Before moving in together, you thought you had seen every side there was to see when it came to your lover, you were wrong. You quickly realize that not everything is rainbows and butterflies and it actually takes a hell of a lot of work and compromise when it comes to living together. Here are some tips on how to survive just a few of the harsh realizations that come along with moving in with the love of your life.

1. There’s nowhere to run and hide when things get tough.

Say goodbye to jumping in your car and heading home to sulk in your bed after a big argument. Your bed is their bed now, your room is now their room, everything that was once only yours; you now share with them. Avoiding each other is nearly impossible when living together, and definitely miserable. So hey, just kiss and make up already.

2. You discover just how clean or messy they really are.

You’re both used to living on your own, you’re used to things done your own particular way, so when someone comes along and disrupts your flow, there’s bound to be conflict. The key to surviving this is establishing a happy medium. It will take some time, patience and a few heated arguments will surely be had, until you finally settle on just what that happy medium is and what is expected of each of you.

3. You discover just how good or not good of a cook they really are.

It was cute the first few times your lover made mac & cheese for dinner, but now you're wondering if you'll be the only one cooking for the next 60 years. If your other half is lacking some serious kitchen skills, teach them a thing or two. Working side by side in the kitchen can be surprisingly sexy.

4. It's easy to feel unappreciated.

The cooking, the cleaning up, the food shopping, the wash, the yard work, shit, keeping up with a home is a lot of work. At times, you may find yourself feeling like your load is heavier than your lovers. If you're feeling unappreciated, communicate that to your partner instead of just letting the resentment build up inside of you until it bursts.

5. You miss your social life.

It’s easy to become anti-social to the rest of the world when you live together. You've noticed your circle of friends is getting smaller and smaller. You realize who is only your friend when there is liquor involved and who is true. So you reached the homebody couple in love stage before most of your friends, if your friendship is true, it hasn't gone anywhere. So what if your circle has gotten smaller, quality over quantity.

6. You're lacking confidence.

You've gotten extremely comfortable with each other, and honestly, it’s incredibly relieving to not have to match your bra to your panties every day. It's refreshing to not have to try as hard to impress each other, but one day you start to notice all the take out catching up to your body and you start feeling beating yourself up. You wonder if your lover has had a secret, cool, sexy lover on the side this whole time you were binge watching Netflix. Truth is, they don’t. They most likely feel the same way about themselves as you feel about yourself. If either of you are truly unhappy with yourselves, you have to make the changes necessary to get back to a good place, lean on each other for motivation and support.

7. You're afraid your relationship has gotten less romantic.

Let’s face it, things doget a little less romantic as the years go on, but the important thing is recognizing that and always re kindling the flame when it starts burning low. It is often the simplest things that keep the fire roaring. Don’t let yourselves become more of roommates and less of lovers, most importantly, don’t lose sight of the reasons you fell in love with each other in the first place

8. You can't stay mad even when you want to.

Guys, it’s nearly impossible to ignore her when she’s wearing nothing but your old Led Zeppelin t shirt. Ladies, you keep telling yourself how you’re going to make breakfast for only yourself, but then he walks downstairs all sleepy eyed and shirtless and suddenly you’re reaching for two plates instead of one.

9. Little things that they do or don't do annoy the heck out of you.

Spend enough time with anyone, it's inevitable. You annoy the frickin' heck out of each other on a daily basis, but you love each other even more.

10. Sleeping without them.

You're away with your friends for the weekend, you know you can't say it out loud because your friends will tease you, but it's incredibly hard to fall asleep without feeling their skin up against yours.