A guy telling you he loves you is great and all, but what matters most is whether or not he knows how to show it. It’s just as much about what he doesn’t do as what he does, and part of that is never doing things that could lead to a loss of your respect, your love, and your presence in his life. Everyone makes mistakes, but if he really loves you, he probably wants to keep you around, so when it comes to your relationship, he’s definitely not a risk taker.
- He doesn’t want to hurt you. No one wants to see the people they care about in pain of any kind — especially not pain they caused. The obvious ways he could lose you — like cheating, for example — are also going to hurt you, and there’s no way he’s going to do that if he has a choice. And when it comes to cheating, there’s always a choice.
- He has no interest in pushing his luck. Guys have a habit of testing girls to figure out how much leeway they have when it comes to less-than-ideal boyfriend behavior. Not every girl has the same expectations and needs in a relationship. If he truly loves you, he’s done trying to feel out your limits. He’d rather just ask and not risk going too far and losing your trust.
- He can’t imagine his life without you. He’s considered what his life would be like without you in it and he doesn’t like what he sees. So to avoid that becoming a reality, he’ll treat you right and make sure you’re happy. He knows what the possible consequences could be if he doesn’t, and he wants to make sure he never experiences them.
- He respects you. A guy who loves you and wants you to be happy also respects your opinion and who you are in general. Treating you badly would send the message that he doesn’t care about your feelings or believe that you would ever leave him. But he knows you’re strong and independent enough to kick a jerk to the curb, so he’s going to make sure he’s not being one.
- He could never lie to you. Nothing good comes from lying. It only leads to more lies and eventually the truth comes out and everything falls apart. He loves you and trusts you enough to be honest and direct with you because he knows you’re a reasonable person and whatever happens, you can work it out together.
- He knows how much he’d regret letting you get away. Everyone has moments where they wonder if there’s something else out there that might make them happy, but if he loves you, he knows he’s lucky to be with you and thinking the grass might be greener on the other side is a terrible idea. The last thing he wants is to look back and realize you’re the one that got away.
- He’s confident you’re “The One.” Not only does he love you, but he thinks you’re the one he’s going to spend the rest of his life with. If you’ll have him of course. There’s no way he’s going to do anything to mess that up because he might not get another chance to be with someone like you.
- He wants you to want him too. Unrequited love isn’t romantic, it’s depressing. No guy wants to be in love with a girl who doesn’t love him back. That’s why he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure you fall for him. If you feel the same way about him that he does about you, nothing will be able to keep you apart.
- He knows there’s a limit to your patience. Boyfriends can be irritating sometimes — that’s just part of being in a relationship. But even if he teases you and bugs you on purpose sometimes, he’s never serious. He might test your patience sometimes, but he won’t push you far enough to walk away from him — not even close.
- He knows he can at least control his own actions. No guy is 100% in control of what happens in his relationship. Even if he loves you, that doesn’t necessarily mean you love him back. But that’s exactly why he’s going to work hard to be the perfect boyfriend — if he didn’t, it would be his own fault he lost you, and he could never live with that.
