What elements do you think are essential for a healthy romantic relationship?

It's different for every couple. I've seen couples that have broken up for the saem reason that OTHER couples have stayed together! It's astonishing really, but that's humanity for you.

I checked what's been essential for me in my current relationship.

I have to add...I am so in love with my current SO. It overwhelms me at times.

Love, honesty, & trust. caring, compassion, communication, and respect. The same qualities I think you should carry with you whoever you are with. Intimacy is the one thing that separates a romantic partner from the rest, though laughter, passion, and good sex would be good too.

A true relationship should be about friends who are also lovers.
The myth we've all been fed is the fairy tale of the mysterious princess and the aloof brave prince.
The belief and the behaviour choices of some that men and women are different and should be put on pedestals (or worse amused) is the most damaging behaviour pattern in relationships.

In the ineffable arcana of love/relationships, the one piece of advice I can give is.......

If you are female, always give head!

LOL
And swallow!

absolutely

I think, a good, solid, valued friendship helps a relationship get started on the right track. A lot of people want a relationship but don't even value the friendship. (Someone who wouldn't want to be friends if they can't have more) That sucks, in my opinion.

I checked many of them, but I think trust is the most important. Without trust, there is no "relationship".

I think all of those options, in one form or another, are essential for a healthy relationship.

I checked both "time alone" and "time together" because they're both necessary for a healthy relationship. I wonder if there are some people who feel they can get along without any private sphere within a relationship, but that would be a _different_ Survey Central question.

I was particularly glad to see "laughter" on the list.

All of the above except for good sex and lust. They're both added bonuses, but not really necessary.

I checked a lot of opposites. I think they need time alone and time together, different opinions and similar opinions, different interests and similar interests.....

All of the above.

It depends on the person. Romantic could be brought about in many different ways, so what's romantic to one could be a turnoff to another.

All of the above and more, depending on the couple.

All of these except polygamy, although some in varying degrees.

time alone and together, mutual respect, love, lust, laughter, intimacy, honesty, good sex, communication, caring for one another, boundaries.

I'll tell you what I didn't pick because the list is a lot shorter. You DON'T need: Lust, non-violent expression of anger, passion, polygamy, or similar opinions.

Hmm. Well, if I had to tell you which ones of those could not, under any circumstances, be removed from a healthy relationship, I'd say love. That being said, you need a good assortment of the others, too, but none are essential.

Laughter is so important,without humor in a relationship,everything would become boring real quick.Least if a crisis arises,both partys can face the situation with laughter & optimisum.I don't think David & I could've lasted all these years,if we couldn't find the humor in many tight situations.

For me,my mate has to know how to cook.The way to my heart is through my tummy.

& the MOST important to ME.DON'T EVER cheat on me!!! It could get very ,VERY ugly!!

most of those options. You don't need love to have a god relationship with someone, although if you want ot be with them for the rest of your life then you do!

Money...lots of it...

My experience is that money doesn't help nearly as much as you would think.

Many of these things as well as empathy.

Why is a non-violent expression of anger bad? Would you prefer the man just beat the crap out of his wife when he's mad at the ATM?

All above except polygamy. Good survey.

This is FULL of irritating cliches. It's hard to even read!

Better yet is not getting angry.

I think I'll add monogamy for certain types like myself. I became my former self in bed and discovered I'm still not over my wife from 13 years ago. It wasn't fair to my partner to not be fully devoted.

Everything except polygamy. Maybe that's why so many relationships fail.

I didn't say that. I think you are assuming that because I don't believe that non-violent expression of anger is an essential element of a healthy romantic relationship, that somehow the contrary is true: That violent expression of anger is an essential element of a healthy romantic relationship. Not so. I suppose it comes down to semantics. If the survey question had been: "How should anger be expressed in a healthy romantic relationship?" and the options were limited to "violently" and "non-violently", I would have selected "non-violently". But that wasn't the case...

sweet sweet lovin'

money won't make up for the lack of most of the things on the list above...

All of these.
It's impossible to put a recipe together for a healthy romantic relationship, though. Everyone is so different. If you know you've stumbled upon the right person, you have to live with their defects.

Faith, mutual respect, deep sense of commitment through good times, and bad times, good communication, loyalty, honesty, sense of humor, reciprocal intimacy.

trust, honesty, monogamy, communication, great sex, passion and mutual respect

I clicked all of these except "Polygamy" and "similar opinions." Hence, my opinion that a successful romantic relationship is one of the most difficult things to find.

it's about trust, respect, loyalty, physical attraction, a nice rack and a big dong.

Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur.......and so on

this explains how come you have so much trouble figuring out what sexual orientation you are.

How so?

I mean either that you take your chemistry too literally, or that you have an attitude towards relationships that's refreshingly unconcerned with societal forms. Take your pick.

I don't see what my orientation has to do with with my thoughts on relationships. Someone can know they're straight and think relationships are a waste of time, while someone else might be straight and think relationships are the best thing in life.

I don't follow your correlation.

the biggest key to a healthy relationship is COMMUNICATION!!!

sorry did you say something?

Friendship. "In love" tends to fade to a certain extent, but true friendship holds it together.

I think that some opinions should differ, but only some

The one not on the list... one male and one female

You forgot "Sanity" as an option .

Are you reacting to other material, or sincerely making the point that all it takes to have a good working relationship is a partner of the opposite sex?

I guess I was just reacting to other material when responding to this survey.

Yes, I think it takes two committed, unselfish, and compromising people (one man and one woman) to make a relationship healthy and permanent.

That wasn't my question. Are you suggesting that I can take any two people of opposite genders, say a 40 year old hermit librarian into clocks and civil-war politics who doesn't like talking to people, and some young super-social disco queen into babies and tatoos, and expect their relationship will work?

I am not suggesting that a third person cannot manufacture love between any two people. I do think it is possible that two people that seem "opposites" can fall in love and lead a wonderful life together. Therefore, I do think that the two people you suggested "could" develop a lasting relationship. It happens. Also, you can have two people that seem to be perfect matches that "something" is missing and never develop anything together.

So, the answer to your question is no. You cannot take any two people, put them together, and "expect" their relationship to work.

ok, just trying to see what your survey answer was within the sort of options expected.
I do agree with you that the most mismatched seeming of couples can work fine, and vice-versa.

In my experience, the rank has worked like this...

...2-5: Effective communication
[..2-4: Listening in that communication]
..6-10: Mutual respect

.....1: Feelings for each other.

"Relationships, working" - when those two words are together, they compliment each other. Both words there keep the other from being a "bad word".

True love, to me, has been giving 110% into the relationship. And demanding zero percent in return.

Peace

Explains a lot........