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Sleep Naked
Couples who go to bed in the buff are happier than others, according to a recent survey. No PJs = easier access to BJs (and other stuff!).
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Masters of Sex
1. āWhen I need to talk to my husband about a delicate sex issue, I replace the words āYou neverā with āI would loveā. āYou never give it to me hard enoughā is a burn. But āI would love you to give it to me harderā is dirty talk.āĀ Ā āAnita, 38, married to husband Karan for six years
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2. āNo matter what, thereās always time for a quickie. F*ck your dinner reservation!āĀ Ā āJay, 33, married to wife Ria for two years
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Ria says: āWeāre fans of spontaneous make-out sessions. We recently did it in the parking lot after a romantic date!ā
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3. āOral is a sexual olive branch for us. When I really want him to run to the store or take me to the mall, I bribe him with a BJ. And when he wants me to make him dinner, he knows it will sweeten the deal if he goes downtown on me. Oral solves pretty much anything.āĀ Ā āShreya, 29, dating boyfriend Kabir for three years
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4. āWe have a secret code for getting it onāāM.O.ā, short for make out. Weāll throw it out in conversation, over texts, and in e-mails, as in āWanna M.O. later?ā It keeps the sparks flying.āĀ Ā āNeha, 32, married to husband Vikram for eight years
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The Little Things
āA silly little tradition that works for us: he tucks me in every night. I go to bed earlier than he does so I can wake up earlier for work, so heāll pull the covers over me, turn down the lights and the TV, lie with me for a minute, and give me a little hug. Itās a nice quiet moment that reminds us how much we love and like each other...and that a little cuddling can go a long way.āĀ Ā āManasi, 35, married to husband Anish for 10 years
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1. āWeāve been together for eight yearsābut we rarely, if ever, pee or fart in front of each other. Itās just not sexy!āĀ Ā āPriyanka, 27, married to husband Sukrit for three years
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2. āI always give her the last bite of my sandwich because I donāt like the ācrustā, and she gives me her leftover pasta. Itās a reminder that the other still thinks about you and cares.āĀ Ā āSaurav, 23, dating girlfriend Alisha for two years
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Alisha says: āThe simple things make me feel like Iām reliving the falling-in-love part of the relationship, and nothingās better than that.ā
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3. āMost couples aspire to a king-size bedābut weāre sticking with our queen forever. It keeps us close even when weāre not feeling super romantic or sexy. I donāt always love the proximity of his snoring, but itās a bonus for us to wake up every morning in each otherās business, or more likely, spooning.āĀ Ā āAkanksha, 32, -married to husband Kartik for one year
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5 Hours
The amount of time per week the happiest couples spend āworking on their relationshipāāgoing on dates, chatting after work, kissing good nightāit all adds up, people.
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Keeping It Fresh
1. āUnless something urgent comes up, we donāt e-mail, text, or call each other during the workday. That way, we can come together for dinner (which we do almost every night) and find out about each otherās day. It feels like date night every night.āĀ Ā āMalini, 35, dating boyfriend Mukul for 10 years
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Mukul says: āItās nice to come back and catch up on our day. We pay more attention to each other.ā
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2. āEvery year, we take a trip to somewhere neither of us has been. We got engaged in Thailand and recently went to Turkey. Exploring new places gives us something to look forward to for months before, and reminisce about for months afterward.āĀ āSeher, 32, married to husband NikhilĀ for three years
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3. āA little jealousy wonāt kill anyone. In fact, itās healthyāwhen my boyfriend sees someoneĀ hitting on me, itās a reminder that Iām still a hot piece.āĀ āKriti , 29, dating boyfriend Dhruv for four years
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The Art of the Deal
1. āWe split up the cleaning duties by room in our small apartment. I really hate doing the sink, so he gets in there in his boxers, so as not to get his regular clothes wet. Thereās nothing like the sight of a nearly naked man scrubbing away in such a focused way because I asked him to.āĀ Ā āKiara, 32, married to husband Ramit for three years
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Ramit says: āIām getting a bargain. Kiara hates cleaning the sink so much that I can trade it for an overall increase in her work load. As in, how many other rooms is she willing to clean, just to get out if it... That makes us both happy.ā
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Fights Done Right
1. āAccept that even your soulmate acts like an *ssh*l* sometimes! But we give more weight to the things we love about each other.āĀ Ā āNetra, 30, married to husband Roy for three years
2. āWe donāt feel the need to apologise if we have a little fight. We just say, āListen, Iām not sorry, but I donāt want this to get awkward, so letās go about our day. Give me a kiss. Also, Iām not sorry.āāĀ Ā āSasha, 29, dating boyfriend Rohan for 10 years
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The Science Behind Making Love Last
Researchers at The Gottman Institute in Seattle have studied thousands of couples and found that the happiest ones share these three go-to habits.
