The body language of men in love – 15 signs that he’s falling for you

Are you at the stage with your partner where you’re wondering what his true feelings are? Have there been hints that he’s falling in love with you, but you’re still not sure?

You’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’ll be covering the top 15 signs that your man is falling head over heels for you, and also a new emerging concept which can help with the falling in love process.

But first, let’s look at the signs and body language which are commonly found when a man starts to feel more than just a physical attraction to his partner.

It can be hard to work out what he’s feeling, and if he’s the type of person who’s reserved with his feelings you might be feeling like there’s no way of finding out.

The good news is the signs below are mainly non-verbal ways of communicating his feelings.

He won’t even be aware that his body language is different.

Read on to find out whether any of these body language signs match with your man’s, and what you can do to unlock his affection and love for good.

Body language signs

1. He naturally gravitates towards you

When it comes to gravitation and personal space, love doesn’t leave much room for questioning. As we fall in love, that urge and desire to be close to our partner only intensifies.

So, when you find your man constantly stood right by your side or squashed up against you on the sofa, resist the urge to be annoyed and instead enjoy the feeling that he just can’t get enough of you.

Through his body language and closeness, he’s unconsciously conveying several signals to let you know that he wants to be intimate with you, both romantically and physically.

Whilst this might be a common sign for a man who’s lusting after you as well, the lack of personal space and prolonged touches will increase and happen more often with a man who’s in love with you.

2. He mirrors your body language

One sure way to know that your man is falling for you is how his actions will begin to mirror yours.

He won’t even be aware that it’s happening, but subtle gestures like licking your lips or taking a sip of your drink will be noticed by him, and he’ll naturally copy these actions.

The same might happen with words; common phrases that you use will be adopted by him and you’ll notice him repeating your quirky slang words or expressions.

All of this might seem quite insignificant, but the meaning behind it is powerful. When he mirrors you, it shows that he feels comfortable around you and enjoys your mannerisms and company.

Mirroring also makes him feel closer to you. By copying your words or actions, he’s effectively putting himself in your shoes.

He’s trying to understand life from your point of view, all whilst building a closer emotional understanding and bond with you.

3. He instinctively protects you

A very clear body language sign that he’s falling for you is if he’s protective over you.

This can be small signs, like positioning himself between you and the traffic when you walk, or instinctively reacting to stop the door hitting you on your way out.

The point is, he wants to look out for you and make sure that you’re safe, especially when you’re with him. His biological drive is pushing him to protect you.

This can seem like an old fashioned way of thinking, but the need to care and protect happens in both men and women.

Whether it’s protecting your partner, the frail and elderly or children, there’s something deep within us which makes us feel good when we look out for others.

Now add all the other loving emotions he’s feeling and it becomes inevitable that protecting you will feel natural to him.

Feeling protective of you shows he loves you and he might be in this for the long haul.

4. He wants to be your everyday hero

As I mentioned above, men are naturally protective over women. A study published in the Physiology & Behavior journal shows that male’s testosterone makes them feel protective over their mate’s safety and wellbeing.

Does your man protect you? Not just from physical harm, but does he make sure you’re protected when any negative situation arises?

Congratulations. This is a definite sign he loves you.

There’s actually a fascinating new concept in relationship psychology that’s getting a lot of buzz at the moment. It goes to the heart of the riddle about why men fall in love—and who they fall in love with.

It’s called the hero instinct.

The theory claims that men want to be your everyday hero. That they want to step up to the plate for the woman in their lives and provide and protect her.

This is deeply rooted in male biology.

The kicker is that a man won’t fall in love with you when he doesn’t feel like your hero.

He wants to see himself as a protector. As someone you genuinely want and need to have around. Not as an accessory, ‘best friend’, or ‘partner in crime’.

I know this might sound a bit silly. In this day and age, women don’t need someone to rescue them. They don’t need a ‘hero’ in their lives.

And I couldn’t agree more.

But here’s the ironic truth. Men do still need to be a hero. Because it’s built into our DNA to seek out relationships that allow us to feel like a protector.

If you would like to learn more about the hero instinct, check out this free online video by the relationship psychologist who coined the term. He reveals the simple things you can do today to trigger this very natural instinct in your man.

5. He’s always happy when you’re around

Falling in love has been put on par with the ecstatic feelings that come with taking cocaine. It’s an intense feeling which can bring up all manner of emotions.

In those early stages of love, to your man, the world seems brighter, life is better and there’s a noticeable spring in his step.

It feels incredible, yet what your man probably doesn’t realize is that several chemical changes are happening within him.

These changes include having high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine released into the system, which stimulate us and make us feel giddy and euphoric. The release of dopamine is pretty much our body’s way of rewarding ourselves, so it’s no wonder the feeling of falling in love can be addictive.

