Five Stages of Love According to Psychology ...

Step one, of course, is easy! This is the step where your heart takes over and you ignore any red flags, where your hormones and happiness are all that really matters. He's flawless, perfect, the man of your dreams. Enjoy the giddy glow, and let's move on to step two.

Eventually, if you make it past step one, you'll couple up with your new man, and your life together really starts to gel. You might move in together, get married, have kids... this step is crucial, and so enjoyable! Building a life together is just divine.

We've arrived at step three, the point where all of my relationships -- and probably yours, too -- have ended. This is when you start to see the real flaws in the relationship, when you're not sure if you still love your partner, or if he still loves you, or if you're just in it for some other reason. Is it for times' sake? For the security? Do you still love each other? Has he always snored so loud, left the toilet seat up, cared so little about everything that matters to you most? Do you soldier on, or break up? For most of us, the answer is "break up." But for some, there's step four...

If you can accept your partner for who he is, warts and all, and if he can accept who you truly are (maybe not the perfect princess you try to be), then you'll make it through step three and into step four, where you create a lasting love, without illusions, built on respect. This can happen at any time in a relationship, and really, the sooner you reach this stage, the better, because what comes next is just wonderful.

Look at how much you've accomplished as one person... now multiply that by two. Step five is improving yourself, and him, together, and taking on the world. The two of you are true partners in this stage, bound together and completely committed to the success of you two as a couple, with shared goals to go along with your individual achievements. This stage is just as heady as falling in love, but it's so, so rare!

Which of these stages of love are you currently at? Have you ever made it past step three? Do you see step five on the horizon? What other relationship milestones do you see in your love life?