Honeymoon Period in a Relationship: What to Do When It's Over
24.10.2019
Usually, books and movies describe relationships before the wedding, or when spouses have serious conflicts that can lead to divorce. Nobody shows the routine family life that the main characters face after the phrase, “Happily ever after.” However, it is precisely this period that is the most important in relationships, and both partners should be ready to work on their relationship more to be able to meet all the life challenges instead of looking for single women website, breaking the pots or leaving each other in a hurry and deciding on the go who will raise kids or drive a family car after the breakup.
When the bride and groom officially register their marriage, this means that they don’t pretend or embellish themselves in one way or another. Sooner or later, the newlyweds relax, calm down, and the true essence of each spouse comes out into the light. This is when both of them understand that the honeymoon period has already faded into history, and their relationship will never be the same.
Key Phases of a Relationship
Everyone dreams of a warm and harmonious relationship that will not worsen with years but only become stronger and better. However, do you know many couples who are always in the honeymoon phase in their relationships? One way or another, people get through 7 main phases of a relationship if they continue to be together. Some of them are more pleasant and inspiring, while others are perceived as the end of the world or at least a huge challenge that it is impossible to meet. So, what are these phases of a relationship, and what should you expect in each of them?
- Honeymoon period
- Saturation or agreement
- Rejection
- Patience
- Devotion
- Respect
- Love
The first period is the most charming one when it seems that romance is in the air, the world has stopped, and everything loses its meaning when you meet a girl now. Moonlit strolls, crazy deeds, passionate kisses, and many other pleasant things happen in the honeymoon phase. A lover's brain works in much the same way as a person who has taken drugs.
Over time, when people reach the second phase, they face reality and start seeing their partner’s drawbacks and bad habits that begin to annoy. In the third stage, people ask themselves a question, “Is she/ he the right person for me?” The chemical reactions in the body no longer work, and people start looking clearly at the situation. This is the reason for misunderstanding, quarrels, and conflicts. Now everyone decides for themselves what they want more: to leave or stay, reconciling with the shortcomings of the other.
The fourth phase is a turning point in the relationship. Most often a couple turns to a psychologist, reads psychological articles, looks for answers to the question, “How to survive a crisis and return the honeymoon stage? “At the fifth stage, the partners start doing pleasant things for each other for no particular reason. They have gone through a series of tests together, get to know each other well and learn to accept their partners as they are.
The sixth stage is characterized by dense platonic affection, gratitude, and trust. Partners can easily share thoughts or feelings, understand each other's needs. Having endured difficulties together and found mutual ground, the couple finally finds out what love is. The partners understand each other without words, enjoy communication and staying with each other. The above-mentioned relationship stages are quite conditional, and while some couple is getting through each of them step by step, others can skip something or get through several at once.
Signs of Relationships Honeymoon Period
Two people meet somewhere, have a crush on each other, and start understanding the honeymoon phase definition better, entering into it and experiencing the whole palette of emotions. Often, when people are overwhelmed with strong positive emotions, they decide to get married and create an official family union.
At this stage of relationships, almost everything is wonderful and promising. Partners like each other, show tenderness, care, understanding, respect as well as demonstrate all the signs present in the relationships honeymoon period.
1. Your body immediately reacts to the partner
When partners are in a honeymoon period relationship, they don’t need to resort to different tricks to get excited and have sex. Their bodies immediately react to each other, and it’s enough to make eye contact to turn on. During this period, people have an increased number of sexual intercourses. People believe that they are meant for each other since they have a strong connection and get maximum pleasure from touches, kisses and physical intimacy. It’s time when both partners are ready to experiment, try something new and please each other in every possible way. When you are apart, you understand that you crave each other.
2. You want to spend time with each other more than anything else
When partners start their relationships and get through the first stage, they focus attention on each other, believing that there is nothing as important as the partner. They try to spend as much time as possible together, coming up with different interesting activities to please their beloved one. This period is full of surprises, travels and complete uniting. When people are not together, their thoughts are still focused on the partner, and this is one of the reasons why people exchange numerous text messages or talk to each other on the phone for hours, sacrificing sleep and meetings with friends.
