Kiran Athar
Are you suffering from romance-itis?
Do you dream of grand gestures, candle-lit dinners, and sweet nothings being whispered in your ear?
If so, it sounds like you’ve been hit by the love bug and it consumes your every thought and feeling!
Don’t worry – you’re not alone. Here are 8 things you might catch yourself doing if you’re a hopeless romantic…welcome to the club!
1) You fall in love at first sight
Picture this…you’re at a party and someone cute catches your attention. Your eyes lock across the crowded room, they smile and you’ve got butterflies in your tummy…
Before you’ve even had a chance to introduce yourself, you’re already planning your wedding and how many kids you’re gonna have!
If this sounds like you, there’s no doubt you’re a hopeless romantic.
The fact that you don’t even know their name yet, let alone whether your personalities are compatible speaks volumes…but who knows?
There are plenty of people out there who fall in love from the first look and go on to have a healthy, happy relationship. Who’s to say it won’t happen for you too?
2) You daydream about epic love stories
But when you’re not out falling in love with strangers, you’re daydreaming about it!
I’m guilty of this – I spent most of my youth (and adulthood) dreaming of the perfect love story.
The man of my dreams would inevitably barge into my office and sweep me off my feet…well, I don’t need to explain much further, you’ve probably got your own version well rehearsed!
So, is this a bad thing?
Not necessarily, but if you find your daydreaming stops you from achieving things in life, it might be time to get your feet back on the ground and reserve these fantasies for bedtime!
3) You fall for fictional characters
Whether it’s Noah from the NoteBook, Romeo and Juliet, or Jack’s sparkling eyes in Titanic, you’re a hopeless romantic if you find yourself falling for fictional characters.
You live vicariously through the characters and how they express their love, and you can’t help but wonder what it’d feel like if you were somehow on the receiving end of it!
But let’s be real for a second – you may have your celebrity crush screenshotted on your phone, but you’re not completely in the clouds. You know that it’s a fantasy crush and nothing more…
What you really want is to find someone who is just as romantic as the character your crush plays!
And when you do find someone who ticks that box, the following tends to happen:
4) You quickly get invested in relationships
Do you find yourself giving away your whole heart fairly quickly into a relationship?
The moment you enter a relationship – you’re all in, for good or bad.
If this sounds like you, you’re a hopeless romantic through and through!
You pour your emotions, time, and energy into your relationships, even if the other person doesn’t reciprocate straight away.
This is because you’re bursting with love and you can’t wait to shower it on someone else…it’s a beautiful thing but something you should keep an eye on.
You don’t want to go through unnecessary heartbreak, and getting invested too quickly could cause you to overlook red flags, which leads me to my next point:
5) You struggle to pick up on red flags
Picking up on someone’s red flags or negative traits is hard enough at the best of times, even for those who are suspicious and untrusting.
But for us hopeless romantics, we tend to lead with our hearts instead of our heads – we overlook toxic traits because we’re too busy falling in love!
And unfortunately, we get a cold, hard slap of reality once we float back down to earth and realize the person we’re dating is NOT the one.
That’s why it’s important to be sensible…sure, fall in love, be romantic, and remain optimistic, but don’t ignore any signs that there’s trouble in paradise.
Because ultimately, that big heart of yours needs protecting!
6) You have high relationship expectations
Another sign you may be a hopeless romantic is if you have extremely high relationship expectations.
I remember arguing with an ex once…I had listened to a really romantic song, and I got mad at him for never buying me flowers or surprising me with a romantic gesture.
The poor guy was completely blindsided – he had no idea what was happening.
I know now it’s because my head was filled with grand gestures of love, and my heart craved what I’d seen in films and read about in books.
But in reality, relationships aren’t all about romance. A little here and there is nice, but it isn’t sustainable 24/7, nor does it represent true, long-lasting love!
The truth is, someone who supports you, is trustworthy and committed and invests in building with you is far more important than someone who’s romantic but offers very little else!
7) You’re a sucker for romantic quotes
Be honest – if you scrolled through your photo album or your posts on Instagram, are they full of romantic quotes and sayings?
I’m not gonna judge, my phone is full of them too!
This is another sign you’re a hopeless romantic, you want to live and breathe love 24/7, and when you come across a quote that hits you in the heart, you’ve got to save and share it!
One of the reasons why you might do this is because the beautifully crafted words of love and passion reflect your own feelings.
If anything, they might express your feelings in a way you don’t know how to, so it’s natural that you’d want to keep a collection of these quotes!
8) You’re overly optimistic about love
And finally, if you’re super optimistic about love, it’s another sign you’re a hopeless romantic!
Some people take a cautious approach, especially if they’ve been stung in the past. Others claim real love doesn’t exist how it used to – nowadays there’s too much choice and very little commitment.
But not you!
No matter how many times you’ve had your heart broken, you still keep going because you know that real, romantic love is out there waiting for you.
And with that, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes…
As Carrie Bradshaw so aptly states:
“I’m looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t live without each other love.”
