The secret garden of Love, a place everyone dreams about living inside happily as Adam and Eve. Somebody is still searching for the key to open its front gate; somebody falls in love crazily at first sight, but gets crushed and burned after flames fade away, while thousands of others are inside this secret garden now to discover the meaning of love. What kind of love do you have? According to Sternberg's Triangular Love Theory, he identifies passion, intimacy, and commitment as three important components of love. Eight different forms of love are classified, depending on how these three components present in a relationship. The eight different types of love are pictured below

 Every triangle will not be the same due to different degrees of passion, intimacy, and commitment in your love. Passion concerns romantic feelings, physical attraction, and sexual desires. Intimacy involves the emotion of being bonded with another person. It needs mutual understanding, support, sharing, and soul mating. Commitment indicates a decision to love and stay with another person no matter what difficulties may happen. Now check out your own love type.

Non-love – The feeling we have for casual acquaintances.

Liking – Friendship, which only contains intimacy without having sexual desire or deeper commitments.

Infatuation – “Love at first sight” is the best example of infatuation. This type of love is dangerous, because passion is the only component in a relationship. Oftentimes, infatuated couples would hold fantasy or idealized image of love and the beloved. As long as the passion’s gone, the relationship will break up. “One night stand” is classified in this love, too.

Empty love – A dormant relationship without passion and intimacy, or an arranged marriage. Commitment is the only reason to maintain a relationship, so it is considered to be “empty.” However, many of these relationships begin with passion and intimacy, but when they fade away, commitment is the only thing left. This can be applied to many couples, married or unmarried.

Romantic love – “Romeo& Juliet’s love,” which is often in romance films. This is a fulfilling relationship, which is a “potential” consummate love. Passion and intimacy are main part of a couple’s love, but for some reasons, commitment hasn’t included in their relationship.

Companionate love – A long relationship, experienced by two persons who have intimacy and commitment but lack passion. This often happens in marriage, when passion has dimmed, this relationship still can last healthily. 

Fatuous love – A relationship mushrooms in a short time. Passion is abundance in this couple, and they are eager to give commitment to each other before having a great deal of intimacy. The ending usually leads to empty love or break up. 

Consummate love – The most perfect and idealistic love everyone wants to achieve eagerly. However, it is not an easy job to maintain passion, intimacy, and commitment in a relationship for a long term. That’s why so many people dream about it, but only few make it come true.