13th February:

According to a recent report, the critical period in any relationship comes 2 years after getting together – this is the point after which sexual attraction fades and has to be replaced by something else in order for the coupling to survive. Which will come to a shock to many people who thought the critical period was actually at 9am the next morning when they had sobered up and looked over at whomever was occupying the other side of the bed.

In love, as in many other things, it is easy to allow yourself to get into a routine and get complaisant. You don't set out for this to happen, it just kind of sneaks up on you somewhere along the road - a kind of dreadful familiarity and predictability that stalks your every moment together. Until one morning you wake up and realise that convenience is the only thing holding you together. I say this from personal experience with previous partners and by drawing from the experiences of those around me. One of my dearest friends noted that after only 6 months together he and his girlfriend had settled into such a routine of domestic drudgery that she literally became something he inserted himself into 3 times a week when she wasn't cooking and doing his ironing. Which can't be a good thing for either party.

The secret to a long and happy life together? Well, it's an old cliché but having your own separate interests is probably a good thing, and spending time apart should be seen as healthy rather than as a threat. The rest is more than likely down to diet, exercise, having a sense of humour and realising that nobody else could ever really understand you like she does.