I think the definition of romantic shifts like crumbling castles in the sand – shaped by the delicate hands of age, experience, culture, and the time we’re living in. What once meant serenades under a window and handwritten letters now often translates to matching Spotify playlists and responding to 3 am text messages within 0.3 seconds.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m no expert on romance – but I think this generation has, to an extent, ruined the idea of romance (cool your jets, I’m part of this generation, I get to criticize it).

We’ve made romance into a performance. An aesthetic post on social media with a caption that reads “him 💞”. There’s no harm in celebrating your love online and being proud of the one you love. But these posts – often glorified or exaggerated – can set quixotic and unrealistic standards for romance.

Not every love story is romcom worthy, with two perfectly confident, flirty characters who propose with fireworks under a canopy of stars.

Real-life romance is quieter, more intimate. Maybe two awkward people learn to be comfortable around each other, or to make peace with the silence that comes in their conversations. It’s a playlist titled ‘Songs That Remind Me of You’ or watching the other person’s favourite series just to be able to talk about it with them.

It’s not in perfectly written, romantic notes – it could be a clumsy, inelegant card in scrawled handwriting or a cup of tea brewed exactly as you like it.

The point is, romance isn’t always poetic. It’s the personal aspects that make it, well, romantic.

So yes, maybe this generation has made romance a little noisier, a little flashier, a little too performative. But we’re still stumbling and learning. I think that quiet kind of love still exists beneath all the layers of filters and flashy texts.

You just have to know where to look…

Yours truly,
Divi