Choose Love

Three couples in various stages of their lives and relationships share how they make this crazy thing called love work.

- TRINA EPILEPSIA BOUTAIN

The funny thing about Bridgerton, Netflix’s Regency-era romp that dazzled many us with its frothy fashion and even frothier depictions of courtship and romance, was that its take on love was true. “We chose to love each other every single day,” said Bridgerton matriarch Violet to her doll-faced daughter Daphne. Later on the young wife echoes her mother’s sentiment to her dashing yet incorrigble husband, leading to their happily ever after. Trite, yes, but it has its truths. Falling in love is easy, but to stay in love and to love a person after having been and living with them for several years is hard. From the little annoyances—the way they chew their food or their inability to put dirty clothes inside a hamper—to late-game realizations that shake the very foundation of one’s relationship (money issues, children, etc.), the act of choosing to continue loving a person becomes increasingly difficult and unsexy.

This month’s issue celebrates one’s dream, and for many, living happily ever after with their loved one is one of the biggest. These three couples show us how they are going about it, day by day, bit by bit. They broke some traditions, didn’t follow all the rules, but somehow, they’re making it work. Their stories might not exactly be the bodice-ripping romance of our fantasies, but they’re as real and as beautiful as those so-called fairytales.

WE CAN WORK IT OUT