I always find it fascinating that most of us work so hard at the beginning of a relationship to make it work. We always go the extra mile and always show the best side of ourselves. Yet as the relationship becomes more established it’s easy to settle and not try too hard. We stop working at the partnership and just expect it to work. 

The truth is to keep a relationship happy and healthy takes hard work. Here are my top 10 tips for how to do this: 

  1. Be thoughtful and do something everyday to let your partner know you love them. Acts of kindness, however small, can mean a lot and remind your partner how much you care about them.
  2. Keep the romance alive. It’s easy to fall into a rut of daily routine and life gets in the way. Make an effort to be romantic by spending quality time alone, without kids and mobile phones. Whether it’s a date night out or a cosy night in, it’s important to remember why you fell in love in the first place.
  3. Be each other’s leader and biggest fan! Be supportive of your partner, encourage them and be proud when they succeed. Have their back and always support them to be the very best they can be.
  4. Communicate well. It’s important to be able to talk openly together and to enable each other’s voices to be heard. Be open and let them know how you feel.
  5. Trust your partner. Trust is the foundation for any happy and healthy relationship. You should feel free to be yourself and be loved for who you are.
  6. Don’t let problems fester. If there are any issues, raise them with your partner and work together to sort them out before any irreparable damage is done.
  7. Make an effort to look good around your partner. Of course they will see you first thing in the morning and in your comfies – but do make sure that you do take pride in your appearance still for those special times and keep your standards high.
  8. Do things together. It’s easy to drift apart and do your own thing in a relationship so make sure you find things to do together as a couple. If you can find fun activities that you both enjoy doing in your spare time this will add some sparkle. Even doing the shopping together or the chores will help keep your connection alive. 
  9. Keep the intimacy alive. All too often this disappears after years of being together so discuss how you can keep this side of your relationship fulfilling for both of you. Remember how it used to be and make time to recreate those moments. 
  10. Be playful. Life can sometimes feel all too serious. Keep the playfulness alive with friendly banter, surprises and lots of laughter.