1. Push The Positive:Ā The magic ratio of your positive interactions (great convos, hook-ups) to negative ones (fights, eye rolls) should be 5:1. āThe more positivity there is, the more we feel our partner loves us,ā says Don Cole, a licensed marriage and family therapist at the institute, who has counselled hundreds of couples.
2. Master The Make Up:Ā Even happy couples fight sometimesābut theyāre better at making up. āSuccessful couples donāt let things fester for days,ā says Cole. They talk it out, apologise, and get back to normal pretty quickly. Make up and make outāmake that your new motto.
3. Dream Together: Couples who are winning at love āreally pay attention to each otherās dreams,ā says Cole. It doesnāt matter if your goal is to cure cancer and his is to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. Finding a partner who respects your dreams (and making sure he knows you feel his are legit) makes you feel supported. As for your shared dream of true love? Poofāthereās a good chance of it coming true.
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Endless Love...
These couples kept the sparks alive and how! Watch and learn.
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Dwarki, 89, and Walati Singh, 90 Married for 67 years
DWARKI: Youāre the one responsible for your marriage. If you keep fighting and complaining, your relationship wonāt be the best.
Walati: After a certain age, husband and wife become like one body, and one life. Your life becomes one and love is what keeps it going.Ā
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Anuradha, 55, and Udayan, 56 Dated for 10 years, Married for 32 more years
ANURADHA: No matter how long youāve been together, if youāre not accepting of each others positive and negative attributes, then thereās really no point. Complete acceptance is the only way to make a marriage work, and to love the person whole-heartedly.
UDAYAN: We respect each otherās individual relationships, regardless of our personal biases. Thatās the only secret!Ā
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āThe ultimate marriage test. The older the photo, the longer the marriage lasts.ā
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5 Relationship Things You Shouldnāt Stress About
Because at the end of the day, mutual obsession with Suits is a bonus, not a prerequisite, for lasting love.
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1. He never posts Facebook statuses on your anniversary. But he tells you he loves you to your face all the time. So do all your second cousins really need to know that ātwo years ago today, [he] married his best friendā?
2. He hasnāt perfected the art of gift giving. Heās not the type to create a scavenger hunt that ends in a puppy wearing a diamond ring on its collar? Rude! But thereās no shame in saving yourselves some grief and e-mailing him a link to the Marc Jacobs bag you really want for your birthday.
3. Sometimes you totally go to bed angry. Itās okay to call bullsh*t on this old-school love law. Sometimes sleeping on it and waking up with a fresh perspective is a lot better than bickering until 2 am on a work night.
4. You occasionally just ādo your own thingā for dinner. No one feels like going full Julia Child after a long day, so he reheats some pizza and one hour later, you eat leftover soup? Technically, youāre not eating alone. Youāre eating alone...together in the same apartment.
5. You donāt like any of the same movies. Or TV shows. Youāre considering Game of Thrones cosplay; he has no idea what Downtown Abbey is. No worries, youāre not doomed, because youāre both big fans of something way more important: Sunday-night sex.
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