1. Fighting means it's time to break-up.
In most television shows, one big fight and that's it. Both parties acknowledge why it won't work and amicably split paths. Hell, in most TV shows they are already prepared to be friends again after like 4 episodes. In most real relationships, fighting is totally natural and its only excessive fighting that leads to break-ups. I mean c'mon Betty, Jughead is just trying to keep his father's legacy alive, just have a convo before you're done with him.
2. Your proposal will be magical.
Will he rent a private jet and take you away to Paris? Will he spend hundreds of dollars to have your proposal cast on the jumbotron at the big game? Will he send you into a frenzy of dystopia while pretending to date your worst enemy and then send you on a romantic scavenger hunt to find him on a well-lit picturesque NYC rooftop and ask you like in that one episode of "How I Met Your Mother"? No girl, he probably won't. He'll probably just take you to your favorite restaurant and get down and one knee and ask you. Which is still a beautiful loving way to be asked, so don't be so high maintenance.
3. You'll have all of the same best friends.
"Friends", "How I Met Your Mother" and "That 70's Show" are all prime examples of how there is this false impression that once you enter a relationship, all of your S.O.'s best friends will now be your best friends. Hell, if TV has taught us anything, it means that you guys were probably best friends for many years with lots of sexual tension and the rest of your best friend group have just been sitting around waiting for the two of you to figure it out. But honestly, it's probably best if you don't follow this model. Having your own friend group is super healthy. Plus, how else are you going to talk shit about Greg?
4. There will always be a sign.
If love is meant to be, then the universe will send you a sign, right? Actually no. Love isn't written in the stars and his birthday being the same day as your fathers is a coincidence, not something of substantial meaning. Ted Mosby and the girl with the yellow umbrella will likely never reflect the true story of how you met your husband. That doesn't mean your love isn't valid and amazing, it just means it's realistic.
5. Happily ever after is a real thing.
So you're watching the show, the tension has built pretty steadily and now finally, after seasons of waiting, they finally get together. Happily ever after is what comes next. All is right with the fictional world. But that's why it's the fictional world. Love is amazing and great to be in, but it's okay to fall out of love too. If TV teaches us anything it should be this, nothing good lasts forever. Just ask "The Office" and me crying every time I get to the end.
Not everything in a TV relationship is something we shouldn't find goals in (Hello, Leslie and Ben on "Parks and Recreation") but we should remind ourselves that those relationships are fiction for a reason. Now that you know that all of the expectations you've built up from TV romances you ship are totally erroneous, go out and nurture that real love!
