How To Tell Someone You Love Them Subtly Yet Sweetly (100 Ways Provided)

For all of their love, strength, and beauty, relationships can be fragile things and, much like a delicate plant, must be watered and fed if you want them to survive.

The biggest reason couples fall out of love is simple: they don’t feel loved by their partner. Why? Because even though they may say “I love you” at the end of phone calls and before heading off to work, those words have no magic if not backed by thousands of other simple gestures.

100 small things to make someone feel loved

1. Don’t forget to hug before you say goodbye. Physical gestures often go undervalued after a relationship has been going on for a while.
2. Tell them how special they are to you. This goes beyond just saying, “I love you”.
3. Express understanding when it’s needed by saying, “I understand how you feel.” If you don’t understand, express your desire to by saying something like, “Tell me how you feel so that I can understand.”
4. Tell them frequently how much you appreciate it when they do things for you. We often get used to how much our spouses or partners do for us and tend to forget how much easier they make our lives.
5. Tell them how much you enjoy certain aspects of their personality. For example, “I love your sense of humor.” You need to be praised for who you are and so do they.
6. Go an entire day with your partner without saying anything but positive praise. You can make this as frequent a practice as you like.
7. Fix your partner their favorite food without them asking.
8. Offer to help cook.
9. If you have kids, offer to take them out so your partner can spend some relaxing time alone. Alone time is important!
10. Send an intimate text message to your partner for no reason.
11. Email your partner while they’re at work just to see how they’re doing.
12. Call your partner when they’re on break just to say hi.
13. Reach across the car, the table, or the couch to touch their hand, if only for a moment.
14. Pull out their chair, or open the door for them- chivalry, guys!
15. Remember to give them a smile. I don’t mean smile at them or fake it. I mean giving them their own personal smile- the one you save for them.
16. Instead of taking your frustrations out on them after a hard day, say, “I really needed to see you today because … “, or, “I had a hard day and I need a hug.” They probably aren’t the cause of your bad mood, so let them help you out.
17. Joke and laugh, and laugh with them.
18. Go to bed at the same time for a week. Talk or read together, or just sit quietly.
19. If you have children, compliment your partner or spouse in front of them. This will make your kids happy, too!
20. Brag about your partner in public. Yes, they may turn beet red if they’re shy, but they’ll appreciate it.
21. Try to avoid their pet peeves (e.g. sponge left in the sink or toilet seat left up). You may think they’re silly but it’s important to them.
22. Light a candle or two when you have dinner together to make the atmosphere more romantic, just because.
23. Find creative ways to tell each other “I love you” in code.
24. Have date nights. Go out or stay in, but make the night about one another.
25. Pick her some flowers.
26. Offer to watch a movie with them that they like.
27. Give them a massage after a long day, or for no reason at all.
28. Tell them they’re your best friend.
29. Don’t be shy about sharing your feelings. Let them know if you’re happy or unhappy at the moment, and why.
30. Listen when they tell you how they’re feeling.
31. Buy small “just because” presents outside of a holiday or birthday.
32. Write intimate messages on a piece of paper and slip it into their bag for them to find.
33. Hold hands in public.
34. Take lessons together. It doesn’t matter what kind.
35. Apologize when you make a mistake.
36. Let them be right sometimes.
37. Play games from your childhood together.
38. Give your partner space when they need it. But let them know you’re there when they need you.
39. Run a hot bath for your partner when they seem stressed.
40. Wash your partner’s car for them.
41. Put a cute little toy that reminds them of you in their glove compartment.
42. Try to do one random act of kindness every day for your partner.
43. Try new activities together. Challenging ones are the best.
44. Take a day off work every once in a while to spend doing nothing together.
45. Let your partner sleep in. Turn off their alarm.
46. And bring them breakfast in bed.
47. Remind your partner that they’re hot or sexy.
48. Take bike rides or go for walks together.
49. Wear matching outfits every so often.
50. Keep your partner’s favorite snacks on hand at all times.
51. Volunteer together.
52. Do each other’s hair.
53. Create goals as a couple. They can be about fitness, finance, personal-growth, etc.
54. Take an unplanned vacation together.
55. Plan a special day for your partner.
56. Use a photo of them as the wallpaper on your phone, and show them that.
57. Do a chore that he/she usually does.
58. Keep a shared journal between the two of you.
59. Accompany him to game night/football night and be “one of the guys”.
60. Take time to get to know your partner’s friends.
61. Let your partner have a guys/girls night out sometimes.
62. Put on your partner’s favorite song or music and invite them to dance.
63. Be silly sometimes. Make fun of yourselves. Don’t be too serious.
64. Sing for your partner or play them something if you’re instrumentally inclined.
65. Tell them, “I’m more in love with you than I was yesterday.”
66. When you’re having a bad day, lighten the mood by saying, “I hate everything today– but you’re pretty cool, as always.”
67. Tell them that you think they’re even more attractive than when you met them.
68. Tell them you were thinking about them.
69. Tell them you support them.
70. Tell them you love their body and mind.
71. Tell them what made you happy today, and how it reminded you of them.
72. Ask them how their day was.
73. Say good morning every day.
74. Say goodnight every night.
75. Make sure they know you’re their “number one”.
76. Show your partner you respect them by listening to their opinions on important decisions, and actually act on them.
77. Tell them you appreciate what’s good about their opinions, even when you disagree with them.
78. Lovingly tease them. Call them names too sickeningly sweet for anyone else.
79. Flirt! Everyone enjoys flirting.
80. Ask them to choose your outfit for work.
81. Go to the gym together.
82. Write a poem or song for your partner, even if it’s goofy.
83. Make your partner a sweet card for no reason at all.
84. Recreate your first date, run-in, kiss, etc.
85. If you’re crafty, make them something. It doesn’t have to be useful, but make sure it’s adorable and reminds them of you.
86. Tell them you’re lucky to have them. Tell them how you’ve changed since you met them.
87. Be truthful. Let them know about the naughty mistakes you’ve made.
88. Be gentle about pointing out your partner’s flaws. They may need to hear it, but always softly.
89. Show your partner how you trust them. Don’t feel the need to know their whereabouts if they don’t open up first.
90. Buy your partner a gift certificate for their favorite store.
91. Never blame your bad mood on your partner.
92. Write them a story about your love.
93. Make a picture collage of the two of you.
94. Do something silly together.
95. Invite their family to dinner (if they’re on good terms, that is).
96. Make a playlist of your favorite songs as a couple and play it on a road trip.
97. Rent some cheesy romance movies.
98. Ask your partner to share their dreams with you.
99. Laugh when they joke, even if the joke isn’t funny.
100. Make it easy for them to love you. You’ll find that they’ll act in kind.