When it comes to relationships, trust and honesty are a huge part of what holds a healthy relationship together for a long time.  Simply put, without honesty, there can be no relationship. Or can there? Contrary to popular belief, complete and total honesty in every situation isn’t always the best way to go.  In fact, sometimes, little white lies can go a long way in helping a relationship last.
- Pretend to give a crap about football and video games. When he’s excited about “the game” or some new flashy accessory he got for his car, a smile and a few questions about it goes a long way.  Even if some of his hobbies make you want to weep with boredom, rolling your eyes and acting disinterested would not only be totally rude, but it also tells him that you don’t give a crap about what he’s into and eventually he’ll start to think you don’t give a crap about him. The small effort of at least trying says a lot about how much you care for him. Hopefully he’ll return the favor when you go on and on about the new season of Orange is the New Black.
- Appreciate every gift – even the less than romantic ones. Most guys, with very few exceptions, don’t know how to shop for gifts.  The more we can just accept that as an undeniable truth, the less we’ll get disappointed in the future. Guys don’t know what we want unless we tell them exactly what it is and give them the exact GPS coordinates of where they can get it.  Dropping hints almost never work – so when you get a Roomba from Christmas, you can’t really blame your poor, shopping-impaired dude. And hey, when you think about it, it really is the thought that counts. Smile, hug him and say thanks while you discreetly text him a link to your Amazon Wish List, so he can have it for next time.
- Tell him he’s the sexiest man in the world. Women aren’t the only ones who get insecure about their looks, but guys can’t chug beers with their buddies while they shares their worries about how they’re never going to have a chest like Joe Manganiello. When women feel bad about ourselves, we go to our friends or our significant other, who help our ego by reminding us we’re awesome. No one tells guys they’re sexy except the women they’re with (or their mothers, if they have one of those weird, inappropriate relationships with no boundaries). Is he really the hottest guy in the world?  Unless Ryan Gosling got reckless with a time machine and erased himself from existence, then no, probably not.  But hopefully, he’s the hottest guy in your world, so don’t be afraid to let him know.
- Act like he’s the best sex you’ve ever had. Sure we shouldn’t fake it during sex because we deserve to feel good too and ‘get ours’, but you know what we also deserve sometimes? Sleep.  The sweet, sweet escape of a good sleep.  Sometimes, your sexual needs and his sexual needs aren’t always a match.  Even if you were both in the mood, one of you could be ready for a four course dinner while the other just wants some appetizers and a wine cooler.  If you suddenly find yourself in this situation, don’t be too hard on yourself if you do the ol’ moan, groan and shake to let him know, yes dude, you hit the spot, you did your job – now let’s go to bed.
- Try your hardest to love his less-than-loveable family. After meeting his family, you probably wondered, “How the hell did your wonderful, sweet, handsome boyfriend come from this big bag of weirdo flavored peanuts?” Hopefully they’re the kind of weirdos that are similar to your own, but that’s not always the case.  Fitting into your significant other’s family is tough and it makes it even tougher if his mom always has her “you’re not good enough for him” face on whenever you’re around. But unless his family is downright abusive to you, it’s best to just let all that slide off your shoulders and paste a pleasant smile on your face.  Staying nice and refraining from talking smack about his family will save you (and him) from a whole lot of headaches.