3. You believe that your partner is perfect
When partners just find out the honeymoon meaning, enjoying each other’s company to the fullest, they believe that their partner is the best person in the world. It is when the expression “my one and only” has maximal power. People turn a blind eye to the drawbacks of their beloved one, believing that such trifles are not even worth attention. They put up with the partner’s habits and try to accept them as they are. It seems that if their beloved person is somewhere nearby, nothing can spoil their great attitude and feeling of complete happiness. Even if you face some unpleasant situation, you come up with numerous excuses for the partner.
4. Your every date is a solemn event
When partners have a crush on each other, they perceive their every date as a solemn occasion, which requires special preparation and scenario. People try to come up with something non-trivial, interesting and fascinating. The level of hormones is increased, and this fact gives them additional energy and an adrenaline rush to go further and not stop. Over time, people remember this period with a smile because it was the most active and pleasant period when they had enough energy to have a date overnight, walking in the moonlight and watching the sunrise together.
5. Everything becomes special
When partners fall in love with each other, their worlds intertwine and give rise to something new and definitely amazing. They notice that everything starts changing around them since they rethink their beliefs, thoughts and see everything differently. They have got a person who they can always rely on no matter what, and this fact “charges their batteries” and gives strength to meet all the challenges. People are intoxicated by love and positive emotions so even the darkest day doesn’t look that bad. Partners listen to each other’s opinions and look at things, considering a beloved one’s point of view.
How Long Does the Honeymoon Phase Last?
This period is associated with falling in love when you see everything through pink glasses and perceive your partner’s drawbacks as their peculiarities. You want to spend all the time together, and hopes and plans for a joint future appear. Lovers demonstrate their best qualities. A man gives presents, pays compliments, arranges unusual dates, and a girl shows her attention, care, and positive emotions. Both are in anticipation of something interesting and exciting.
How long does the honeymoon phase last? People would like this period to last forever, however, life makes its adjustments. Sooner or later, partners will have to move on to the next stage of the relationship or break up. For each couple, the duration of the honeymoon phase is individual. Someone believes that 3-6 months are enough to understand whether they want to continue to be together, and the faster they will put off masks, the better. The task of the honeymoon period is to get to know and attract each other while both are overwhelmed with hormones and strong emotions. So, how long does infatuation last on average? Anyway, the average duration of the honeymoon phase is 20 months.
Sooner or later people face real life, they see each other as they are in a bad mood, in illness, in problematic situations. And their idealized image of a partner meets the real one. You may start thinking something like, “I thought you liked extreme sports” or “When we met, you weren’t such a couch potato.” During the honeymoon period, people embellish themselves in one way or another. Therefore, it is important to think and decide for yourself whether you can put up with the shortcomings, habits, behavior, and character of another person or not. If you move on to the next stage, still being mentally in the honeymoon stage, you will increase your chances for the successful development of your relationships.
Signs Your Honeymoon Stage Is Over
Over time, people get used to each other, they don’t need to impress or prove anything. They prefer to stay at home instead of going somewhere in the evening, and romance is replaced with everyday routine. Almost everyone who starts a new relationship is going through a honeymoon period, and this period is coming to an end sooner or later, becoming a pleasant memory. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s rather a normal course of events.
More fights
At the first stage of the relationship, you do not notice every single flaw and weird features of your partner. However, when the honeymoon stage is over, you suddenly realize that they have all these pretty annoying habits. For example, the partner may be much interested in Instagram, instead of talking to you when you are dining together, they leave dirty cups around the house or use your shampoo. Even the things that seemed cute, like that little snorting when they are laughing, suddenly starts getting on your nerves and annoys you. Almost everything can become a reason for a fight.
You don't think about intimacy all the time
Earlier you believe that your partner is just gorgeous, and every time you make a bit longer eye contact, you could easily get excited in a minute even without foreplay. Now you think that their haircut makes them look a little strange. So, if earlier you preferred to spend your evening making love or arranging a role-playing game because you couldn’t satisfy your sexual appetite, then now you calm down and prefer to watch Netflix and fall asleep till midnight. Often couples are worried when their sex life begins to fade away a bit, but it’s completely normal. It’s okay not to want to make love 5 times every night when you must get up at 7 a.m.
