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Early relationships often contain unusually high novelty, uncertainty, and anticipation.
As partners become familiar with each other, that intense newness naturally changes.
Long-term relationship research distinguishes between highly activated passionate love and forms of attachment and companionate love that can remain strong over time.
Couples can also introduce new shared experiences to increase novelty and engagement.
Feeling calmer around someone after years together isn't automatically evidence that something has gone wrong.
Sometimes security simply feels different from falling in love for the first time.
© Stony Brook University