All romantic relationships are bound to have highs and lows, but when it comes to long-term partnerships, many couples find themselves somewhere in the middle, having settled into routines and patterns forged over months, years, or even decades together.
It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of daily life and forget to slow down and really appreciate our long-term partners — to celebrate them (or, let’s be real, to tease them mercilessly) for those quirks that made us fall in love with them in the first place. One of the many perks of long-term partnership is the ability to revel in the silly inside jokes that come with knowing someone inside and out.
Whether it’s our partner’s penchant for singing off-key opera in the shower, an embarrassing yet endearing nickname only we’re allowed to use, or a memory from way back when that still makes us laugh, any happy long-term partnership is bound to yield an abundance of light-hearted, cherished moments.
So let’s celebrate those little moments. Those sweet, goofy times may seem insignificant while they’re unfolding, but making an effort to find the joy within the everyday moments can go a long way toward making relationships, and life in general, a lot more fun.
With that being said, here are 11 quotes that poke a little bit of fun at the everyday ups and downs of long-term relationships.
You can’t have a relationship where one person says, “I love you” and the other says, “I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat” … unless you’re married.Larry David
Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s where we found the other person, and find them still.Julian Barnes
I myself, I love being married, because it’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.Rita Rudner
I’ve actually pinpointed the exact moment when a relationship goes long-term: I think it’s when, before sex, you no longer take each other’s clothes off, but you take your own clothes off independently because you realize it’s more practical and less time-consuming.Michael McIntyre
I married for love, but the obvious side benefit of having someone around to find my glasses cannot be ignored.Cameron Esposito
I always say, if you're married for 50 years, and 10 of them are horrible, you’re doing really good!Michelle Obama
When people ask me what’s the key to my long marriage and lasting love, I always say, “Stay gone!” and there’s a lot of truth to that. I travel a lot, but we really enjoy each other when we’re together.Dolly Parton
Bill and I had a marriage so flexible that whenever we went on a vacation together, someone would invariably ask me how long I had been widowed.Erma Bombeck
Movie characters might chase each other through the fog or race down the stairs of burning buildings, but that's for beginners. Real love amounts to withholding the truth, even when you're offered the perfect opportunity to hurt someone's feeling.David Sedaris
“Don’t go to sleep angry?” … I go to sleep angry all the time, because he falls asleep before me. And I’m just like, “Oh, you got nothing to overthink right now? OK.”Gina Brillon
It’s the little things you share together / Swear together / Wear together / That make perfect relationships / The concerts you enjoy together / Neighbors you annoy together / Children you destroy together / That keep marriage intact.Stephen Sondheim
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