And it’s certainly a plausible reason for why he can’t control his happiness when you’re around; just being close to him can invoke these intense feelings of pure joy and ecstasy.

6. Frequent eye contact

Eye contact usually starts way before love comes into the scene. From your very first date, eye contact will have played a major role in developing the bond you share with your partner.

Maintaining eye contact with your partner lets them know that they have your full attention, and it can make you appear more trustworthy than someone who can never hold your gaze for very long.

It’s also believed that a chemical is released when we have prolonged eye contact with a partner –  phenylethylamine. This feel-good stimulant is released when you start to feel an attraction to someone and can increase feelings of love.

So, when a man is falling in love, gazing into your eyes even when you’re chatting about the weather will be uncontrollable.

Many people feel nervous looking directly into the eyes of another person for long periods of time, so if your man can’t stop himself from staring into your eyes, it’s a great indicator that he feels comfortable around you and that his feelings are strong.

7. His pupils dilate

Pupils dilating is harder to spot, but has very strong indicators that the person is in love or attracted to their partner.

It’s believed that oxytocin and dopamine can play a role in making the pupils dilate, and since they’re known as the love chemicals, it makes sense that this reaction takes place when experiencing feelings of love.

The addition of all the extra hormones that will be flowing through him can also cause his pupils to enlarge, but it can be hard to spot this as the eyes naturally react to different levels of light.

One way to find out is to take note of his pupils, and then watch for the changes as you move in closer to him and start touching him.

Depending on your setting, you might be able to visibly see the chemical reactions taking place all just by looking into his eyes.

8. He can’t help but stare at you

It’s the classic signal that someone likes you, and we’ve all seen the abundance of romantic films depicting the actress walk away whilst the actor stares longingly after her.

So why do people stare more when they’re in love?

Well, a lot comes down to being attracted to your partner. When a man stares, it’s because he finds you physically appealing and he enjoys looking at you.

One note when it comes to staring – it matters where he’s staring. If it’s your face he’s focussed on, you can be sure that he’s infatuated with you and can’t get enough of taking in your features.

Sometimes he’ll be aware of it and other times he won’t. Just as he feels drawn to you physically, his eyes will also naturally follow you because he craves your presence and he’s unconsciously trying to work out your body language, just as you are with him.

Other ways in which he might stare include when you walk away, so the next time you leave the table at a restaurant to use the toilet, glance back and see if he’s watching you.

9. His touch lingers

Just as his gaze might linger, so will his touch. Different to the flirtatious touches that probably happened more in the beginning, these types of touches will last just long enough to let you know they mean more.

Where he would have grazed your leg suggestively before, now he keeps his hand on your thigh and massages you ever so slightly.

Again, this isn’t done intentionally, but as he’s falling in love he naturally wants to feel you close to him. He wants to touch you in ways that show it’s more than just sexual intimacy, there’s emotional intimacy in the mix now too.

10. You have his full undivided attention

In a world full of distractions, having someone’s sole, undivided attention can feel rare. So often we are distracted by our phones, emails or tweets.

And whilst it’s okay to be distracted sometimes, you’ll know he’s falling for you because he’ll always pay full attention to you.

Whatever you’re talking about, whether it appeals to him or not, he’ll maintain his focus on you to let you know that he cares about what you have to say.

One way he might emphasize his attention on you is to put his phone away. When you’re talking or having dinner together, keeping his phone out of sight is a clear indicator that he wants no distractions whilst he’s with you.

Plus, having someone fully engaged with what you are saying can be a great bonus, not only do you feel appreciated and heard, their active listening means they’ll get to know and understand you better.

11. He appears more breathless

Alongside all the excitement of seeing you, you may find that your partner appears to be breathless more often.

Maybe he’s just had an embarrassing encounter in front of you and he seems flustered, or you’ve complimented him and he becomes a little short of breath.

Our breathing is linked massively with our emotions. World-renowned Shaman Rudá Iandê explains the deep connection between what we’re feeling and our breathing:

There’s a respiratory pattern for each emotion you feel, and we can take two conclusions from this. First, the way you breathe affects your emotions, and second, your emotions affect the way you breathe.

Whilst this is quite a subtle body language sign, you may pick up on it if your man looks slightly flushed in the face or is breathing heavier and quicker than usual.

12. He leans in when he speaks to you

When there’s an attraction between couples, they’ll often lean in across the table when speaking to each other.

Doing this naturally closes the space between them, creates a more sensual ambience and blocks out the distraction of the rest of the world around them.

If your man finds any excuse to get close to you, even if it’s just when he speaks, it shows that he wants to keep the focus between the two of you. This links back to him paying attention to you as well – the more in your personal space he is, the more he can focus solely on you.

