"Serious."

[tigressA]

We attach this word to "relationship" a lot. But what defines a "serious relationship"?

 

Is it defined by the commitment to exclusivity? Is it defined by the depth of feeling you have for each other? Is it defined by the amount of time you're in it? Is there a minimum amount of time that has to pass before your relationship can be deemed "serious"? Is it defined by the ultimate goal--that you can see yourself marrying this person, that you want to marry this person? Does there have to be an ultimate goal in order for the relationship to be "serious"?

 

Discuss.

[USMCHokie]

For me, the 'serious' moniker comes when I start to feel like I want to stay with the girl for life...but whether that happens or not is another story...

[BillieD]

For me "serious relationship" means exclusivity.

[Star Gazer]

Like Hokie, to me "serious" implies an intent towards lifelong commitment, i.e., you talk about the potential for marriage (even if in only vague terms).

[stellaluna]

Serious to me means I am ready to hang up my dating profile.

[tigressA]

I always thought of it in terms of the ultimate goal--wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone. I never really had that feeling for a guy, so under my own definition I have never been in a serious relationship.

[Stung]

I have been exclusive with people I enjoyed very much without considering our relationship really serious.

 

I guess for me the delineation is depth of emotion, and intent. Not necessarily intent of marriage, but intent of some real commitment, of exploring a future and working through issues together.

 

Time does also have something to do with it, as I would consider a boyfriend of a couple of years to be usually more serious than a boyfriend of a few months--but of course that's only one dimension of a relationship, and those could have been two stagnant, placeholder years, making them not really serious at all.