Duration

• Romantic love is often fleeting. The passion and lust that two couples with a strictly romantic love feel typically do not last for more than a few months, unless the relationship expands to include more intimate personal feelings. True love, on the other hand, lasts for many years and often lasts for an entire lifetime. For those couples who are looking to build a relationship based on true love, it is important to remember to slow down and truly get to know their partners so they can settle down into a commitment.
  
  

Intimacy

• Intimacy looks and feels very different in a relationship based on true love than it does in a relationship based on romantic love. Physical intimacy is apparent in both types of love; however, with romantic love, intimacy ends at a physical level. Couples in romantic love often struggle to find intimacy outside of the physical realm. True love, however, defines intimacy as an understanding and a personal bond with another person that goes much deeper than physical attraction.
  
  

Reliability

• True love is more reliable than romantic love. Romantic love is often considered romantic because of the ups and downs in the relationship, the turmoil and the passionate reconciliations. Couples involved in a romantic relationship often struggle to find stability in their relationship and they may even wonder whether they are actually committed to one another. True love is stable. The couple can depend upon one other for comfort, strength and reliability through the best and worst of times.
  
  

Causes

• Romantic love and true love usually have very different causes. Romantic love is often strictly based on physical chemistry and attraction. People may also choose a romantic love partner based on how much fun they are, how often they are available and what they want from a relationship. True love is often caused by two people realizing that they have a lot in common, have similar morals and values and want the same things out of life.