I've been in a relationship with my best friend for almost 10 years now and have gained so much wisdom from it - and the number one question I get is "How do you guys manage?" or some people say "I want a Glen!" or "I want what you guys have."
Well let me tell you - I didn't always have a Glen. My first relationship caused me so much pain and trauma that I bet the universe said "Let's cut her some slack and match her up with someone who will make her happy for once." And you know what? They finally did!

As much as we seem so happy on the outside together, there are times where we drive each other crazy and make one another upset, but we're both fortunate enough to be with someone who makes us happy and feel loved all the time while never leaving the honeymoon phase after all these years. At the end of the day, we're just lucky that we never get tired of each other's presence, and the fact that we could look at each other and just smile and not say anything at all but still laugh says a whole lot. Ten years of endless smiles and laughter and now we're getting married in May.

If you ask me, I think it's important to be with someone who you call your best friend. When you're with someone who you're ONLY attracted to and have lustful feelings toward or have barely anything in common with, chances are that you'll burn each other out and just call it quits because there's no spark. You don't have to have EVERYTHING in common with your partner - just as long as there's loyalty and feelings of warmth and love, by all means you're in the clear. For example, I'm into horror movies (Glen's not into horror movies) and Glen loves Star Wars (whereas I'm not much of a Star Wars fan except for Rogue One), but we're still happy! But I mean, other than that we basically have everything else in common - so that's a plus.

Loyalty and trust can either make or break a relationship. I know so many people have different opinions on this topic - where as if your partner still follows or likes posts of their ex or someone they used to be involved with and if it makes you uncomfortable, what would you do? Some people would tell their partner that they're bothered by this and their partner would calmly offer to block or unfollow said person, or their partner would have a fit and try to think of as many reasons to not block or unfollow or stop liking said person's posts due to narcissistic behavior. What do you think is the right response? I'll leave that up to you.

As for my relationship, if anything bothers either of us, we communicate and talk it out - which is what every person in a relationship SHOULD do. When you sweep things under the rug and let them bubble, the outcome you're going to get is NOT going to be pretty and you both won't be able to talk with a clear, calm head. If your partner or you are uncomfortable with anything that has been said or done, it's important to reach out so that you can come up with a healthy solution that works for both of you. For example, if someone was CLEARLY constantly hitting on your partner repeatedly and it made YOU feel some type of way and you express your feelings to them, they should respect your feelings and cut ties with them - no questions asked - because they care about YOU and WANT to put YOU first because YOU are their priority. There are some cases in where some partners are overbearing and are just possessive in general, but that's a whole other story!

And listen "ladies," I understand we all want to be treated like princesses and all that, but please do not expect your partner to pay for you at all times. It's disrespectful and your partner is human too and deserves to be spoiled by you as well. I think it's fair to take turns when paying the bill or going shopping and whatnot, and when you live together, splitting up the chores definitely keeps a healthy, happy household.

Green flags in relationships:

• Open communication
• Both of you are honest and trust each other
• You validate each other's feelings
• You're able to share and feel safe with one another
• Overall just enjoy being around them
• You're comfortable introducing them to your friends/family
• You see yourselves growing together
• You share morals and core values
• Your future goals align with each other (marriage, children, pets, etc.)