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New love is almost like a drug the way that it takes over our emotions and alters our behavior. There’s the excitement of meeting a new person that still lingers accompanied by the curiosity that drives one to explore and learn all that there is to possibly know about their new love interest. The late-night phone calls, the constant need to be in one another’s presence, the butterflies, the feelings of being on cloud nine, the adrenaline rush experienced each time you realize that you have a message from your significant other, the giddiness and so on are all emotions and behaviors associated with new love and new relationships. The feeling of having your emotions intertwined with someone new whom you find yourself to be compatible with is euphoric and exhilarating. You see your partner through rose-colored sunglasses and they can do no wrong. While this is an absolutely beautiful phase in a relationship, the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t last forever. Not all of these feelings and behaviors cease as the relationship continues to grow, but studies have shown that the “head-over-heels” sensation tends to become less intense over time.

So, what happens when you are no longer seeing your partner through those rose colored glasses and reality acts as a pair of 3D Acuvue contact lenses giving you  a 20/20 view of your partner, good, bad, and indifferent? What happens when the fairy tale fades and real life kicks in? What happens when the thrill of conquering something new is no longer present? Well, one of two things can happen. The couple either loves one another through their best as well as their worst or they decide that the relationship is not worth it and they part ways. The reality of a relationship is that it is something that two people must work at if they want it to thrive and flourish. Sadly, everyone is not willing to put forth the effort which is why one week you will see that infamous Facebook status updated: John Doe and Jane Doe are now in a relationship, followed by a host of cute photos and status updates filled with love proclamations. A few months later you log on to see Jane Doe went from being ‘in a relationship’ to ‘single’ and you think to yourself “Woah, I wonder what happened. They seemed so happy.” A question that many people in relationships should ask themselves is “When the newness fades what will we have left?”

There are four different types of love that a human can experience which include Storge- an affectionate kind of love often shared between family members, Philia- a love that comes as a result of a strong bond between friends, Eros – the form of love that many know as romance or intimacy and is commonly associated with being “head-over-heels”, and Agape- an unconditional love. In most cases they start off in the Eros phase, however it should gradually mature into Agape. Any relationship solely based on Eros love will fail. Theories suggest that if a relationship never reaches Agape love it cannot thrive, which makes perfect sense. Agape love is the glue that holds a couple together. When life becomes more demanding and pressures begin to swell, unconditional or Agape love is absolutely crucial to the survival of a relationship. It is what gets you through those rough patches and difficult seasons.

In order for a healthy relationship to last all four types of love should be present. As a result of the four present loves will come patience, dedication, respect, fidelity, communication, generosity, honesty, willingness to change. Strong relationships don’t just “happen”. They are formed when two people make a conscious decision to work at it and love one another unconditionally.

Jazmine Denise is a New York City based Lifestyle & Relationship writer. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise.

If you hadn’t noticed by now, Tyler Perry looks out for his people, and one of those new people is Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina. There were rumors going around that Bobbi had had some sort of meltdown and walked off the set of Tyler’s show, “For Better or For Worse,” which he recently gave her a role on, and after word got back to TP, he shut it down with the quickness.

Here’s what he wrote on his personal website:

I woke up this morning to my publicist calling me saying that there were reports that Bobbi Kristina walked off the set of “For Better Or Worse”. NOT TRUE AT ALL PEOPLE!!! There is no way that she could have walked off the set because we have finished taping the season.

After Whitney’s funeral, Krissi and I spent a long time talking about her goals and dreams. She said she wanted to act. That’s when I decided to write her into “For Better Or Worse”. I thought that there would be no better way for me to help her move through the grieving than by giving her something to focus on. The one thing that I learned after my mother’s death is that you have to keep busy and you have to be around people who you can trust, so that when you do grieve you can do it in the safety and privacy of people that care.

Were there tough days for her? Yes of course. Not because of the actng or any job-related issues but because of the fact that she had just lost her mother. And being someone who knows about losing their mother, I know grief comes in different ways and you never know when it’s going to hit you or how it’s going to hit you, for that matter. Some days you’re smiling and happy and some days you’re so broken that you can’t stop crying. So yes she was grieving, but grief aside, she managed to finish her obligation and did a great job at the same time.

So please… PLEASE LEAVE THIS BABY ALONE!!!! AND SHE IS A BABY!!! Please stop the lies and give this child some room to breathe and grieve.

IF IT WAS YOUR CHILD WOULDN’T YOU WANT THAT?

Truth be told, somebody needed to say it, especially when neither Bobbi’s daddy nor Pat or Gary or Cissy have really had Bobbi Kristina’s back when it comes to tabloid rumors and drama. And even if she did have some sort of meltdown, I don’t think that would be totally unexpected in the short months since her mother’s passing. Folks better listen to Tyler.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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In case you’ve been sitting under a rock or something and hadn’t noticed, TBS has a brand new show “For Better or Worse”

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Based on the film Why Did I Get Married, Tyler Perry’s new television dramedy For Better or Worse is scheduled to premiere on TBS Friday, November 25 at 10:00 p.m. And, it just may be worth watching for the Mr. Brown-hating crowd. In an effort to reach a younger audience, the cast features a set of upwardly mobile, educated, well-to-do black folks.

The ensemble is led by Michael Jai White and Tasha Smith, who reprise their roles as Marcus and Angela, still struggling to get beyond their past. Like real married couples, they have baggage; but, instead of running to court, they choose to work through their issues. Within a culture desensitized to divorce, the authentic (otherwise known as dysfunctional) portrayal of marriage is refreshing. Each person is forced to grow and, in their journeys of personal development, the audience sees different dimensions of their personalities. Angela exhibits a more discerning and demure side, and we see Marcus is made up of more than brawn. In fact, Tasha Smith called his character “… a real black man, with restraint” at a recent event for the show I attended.

Not to be mistaken for a stale series of lessons, one of the producers tells us you can also count on Marcus and Angela to bring the funny.