---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's the face itself that I love, not…"
description: "\"It's the face itself that I love, not that face at twenty-eight or thirty-four or forty-three. It's that face.\" — David Nicholls"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png"
---

#  It's the face itself that I love, not that face at…

![“It's the face itself that I love, not that face at twenty-eight or thirty-four or forty-three. It's that face.” quote by David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png)

> “It's the face itself that I love, not that face at twenty-eight or thirty-four or forty-three. It's that face.”

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Love is directed at the essence of a person, not their age or appearance.

**In simple terms:** Love sees beyond looks and age.

Key Takeaway

Value the person, not the surface.

Themes

love identity timelessness acceptance

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- long‑term relationships
- friendships
- family bonds
- dating
- personal growth

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology human connection

Questions to Reflect On

- What qualities define the core of a person you love?
- How do you balance physical attraction with deeper connection?

A Different Perspective

Physical attraction can still dominate decisions despite this ideal.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/)

## Related quotes

> [Love is not found in the face, the love is found in your good works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-not-found-in-the-face-the-love-is-found-in-your-good-works/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“This face. I could love this face. And everything about the guy that goes along with it." - Nadia, Chapter Eight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/this-face-i-could-love-this-face-and-everything-about-the-guy-that/)

[Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/)

> [“Apart from my mangled face and the thirty percent scar tissue that covers my body I'm gorgeous!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-j-shortt/apart-from-my-mangled-face-and-the-thirty-percent-scar-tissue-that/)

[S.L.J. Shortt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-j-shortt/)

> [“It’s hard to look the people you love in the face when they’ve seen you fuck up everything you touch. Sometimes, it’s easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thomas/it-s-hard-to-look-the-people-you-love-in-the-face-when-they-ve-seen/)

[Rob Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thomas/)

> [Tragedy--to fall in love with a face, and marry the whole woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-tuwim/tragedy-to-fall-in-love-with-a-face-and-marry-the-whole-woman/)

[Julian Tuwim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-tuwim/)

> [I'd love it if I could face off against the 'Eggheads.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-ryan/i-d-love-it-if-i-could-face-off-against-the-eggheads/)

[Jenny Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-ryan/)

> [I love your face, your smile, your laugh, your beauty, your personality and everything about you. I hate that you're not mine..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lee-riner/i-love-your-face-your-smile-your-laugh-your-beauty-your-personality/)

[Justin Lee Riner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lee-riner/)

> [I love to face battles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-van-gerwen/i-love-to-face-battles/)

[Michael van Gerwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-van-gerwen/)

> [Don't fall in love with the face and body it won't last long. Fall in love with the spirit,heart and character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hungyo/don-t-fall-in-love-with-the-face-and-body-it-won-t-last-long-fall-in/)

Hungyo

> [I would love to be the face of Bayern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-gotze/i-would-love-to-be-the-face-of-bayern/)

[Mario Gotze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-gotze/)

> [Compassion, along with love, is the face of altruism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/compassion-along-with-love-is-the-face-of-altruism/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [I'm in love with the ;) face..don't judge me! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/littleme/i-m-in-love-with-the-face-don-t-judge-me/)

Littleme

> [You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tan/you-will-find-that-when-you-have-someone-to-love-that-the-face-is/)

[Adrian Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tan/)

> [“MATAMORE: I never fight with my love face on, I worry that it might get scratched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/matamore-i-never-fight-with-my-love-face-on-i-worry-that-it-might-get/)

[Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/)

> [“Live and Let live" " To love someone is to see the face of God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/live-and-let-live-to-love-someone-is-to-see-the-face-of-god/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

## More by David Nicholls

> [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-still-find-it-absurdly-difficult-to-concentrate-on-a-novel-if-there/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [You've got to stop letting women slip drugs into your mouth, Dex, it's unhygienic. And dangerous. One day it'll be a cyanide capsule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/you-ve-got-to-stop-letting-women-slip-drugs-into-your-mouth-dex-it-s/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [“He presses two fingers against each eye and attempts to account for this crippling melancholy, but is having trouble with rational thought. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-presses-two-fingers-against-each-eye-and-attempts-to-account-for/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [“How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/how-would-she-fill-the-days-she-had-no-idea-the-trick-of-it-she-told/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [“What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-if-it-rained-or-you-felt-a-bit-glandy-it-just-wasn-t-practical/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no one had noticed her arrival, and would notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-city-had-defeated-her-just-like-they-said-it-would-like-some/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/better-by-far-to-be-good-and-courageous-and-bold-and-to-make/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [A screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

> [Most of the books and films I love walk a knife edge between romance and cynicism, and I wanted 'One Day' to stay on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/most-of-the-books-and-films-i-love-walk-a-knife-edge-between-romance/)

[David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

[Explore all 332 David Nicholls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/)

## More Eight quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [The minute you step onstage, you get eight feet taller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/the-minute-you-step-onstage-you-get-eight-feet-taller/)

[Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [We got orders to strike the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. We had a task force with the Enterprise. We had two or three cruisers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/we-got-orders-to-strike-the-marshall-and-gilbert-islands-we-had-a/)

[Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/)

> [Cerrone is a great opponent. The guy won eight fights straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-dos-anjos/cerrone-is-a-great-opponent-the-guy-won-eight-fights-straight/)

[Rafael dos Anjos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-dos-anjos/)

> [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/)

[Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/)

> [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/)

[Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/)

> [I realised I owned eight pink suits, which I did not need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-odudu/i-realised-i-owned-eight-pink-suits-which-i-did-not-need/)

[A. J. Odudu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-odudu/)

> [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [I started a list of things I want to teach my children, and that list is eight points long. The first one is, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-roth-eisenberg/i-started-a-list-of-things-i-want-to-teach-my-children-and-that-list/)

Tina Roth-Eisenberg

> [There could be some compromise, but I think we have to stick to the provisions of the treaty, and the provisions of the treaty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-santer/there-could-be-some-compromise-but-i-think-we-have-to-stick-to-the/)

[Jacques Santer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-santer/)

> [He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy. You've got to release six, eight, ten years back tax returns. Take the hit for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/he-should-release-the-tax-returns-tomorrow-it-s-crazy-you-ve-got-to/)

[William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/)

> [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/)

[Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/)

> [Even from a really young age I was a huge movie buff - five, six, seven, eight. Just loved movies, but in a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-strong/even-from-a-really-young-age-i-was-a-huge-movie-buff-five-six-seven/)

[Danny Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-strong/)

Browse all 2,598 Eight quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's the face itself that I love, not that face at twenty-eight or thirty-four or forty-three. It's that face.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Nicholls"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-that-face-at-twenty-eight-or/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Eight"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-that-face-at-twenty-eight-or/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/david-nicholls-873_eight_it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-tha_2279453.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's the face itself that I love, not that face at twenty-eight or thirty-four or forty-three. It's that face.” — David Nicholls",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Nicholls",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's the face itself that I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-that-face-at-twenty-eight-or/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/it-s-the-face-itself-that-i-love-not-that-face-at-twenty-eight-or/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
