Mary Steenburgen Quotes

Everyone wants a loving, equal relationship.

I think compassion is important but love fizzles out eventually. But if there is compassion in a relationship, things can always be worked out.

We all have different timetables in reaching and realizing that being in healthy partnership is better than being on our own.

I have my own high standards for what I want in a partner and how I want to be treated. I bring a lot to the table. I'm not talking about material things but what I have to offer as a person - love and loyalty and all the things that make a good relationship.

We run into some pretty tough arguments sometimes, but the idea is that at the end of the day, my wife and I realize that we'll always be holding each other's hand.

A relationship has to be cultivated. There have to be feelings of love for another first. But then you have to really like the person.

Love is about mutual respect, apart from attraction.

Experts on romance say for a happy marriage there has to be more than a passionate love. For a lasting union, they insist, there must be a genuine liking for each other. Which, in my book, is a good definition for friendship.

You've got to be in a bad relationship to really understand what a great one is.

A pick-up artist gave me a good piece of advice: the three most important things in a relationship are honesty, trust and respect, and if you don't have those, you don't have love.

The most special relationships, in my experience, are based on a combination of trust and mutual respect.

I think long-lasting, healthy relationships are more important than the idea of marriage. At the root of every successful marriage is a strong partnership.

Most good relationships are built on mutual trust and respect.

Compassion, not passion, keeps a marriage together.

Secondly, love and relationships are complicated. No one could ever get it right in a four-line sentence.

The only kind of love worth having is the kind that goes on living and laughing and fighting and loving.

The only time a relationship is good is when you really love them.

A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.

The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they're right if you love to be with them all the time.

Romance is alive and well in America, but the 50 percent who can't make it work fail because of selfishness. It gets down to that. You can't oversimplify it because every situation is so complex.

It's important for couples to be friends first and to respect each other as individuals.

You learn a lot about love before you ever get there. You learn at least as much about love from books as you do from watching your parents.

Trust is the most important part of a relationship, closely followed by communication. I think that if you have those two things, everything else falls into place - your affection, your emotional connection.

I want someone who is my partner in life. Who supports me, and I support her. I can share all my experiences in life with her, and she can share hers back with me. Not only do we love each other, but we accept, embrace, nurture, and care for each other.

It's very difficult to judge relationships from the outside. You never know what happens in intimate moments with two people to know why they really support and love each other.