“It gets boring, doesn’t it?”

Admittedly, I have been guilty of asking this question a few times. I watched my friends settle into happy little couples, get comfortable, and before we knew it we referred to them as “The Ones Who Might As Well Be Married” because of the bickering we witnessed.

It’s fair to think that, once a couple has been so for a while, things change. It’s fair to think that The Honeymoon Phase, whether you’re truly married or not, will not last forever, that eventually things are so routine that they’re boring. But you know what? That’s not true. Once that phase, however good to some, ends, reality sets in. Let me tell you, sometimes reality is better than a crazy phase, anyway.

Let’s talk about what happens when The Honeymoon Phase ends, shall we?

1. Your appearance doesn’t matter…as much.

If I want to wear sweatpants and wipe off my makeup before my boyfriend shows up at my door every once in awhile, that's what I'll do. He has seen me with, and without, and guess what? He still loves me! *gasps*

2. You become sure that your significant other is your best friend, too.

The inside jokes, the belly-aching laughter, and the lack of shame can't happen with just anybody, right? One perk of this: You now have someone else who will binge-watch Netflix with you and hear all about your work day other than your best girl friend.

3. Fights get resolved. (Yes, seriously.)

A lot of relationships end right as The Honeymoon Phase does. Conflict ruins things before you know what hit you, and your perfect image of your relationship crumbles. But when you're past that point? You talk things out and work past them because it's nothing worth giving up over.

4. Nap dates become a regular thing.

Work, school, and life catches up to us. It's normal. Eventually, you'll get to the point where a date doesn't mean going out to dinner and seeing a movie. It means getting fast food and then falling asleep. And that's okay. Isn't that better than any old dinner date?

5. You don't need an abundance of compliments and good morning texts to know you're loved.

Your love becomes almost an unspoken part. You don't need to say it (or text it) to know that it's there.

6. You're still #RelationshipGoals... but by no other standards than your own.

If your idea of a perfect relationship is something that makes your friends cringe, or on that same token, makes them freak with happiness, that doesn't matter. At this point, you should be so sure of each other that the only opinions that matter are your own. If you think you're perfect, then you're perfect. Simple.

I had a moment a few nights ago when I looked at my significant other and thought, "The Honeymoon Phase is over, isn't it?" And in that moment, as I was laughing way too hard at a joke that wasn't even that funny, I was completely content. That is what we were leading up to this whole time.

So what if The Honeymoon Phase is gone? You don't need it anyway. Trust me, it gets better once it's over.