--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tell myself relationships are hard…" description: "\"“I tell myself relationships are hard work. No one is perfect. There's no such thing as happily ever after.”\" — Laura Nowlin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/laura-nowlin-29145_autumn_i-tell-myself-relationships-are-hard-wor_2502417.jpg" --- # I tell myself relationships are hard work. No one is… ![“I tell myself relationships are hard work. No one is perfect. There's no such thing as happily ever after.” quote by Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/laura-nowlin-29145_autumn_i-tell-myself-relationships-are-hard-wor_2502417.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/laura-nowlin-29145_autumn_i-tell-myself-relationships-are-hard-wor_2502417.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/laura-nowlin-29145_autumn_i-tell-myself-relationships-are-hard-wor_2502417.jpg) > ““I tell myself relationships are hard work. No one is perfect. There's no such thing as happily ever after.”” [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relationships require effort and acceptance of imperfection; idealized endings are unrealistic. **In simple terms:** Relationships need work and realistic expectations. Key Takeaway Accept flaws and work together. Themes relationships work imperfection Mood reflective realistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - friendship building - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology realism Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle imperfections in partners? - What realistic expectations guide your relationships? A Different Perspective Idealized romance can cause disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Happily ever after](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happily-ever-after/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) ## Related quotes > [“And it's impossible to say and even harder to feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/and-it-s-impossible-to-say-and-even-harder-to-feel/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“Stay I whisper to him. Stay in the car. Stay in this moment. But of course he never does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/stay-i-whisper-to-him-stay-in-the-car-stay-in-this-moment-but-of/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“Finny never tells anyone how he is feeling; you just have to know him well enough to understand when he is sad or scared.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/finny-never-tells-anyone-how-he-is-feeling-you-just-have-to-know-him/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [The classics tell us that, in relationships, the one between teacher and student comes second only to the one between parent and child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/the-classics-tell-us-that-in-relationships-the-one-between-teacher/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) > [“I am ten years old again, and I cannot imagine life without him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-nowlin/i-am-ten-years-old-again-and-i-cannot-imagine-life-without-him/) Lauren Nowlin > [“You never waste your time. That's why I have to do it for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knowles/you-never-waste-your-time-that-s-why-i-have-to-do-it-for-you/) [John Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knowles/) > [Is not where I live happily ever after, or who with. It's the fact that I live happily ever after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/is-not-where-i-live-happily-ever-after-or-who-with-it-s-the-fact-that/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [The modern fairy tale ending is the reverse of the traditional one: A woman does not wait for Prince Charming to bring her happiness;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-faludi/the-modern-fairy-tale-ending-is-the-reverse-of-the-traditional-one-a/) [Susan Faludi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-faludi/) > [Happiness, you see, its just an illusion of Fate, a heavenly sleight of hand designed to make you believe in fairy tales. But there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/happiness-you-see-its-just-an-illusion-of-fate-a-heavenly-sleight-of/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [Feel lucky for what you have when you have it. Isn't that the point? Happily ever after doesn't mean happy forever. The ever after,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/feel-lucky-for-what-you-have-when-you-have-it-isn-t-that-the-point/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [There is no need for revenge. Living happily ever after is a sign that you have not let the past beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-need-for-revenge-living-happily-ever-after-is-a-sign-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [That means life itself is a fairy tale. Like the characters, we all live and love and search for a happily-ever-after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/that-means-life-itself-is-a-fairy-tale-like-the-characters-we-all/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after?' 'It will do well, if it ever comes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/how-would-this-do-and-they-all-settled-down-and-lived-together/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [Happily ever after never happens in the second act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/happily-ever-after-never-happens-in-the-second-act/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) ## More by Laura Nowlin > [“Finny never tells anyone how he is feeling; you just have to know him well enough to understand when he is sad or scared.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/finny-never-tells-anyone-how-he-is-feeling-you-just-have-to-know-him/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“I love him in a way I cannot define, as if my love were an organ within my body that I could not live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/i-love-him-in-a-way-i-cannot-define-as-if-my-love-were-an-organ/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“This book is a treasure; I did not suspect it would be so good when I picked it up, but now I can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/this-book-is-a-treasure-i-did-not-suspect-it-would-be-so-good-when-i/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“I want to savor this wonder, this happening of loving a book and reading it for the first time, because the first time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/i-want-to-savor-this-wonder-this-happening-of-loving-a-book-and/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“Just because something seems impossible doesn´t mean that you shouldn´t try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/just-because-something-seems-impossible-doesn-t-mean-that-you-shouldn/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“They don’t see that her tension and perfection are the only things holding her together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/they-don-t-see-that-her-tension-and-perfection-are-the-only-things/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“The wind shakes the leaves and I have a sudden urge to go outside. The gray world out there looks inviting, velvety and cool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/the-wind-shakes-the-leaves-and-i-have-a-sudden-urge-to-go-outside-the/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“Stay I whisper to him. Stay in the car. Stay in this moment. But of course he never does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/stay-i-whisper-to-him-stay-in-the-car-stay-in-this-moment-but-of/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“And it's impossible to say and even harder to feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/and-it-s-impossible-to-say-and-even-harder-to-feel/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“I want to pull Finny out of my mind like a splinter so that I can adore Jamie the way he deserves to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/i-want-to-pull-finny-out-of-my-mind-like-a-splinter-so-that-i-can/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“There just isn't a way for two people on a bed to take off their jeans without being awkward and embarrassing. But it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/there-just-isn-t-a-way-for-two-people-on-a-bed-to-take-off-their/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“And the need to write it down overwhelms me and I step out of the shower, dripping and shivering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/and-the-need-to-write-it-down-overwhelms-me-and-i-step-out-of-the/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“I've loved him my whole life, and somewhere along the way, that love didn't change but grew. It grew to fill the parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/i-ve-loved-him-my-whole-life-and-somewhere-along-the-way-that-love/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“Finn, it's high school. It's an ecosystem, and you just stot right to the top of the food pyramid!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/finn-it-s-high-school-it-s-an-ecosystem-and-you-just-stot-right-to/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) > [“I lay on my bed in late afternoon, watching a patch of light move across the floor, my throat tight, my body still. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/i-lay-on-my-bed-in-late-afternoon-watching-a-patch-of-light-move/) [Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) [Explore all 18 Laura Nowlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) Kynna Claire > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I tell myself relationships are hard work. No one is perfect. 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