One of the reasons I feel like I can write about great relationships isn't only because I feel like I'm in one, but because I've been in a completely shitty one. It was a total 360 from what I have now. The main horrible difference was the level of trust and amount of jealousy. 

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Two doors down there is a man I call Fabio. He's everything a male model should be. His hair is luscious beyond my wildest dreams. His body is built exactly how a magazine wants. And his face is perfect, absolutely chiseled and beautiful. My partner knows all. of. this. I literally almost lost my footing the other day when we walked by him. He's that surprisingly good looking. But the thing is, my partner doesn't care. We also talk about attractive women he sees. I'm fully aware there are still attractive women. Hell, I'll give a person credit where credit is due.

At the end of the day, the level of beauty of any one person doesn't matter when it comes to that feeling of being connected to someone. And we both understand that. 

But like I've said, it wasn't like this with my ex. I knew at the time that we didn't have a healthy relationship. But I kept telling myself part of a relationship is a compromise. And if someone has been cheated on and hurt, who am I to judge how they handle that. In the end, that wasn't the relationship for me. I'm not the jealous type. I don't want to be uncomfortable for no reason. 

And now I'm not. But I still not only like to reflect on what was so different between that miserable mess of a situation and now, but I like to try to recreate it enough that others can understand it. And that a healthy relationship is something that works for both people.