right to be proud of something positive in my life and to celebrate it as I see fit. In fact, my posts have nothing to do with you at all unless you’re tagged in them, so when you decide to drop a comment on my picture criticizing me, it’s just annoying. Be less annoying or just unfollow me. Or both!
  8. If you stopped hating on us, you’d find out that we’re a super fun couple. Since we like each other so much, we’re actually super fun! We don’t really argue or bicker, so you’ll never have to worry about sitting across from us at dinner awkwardly during an argument. We like to think of ourselves as a team so we’re good at complementing each other. Sure, we like some light PDA, but we both like to work the room and engage people when we are out with others. If you took a second to get over yourself, you might find that our positive vibes might rub off on you!
  9. It’s all good because I don’t need your approval. At the end of the day, I’m going to continue doing what makes me happy and what makes my relationship successful. Our moments of PDA, our photos, our expressions of love for each other are all in celebration of the wonderful thing we’ve got going on. I don’t need your approval or anyone else’s to be happy and I damn sure won’t ask for it either.
Marie is an ambitious millennial woman, leading a corporate life by day and doing her best to live, laugh and love.
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