More constructive talks
If earlier you could start arguing without serious reasons, and it was important for you to prove your point of view, then now you want to get the essence and find a compromise. You try to understand each other and meet the challenge. When people accept the way things are, its more important for them to hear each other, having a constructive talk than arguing.
You don't pretend
When you meet someone special, who draws your attention and makes your heart beat faster, you try to match them, pretending to be a person you are not. You believe that this person is gorgeous, and everything they do and like is extremely cool, so you want to look not worse. However, when the honeymoon stage is over, you are ready to admit that you don’t like videogames and listening to jazz makes you yawn. You don’t want to pretend anymore; you want to be yourself.
You accept each other’s negative sides
When each of you has shown your true sides of personalities, being sometimes rude, experiencing mood swings or wanting to be alone, but you are still together, it means that you are ready to accept each other as you are. As you know, a coin has two sides, so if you are ready to put up with negative sides or your partner, it means your honeymoon phase is over, and you have already moved further.
You find new fascinating occupations
If earlier the only thing you want to do was to hang out together, exchange messages or talk on the phone while being apart, then now you understand the necessity of having your personal space and spending time separately. You find new fascinating hobbies to which you devote some of your free time. Besides, having got to know each other better, you use your alike interests as a foundation for qualitative spending time together.
Sometimes you get bored
All secrets are already found out, and you know each other so well that you don’t expect surprises or anything new. You have immersed yourselves into a routine and sometimes get bored. If earlier you tried to come up with something interesting all the time, then now you realize that you have already tried so many things together, and you don’t want to repeat anything from that list once again. Family life doesn’t always resemble a rollercoaster, sometimes it is rather like a safe heaven, but it also has its advantages.
Honeymoon Stage Is Over: What to Do?
Romantic relationships are an incredible experience in the life of every person. We discover and learn a lot about ourselves, about people, about what we really want. The most paradoxical thing is that good and healthy relationships appear just completely unromantic. Perhaps that is why we do not value what we have. After all, we want everything to be “like in a movie,” but as we have already said – life makes its adjustments. How long does the honeymoon phase last? It can last for many years, expressing itself in certain things throughout your life. The thing that you have moved on to other stages doesn’t mean that you cannot keep some signs of the honeymoon phase alive in your everyday life. When the first stage of your relationships is over, it’s high time to start working on them to succeed.
Develop and maintain your relationship
Any relationship has always space for improvement. And if you have already passed the honeymoon stage when everything seemed so bright and cloudless, and faced unpleasant reality, then it’s time to analyze the situation and understand what things you would like to change. If you can have a constructive dialogue with your partner, then you can discuss your relationship and determine the main development vector. What would you like to change or adjust a bit? You should just maintain your relationships in different ways if you want to spend your life together.
Respect each other
If partners value their union, they should understand that they participate in relationships on an equal footing, mutually influencing each other. Love is a process that involves a two-way exchange of experience, emotions, wisdom, gratitude, pleasures, and respect. If someone leaves the game alone, energy exchange stops immediately, and the family dies. Nobody can create an atmosphere out of nothing, without receiving from the partner neither support nor help nor respect. They are passengers of the same boat. Therefore, they should row together, if they do not want to sink their ship. And respect is a foundation of any healthy relationship without which nothing will work out. So, first, you should learn to respect your partner’s opinion, deeds, and personality as a whole.
Experiment and get new impressions
If you understand that you are stuck in your little routine, it’s time to try something new together with your beloved partner. Some joint activities should be new and at the same time, exciting. Novelty helps you create new memories and feel like a team. The excitement gained as a result of a new experience will make you take a fresh look at the relationship. Now they will seem exciting and wonderful to you again.
Researchers have long noticed that new experience gained with a partner prevents boredom in a relationship when the honeymoon stage is over. Besides, the couple becomes more satisfied with each other, they feel real joy and fullness of life. This does not have to be something extreme, like a parachute jump.
The Greatest Things Are Ahead
To have a crush on a partner means to experience incredible and magical feelings. However, the real joy of the relationship comes when the honeymoon phase passes, you put off your masks and start loving each other even more. If you make efforts and maintain your relationships in various ways, then in a year, five or twenty, and you will realize that you still love this person very much and enjoy every day spent together.
