Men and Women Share the Sweetest Thing Their Partner Has Ever Said to Them
Updated: Jan. 06, 2023
It may feel like romance can get lost in the shuffle of everyday life, but these couples remind us that love is often expressed most in the little moments.
Timeless romance
Erica and Josh Hartwig are surrounded by love daily through their photography business Organic Moments Weddings, but that also means they essentially spend 24 hours a day together running a company and raising their five kids. Still, Erica says Josh is truly an old romantic. She recalls one tender moment when the seven of them were on a secluded beach. “We were laying snuggled on the sand, 60 degrees out, blankets on, our kids playing, and no one else there,” she says. “Josh said, ‘When I die this is what will flash before my eyes. This is the best part of life.’ I fell in love all over again.”
Supportive spirit
Despite a successful law career, Elena Ledeoux says she frequently doubts herself, especially when, recently, she was launching a new startup company. “One day when I was fretting that it wasn’t going to work, my husband gave me a big hug, looked me in the eyes, and said, ‘You can do it. You’ve always done it,'” she recalls. “His complete, unwavering belief in me was the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. And it helped me get through the initial period before my company took off.” Don’t miss the surprising secrets of the most happily married couples.
Doting dad
It means a lot to Randy Krauss, who has been married for eight years, when his wife tells him how much she appreciates the type of father he is to our sons. “I didn’t grow up with a father figure and it means a lot when she lets me know that I’m doing a good job by our kids,” said Krauss.
Unexpected romance
When Kate Romero met John Stellar at a personal development seminar, she was thrilled to have found in him a platonic best friend… until things changed. “One day, two years in, John walked me to my car and said, ‘I’m charmed and enchanted by you. I want to carry your books for you, I want to take care of your feelings. I want to be your boyfriend!'” Once Romero got over the shock, she says neither of them has stopped smiling since. They’ve now been married for nearly a decade.
Sunshine and soul
Dating and empowerment coach Laurel House was a struggling new single mom when her then-boyfriend, a single dad himself, offered the perfect words of support. “In the middle of the night, my son was refusing to breastfeed. I was sleep deprived and feeling like I was failing,” she says. “I held my son close and calmly sang, ‘You Are My Sunshine.’ My boyfriend got out of bed, started massaging my shoulders, and whispered, ‘You are so beautiful right now. I love watching how much you love him.'”
Grateful words
Maria Olsen and her partner don’t let a day go by without letting the other know how special they are—via text. “I have texted him that I love the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles. He has texted me that he prayed for years for God to bring someone like me into his life. This habit keeps us focusing on the positive aspects of our being together.” These are the 12 things you should tell your partner every day for a happier relationship.
Perfection personified
Karolina Klesta and her husband Patryk have traveled the world and blog about it, yet the sweetest thing Patryk has said to his wife wasn’t really meant to be sweet. “A few weeks after we met he accused me of hiding something because he thinks it’s impossible that I am that perfect,” Karolina says. “He explained that when he dated other women he always noticed some of their flaws on the first date. It made him feel secure because he ‘was seeing the whole picture,’ and he believed relationships shouldn’t only be a bed of roses. He said he was scared that I was too good to be true.” Check out these relationship tips to get the love you want.
Sweet status
Social media has a bad reputation, but every so often it provides a platform for a truly romantic message. “Once when I went away for work, my husband Mike posted a Facebook status along the lines of he doesn’t know how I do it—work, cook, clean, take care of the kids, all of it,” says Tara Racano. “It was special because he never tells me that and we’re not that couple who professes love so publically.” Try these 12 tiny ways to make your spouse feel loved.
Sweetness in sorrow
“At my dad’s funeral, my husband stood up and said a lot of nice things about my dad. They were super close so my husband’s words came as no surprise,” says Shannon Julian. “What did stop me in my tracks was when he said that above and beyond all of the things he loved my dad for he was most thankful to him for having a part in bringing me into this world. I felt so loved and appreciated because the thing he was most grateful to my hero for was me.”
Better half
There’s a reason the old saying, “my better half,” came into play. For Anna Schlegel, when her husband expressed this sentiment in his own quiet way, it went straight to her heart. “My husband isn’t much for flowery, mushy stuff, but when he said, ‘People like me more after they meet you,’ that got me right in the feels.”
Team player
“My wife Marilyn always reminds me we’re a team,” shares Craig Campos, who has been married 22 years. “When I succeed we’re a team and when I feel like I’ve failed we’re a team. She always uses the word ‘we’ instead of ‘you.’ It’s a subtle way of reminding me I’m not alone and we’re in this together.”
A lot of heart
Sometimes the sweetest sentiments are the most concise. “My husband once told me, ‘You have the best heart I’ve ever seen,'” says Julia Mosca. “It made me cry. I strive to be compassionate, so that was the best compliment he could have ever given me.”
Keeper of kindness
A brief exchange at the start of a blossoming relationship was all it took for Jean Ann to know that she had met her perfect match. “My birthday was only a couple weeks after we began dating,” she says. “My now-fiance said to me, ‘I just want to make sure that your birthday is about you, not about me,’ meaning she didn’t want my special day to be about her meeting my friends for the first time. I knew she was a keeper from the start.”
Heart of the home
When Sarah Shaw and her husband Billy married, they began building a beautiful life together, adding a baby boy to the mix not long after they recited their vows. “Billy once said, ‘Being with you taught me what family truly means.’ That melted my heart,” she says.
Romance in difficult times
Kelly Gallagher Nick recalls a moment during her chemotherapy for ovarian cancer when her husband said something so striking that she knew she’d be with him forever. “He held my hands and said, ‘When you get through this, and you will get through this, if you decide you want a completely different life, that’s OK. You don’t owe me anything. All that matters is that you are well and happy,'” she shares. “In that moment I knew I’d never leave him (by choice, anyway).” Next, check out this 1950s marriage advice that still applies today.
