3 Easy Ways to Make Her Want You—Right Now

Keeping the flame ignited in a long-term relationship isn’t about tantra or buying her new lingerie (though those may not hurt either).

Instead, the secret to lasting sexual desire is something called responsiveness, researchers say.

Great! So…what the heck is that?

That’s when you show your partner that you value them—that you understand and appreciate their needs and support their goals, says study author Gurit Birnbaum, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel.

How to Fix a Boring Marriage

After the wedding, lots of couples can feel a letdown, and they begin to get bored, says Rachel A. Sussman, L.C.S.W., author of The Breakup Bible.

“The excitement of dating has passed, the excitement of falling in love has passed, the excitement of the engagement and the wedding has passed, then it gets stale,” she says.

Here’s what it means if your relationship is going dull—and how to get out of a rut without breaking up.

5 Fights Every Happy Couple Should Have

Whether you’re in the throes of newlywed bliss or you’re creeping toward your 20th wedding anniversary, one thing is for sure: You and your wife are bound to have a few heated fights along the way.

But flare-ups aren’t necessarily a bad thing. “Some arguing is necessary in a relationship,” says NYC-based marriage and family therapist Jane Greer, Ph.D.

“If you never make it clear that you disagree with one another, then the anger and resentment go underground and come out in retaliatory behaviors, which can weaken your relationship,” she says.

9 Ways Experts Can Tell If Your Relationship Is Going to Survive

Every couple argues, has dry spells, and hits a rough patch sooner or later. If you’re in the middle of one right now, you might be wondering: “Is my relationship going to make it?”

While there’s no guarantee that any relationship will work, couples therapists say these nine signs indicate that yours will survive.

1. YOU HAVE FUN TOGETHER
“The skills couples need to keep intimacy alive in a long-term relationship aren’t obvious because people don’t talk about them,” says Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D., psychotherapist and author of Money, Sex and Kids: Stop Fighting about the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage.

“Most couples need to lower their expectations of romance and glamour and raise the level of fun they have together,” she says. This means having regular dates and check-in talks, plus taking time to enjoy activities together.

6 Things You Should Do With Your Wife As Soon As You Wake Up

When your alarm goes off, the first thing you probably think of is your to-do list: Get the kids ready for school. Pick up your dry cleaning. Turn in that presentation to your boss.

But there’s one major thing you’re probably forgetting: the person right next to you.

Sure, you think about your partner. You send each other texts throughout the day, and you both put in the effort for an occasional date night. But do you actually take the time every day to truly pause and connect?

The morning is the perfect time for this—not only because what you do first thing can set the tone for the rest of the day, but because you haven’t already gotten bogged down with other responsibilities.