13. He sweats a lot when you’re around

This might not be the most romantic sign of the bunch, but there’s more to sweating than just unpleasant-smelling B.O.

Research has been conducted into how sweat can be attractive, particularly the smell of fresh sweat. This is because pheromones are believed to be released when men sweat which are attractive to women.

Unsurprisingly though the window in which the sweat is attractive is short. Once the sweat has become stale or mixed with other smells, it becomes less pleasant and can even become repulsive, so it’s all about finding the right balance.

With that in mind, your man will naturally sweat around you whether you like the smell or not. In situations where he feels aroused, stimulated or nervous, he’ll sweat even more.

This is his body’s way of dealing with different situations and regardless if it’s a turn-on or not for you, it could be a great indicator that he’s feeling some pretty intense emotions when he’s with you.

14. He’s not afraid to show affection in public

In today’s world, a relationship only seems real once you go public with it. That means no holding back in public places, amongst each other’s families, and when it comes to social media.

One very clear body language sign that he’s falling in love with you is when he’s no longer hesitant to grab your hand, put his arm around your shoulders or kiss you for the whole world to see. In other words, PDA (public displays of affection) will become normal.

According to relationship expert Susan Winter:

PDA can serve as the cement to validate a partner’s willingness to make the love affair official. When hand-holding or placing our arm around a mate is done in public, we’re showing the outside world that we’re proud to claim this person as our partner. It’s a form of validation that establishes ‘coupledom’.

Many people avoid these public displays of affection until they’re sure that the person they’re seeing is truly what they want. Once he’s started to fall in love, the doubts and hesitations he had before will melt away and he’ll be much more comfortable in public with you.

15. Certain conversations make him nervous

Feeling nervous when falling in love is normal – the sudden rush of emotions, the vulnerability and the uncertainty of the future can make even the most stable person feel a little antsy.

You might notice that your man reacts nervously to particular topics, especially if they’re on the subject of you both. Or, on the subject of your past.

When it comes to talking about your relationship, he might feel nervous if you haven’t established where you are in the relationship, and he doesn’t want to feel disappointed if you don’t share his feelings of love.

When it comes to your past, a man who’s falling for you probably won’t love hearing about all your previous relationships. This is because at the time he’s falling in love, his emotions will be running much higher than usual, and his rational thinking much less.

This sign can be easily tested by bringing up an unfamiliar subject and seeing how your partner reacts. The aim isn’t to agitate them or upset him, but just to see his initial reaction to the topic.

16. He always looks his best

Your partner will naturally want to impress you if he’s in love with you, so looking his best will be at the top of his agenda (especially in the beginning).

Although you won’t be able to see the preparation that’s gone into his appearance beforehand, look-out for signs that he’s trying to keep himself well-groomed.

As written in PsychologyToday, when it comes to physical attraction:

Women are drawn to physical characteristics indicating good health and a likely ability to provide and protect—broad shoulders with narrower hips, athleticism, a strong jawline, and a deep voice.

Although men don’t have the same pressures as women when it comes to dress code, hair and makeup, there’s still a lot that can go into neatening his appearance.

And whilst he can’t grow a strong jawline or broaden his shoulders, he can make efforts in other areas.

From keeping himself neatly shaved to always putting on his best cologne before meeting you, over time you’ll get to know how much of an effort he puts in when meeting you vs meeting his friends or colleagues.

What next?

You’ve read the points above and you’re now figuring out whether any of them match up with the body language of your partner.

Whether it’s a clear-cut yes, or you’re still on the fence about his feelings, there’s something which might help you in unlocking the depths of your partner’s love.

I’m referring to the hero instinct, which is a concept I mentioned earlier developed by relationship psychologist James Bauer.

In his book, ‘His Secret Obsession’, Bauer delves into men’s biological drive to provide and protect the women they love. I actually reviewed His Secret Obsession. You check out my review here.

Although treating your man like a hero might sound like an outdated piece of relationship advice, what Bauer discovered is that there are some simple, primary ways in which you can treat your man which will unlock this biological instinct.

So whether your man already loves you or is in the process of falling in love, checking out this free video on the hero instinct will work in your favour and help you create a love-filled, long-lasting relationship.

Takeaway

Trying to figure out whether someone loves you or not is never as easy as it sounds, but hopefully with the tips above you’ll be able to work out how your man feels about you.

It’s always important to note that everyone behaves differently in love, for some they embrace the journey and enjoy every second of it. For others, it can be a time of vulnerability and uncertainty, so they may proceed with caution.

It’s always a good idea to let your partner reveal their feelings at their own pace, and in their own way. Whilst some of the points above can be tested out using innocent means, in most cases, you’ll just know he’s in love thanks to your gut instinct and your feelings.