2. I got married and it made me love my partner more
3. Now that I'm in a relationship with my partner I am in "deep love"
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge that I know where you are coming from to an extent - it is a general human trait to begin with a chemical attraction/infatuation in the early days and for this to wane over time and for love to evolve and end up becoming things other than that infatuation (which some refer to as deeper love).
I'm also not arrogant/deluded enough to suggest that I will be some kind of exception to this common relational progression.
However, I definately love my partner more now than before I was married and is certainly not a self-delusion of convenience (maybe - at 4 years - I have not been married long enough to qualify?).
This 'love' is tangible in a variety of ways;
- Our sex life now is MUCH better than the early (pre-marital and early marriage) days - we know each others likes and turn ons more and have become much more adventurous (lost all self-consciousness/shyness).
- She is more physically attractive to me than she used to be (helps that her skin has improved and her body is better - she is also more mature and carries herself more confidently and sexily)
- Our interests and tastes have converged over time meaning we have more fun together than we used to.
- We laugh more as we have more in jokes from shared experiences and are more secure meaning it is harder to offend
- We have become more familiar with each other's deepest vulnerabilities/issues and still love and like each other - scoff all you want but this has meant a deeper love - particularly when you know you are loved and accepted for exactly who you are (even your darkest perversities) not just who you think you are (or portray yourself to be). (This has acted to make our sex life a 'deeper' and more intimate experience too).
- As aforementioned, my wife has tried things that I like (and she doesn't) growing to like them herself (and vice versa). This has meant more to talk about, better travel and holiday experiences, more enjoyable hobbies (e.g. she genuinely loves footy now - to the point she'll go without me), better cooking and eating out, etc etc. This means less arguments, more fun, etc.
- She has more energy now and gets less worked up about minor issues = improved relationship.
- We have better learnt how not to irriate each other and are far more relaxed about most things in life.
- The above are simply the tangible things - there are plenty of intagibles about how we feel (or our love if you prefer) than the above.
So, after 7-8 years (4 of marriage), our relationship has definately IMPROVED and we are definately more 'in love' post marriage.