How many times have you been in love?

Married 3 times. In love twice. First married too young and major major mistake ( he ended up in prison!) . Second asked me to marry him after 3 hours and I said yes. Very happy for over 30 years till the ‘ big C ‘. Met number 3 after internet dating. He was a widow as well. We are very happy but acknowledge it was a special marriage which showed us how happy we could be and wanted to share our lives with someone else again. We’ve been together 5 years and married 4. Life is good.

GagaJo

Yes, Polarbear2. And laments what is gone too. What a pillock.

I think so MOnica. Life gets in the way.

Mine too. Married 25 years. Brain went south when he met up with an old flame. 6 months later his brain found its way back into his head by which time it was too late. 15 yrs on and he still texts me every 3/6 months to say how much he misses me. Pillock as you say ?

Yes, Polarbear2. And laments what is gone too. What a pillock.

I think so MOnica. Life gets in the way.

The theme of ths thread seems to be that you can only truly love once. Does true love have to be life long? Can you not be deeply in love and just find life and circumstances over a longish period of time change one, the other or both so love disappears and then love again, or not?

I think it is being in love with being in love.

Once and we were married 55 years, sadly I am now widowed.

Once. Unfortunately, for me, he had an affair 43 years in! Don’t love him now and don’t want any replacement

5 times.. and that doesn’t include my ex !! Happy now though with number 5. Mr I. I’ve had enough heartache over the years and so has Mr I.

Like Marydoll once. Same as Gingster we met when we were 16 and we are celebrating our Golden Wedding Anniversary this Year. We have had and are still having a wonderful life together.

Twice

I thought I'd been in love countless times. Starting off with David Essex.

I've been married twice. I was obsessed with my first husband. Madly in love. But looking back I can't have been. Or else I fell out of love with him

Then a couple of boyfriends were loves of my life until I dumped them. So even though I did think I was in love I can't have been

I always had slight sympathy with Princes Charles with his, whatever love is

I've been in love many times. But I'm not in love with them now. So does that mean I was never in love?

It's all getting complicated now so I give up.

I am now very happily married to a wonderful patient man. I love him.

Can't see me ever going off this one.

GagaJo

Soulmates. Pft. What if your soulmate was on the opposite side of the world and you never travelled? Destined just not to meet?

One of my three was probably 'the one'. Worked his way down to just being one of three. Life, and people, are fickle. We live and learn.

I love that. “Worked his way down” ???? brilliant. Made my Sunday.

Soulmates. Pft. What if your soulmate was on the opposite side of the world and you never travelled? Destined just not to meet?

One of my three was probably 'the one'. Worked his way down to just being one of three. Life, and people, are fickle. We live and learn.

I am sceptical about people who claim their partner is their ‘soulmate’.

I don’t think my DH is my soulmate, although we are happy together. I don’t think deep down, he always knows what makes me tick. I don’t think anyone does.

I read that the definition of love is when that person’s happiness is more important than your own, and I think that is very true.

JackyB

I am SO relieved that some of you admit to not having ever really loved. Life just bumbles along with DH there to be fed and to do things with. But not really a "soulmate". Is there such a thing?

I've never been brave enough to admit it. Oh yes, I've had some crushes and been in lust. But I'm glad they stayed that way. Not sure that enduring happiness is possible with one person, so I prefer to imagine what life could be like if I'd married the boy I had a crush on in the second form, or the boys I went out with in the sixth form. Or even the man from work who I was infatuated with. (It was mutual but he had 4 kids and I had 3 so no way José).

My children and grandchildren, of course, I have probably loved. Still do, of course. But it is such an intangible thing. Sometimes I think it's just an amalgamation of pride, contentment, protectiveness, admiration, wonder and a variety of other feelings, many evoked simply by hormones.

.... ^(am I really going to press "post"?) ^

Ooh. Have been in lust. That IS overwhelming. My ex husband left me because he was ‘in love’ with someone else. I tried to tell him it was lust but he wouldn’t listen. It was and then when he realised it was too late. He still regrets it years later. Lust is extraordinarily powerful and sometimes confused with love.

Just once, properly, overwhelmingly.

I am SO relieved that some of you admit to not having ever really loved. Life just bumbles along with DH there to be fed and to do things with. But not really a "soulmate". Is there such a thing?

I've never been brave enough to admit it. Oh yes, I've had some crushes and been in lust. But I'm glad they stayed that way. Not sure that enduring happiness is possible with one person, so I prefer to imagine what life could be like if I'd married the boy I had a crush on in the second form, or the boys I went out with in the sixth form. Or even the man from work who I was infatuated with. (It was mutual but he had 4 kids and I had 3 so no way José).

My children and grandchildren, of course, I have probably loved. Still do, of course. But it is such an intangible thing. Sometimes I think it's just an amalgamation of pride, contentment, protectiveness, admiration, wonder and a variety of other feelings, many evoked simply by hormones.

.... (am I really going to press "post"?)

I think i loved my first husband,bit i was young,i wasn`t in love with him.
I was in love with my now dh,sadly it`s wained a little ,for me anyway.
I`m very happy and that makes a difference.

I thought I was in love with my first real boyfriend, we went out for over a year, had met at school. When he went to Scotland in his first job, we vowed to stay together, write, (this was 1969!), and meet up when he could come home, in the meantime saving to get married, I had also started my first job.

This lasted a few weeks, I envied my friends going out to discos etc, and realised I didn’t want to be tied down, I was only just 17.

When he came home at Christmas, I finished with him. He was heartbroken, I felt awful but knew I was doing the right thing.

The next summer, I met my future husband. Knew then it hadn’t been love with the first.

Been married now nearly 49 happy years.

Sometimes wonder about Number 1, hope he ended up happy too.

Loads. I was in love with all of them, until I wasn’t.

How many have I actually loved? One probably. You don’t know if it’s real love till it’s put to the test.

“Love isn’t something wonderful that you feel, it’s something difficult that you do.”

kircubbin2000

Never, I've fallen into relationships and not known how to get out of them.

Ooh me too!!

Similar to you glammanana, once, married 39 years, three great children, sadly only two living, 7 beautiful grandchildren, but lost him to cancer 9 years ago. Totally unreplaceable.

Never, I've fallen into relationships and not known how to get out of them.

Once.

3 times. At school in 6th form, then at college, then husband of 40 years.