Build the trust, respect and love in your relationship and build a relationship that lasts forever.

Trust, respect, and love are the essential ingredients of a happy and healthy marriage.  

Without them, your relationship will crumble under the weight of insecurity, resentment, and indifference.  

But how do you build trust, respect, and love in your relationship? How do you maintain them over time?  

And how do you repair them if they are broken?  

Below I will explore these questions and provide some practical tips and strategies to help you strengthen the foundation of your marriage. 

Why Trust, Respect, and Love are the Foundation of a Happy Relationship 

Trust, respect, and love are not just feelings or emotions that you experience in your relationship.  

They are also attitudes and behaviors that you express and demonstrate to your partner every day.  

They are the foundation of a happy relationship because they: 

• Create a safe and supportive environment where you can be yourself and grow as a person. 
• Foster a strong and lasting bond that can withstand the challenges and changes of life. 
• Enhance your communication and understanding of each other’s needs, feelings, and desires. 
• Increase your intimacy and satisfaction in both physical and emotional aspects. 
• Inspire you to appreciate, admire, and celebrate each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and uniqueness. 

• Motivate you to work together as a team and achieve your shared goals and dreams. 

Trust, respect, and love are interrelated and interdependent.  

You cannot have one without the others.  

For example, you cannot trust someone who does not respect you or your boundaries.  

You cannot respect someone who does not love you or your values.  

And you cannot love someone who does not trust you or your intentions. Therefore, you need to build trust, respect, and love simultaneously and consistently in your relationship. 

How to Build Trust in Your Relationship

Trust is the belief that your partner is honest, faithful, reliable, and has your best interests at heart.  

Trust is the glue that holds your relationship together and allows you to feel safe and secure with each other.  

Trust is also the basis of intimacy, as it enables you to share your thoughts, feelings, and desires without fear of judgment or rejection. 

But trust isn’t something that just happens, it has to be fostered and nurtured while we go through life’s experiences together.

In fact, research has shown that as we have to go through experiences and even stresses with our partner, trust and even sexual attraction builds.

To build trust in your relationship, you need to: 

• Be honest:  

Honesty is the best policy when it comes to trust.  

Don’t lie, cheat, or hide anything from your partner.  

Be transparent and open about your actions, decisions, and motivations.  

If you make a mistake, admit it and apologize sincerely.  

If you have a problem, talk about it and seek a solution together. 

• Be consistent:  

Consistency is the key to reliability.  

Don’t make promises you can’t keep or change your mind frequently. 

Follow through on your words and actions.  

Show up when you say you will and do what you say you will do. Be predictable in a good way. 

• Be respectful:  

Respect is the foundation of trust.  

Don’t violate your partner’s privacy or independence.  

Don’t do immature things like spy on them or check their phone or email without their permission.  

Don’t gossip about them or criticize them behind their back.  

Treat them as an equal partner and value their opinions and preferences. 

• Be supportive:  

Support is the expression of trust.  

Don’t judge or blame your partner for their mistakes or failures.  

Instead, try to validate their feelings or concerns.  

Don’t compete with them or compare them to others.  

Help them when they need it and encourage them when they struggle.  

Celebrate their achievements and compliment their efforts. 

By reciprocating the trust we are shown, we build up our partner just as they have built up their trust in us.

• Be loyal:  

Loyalty is proof of trust.  

Don’t betray or hurt your partner intentionally or unintentionally and when you do, make it right by taking responsibility and acknowledging what you’ve done.  

Don’t flirt with or even entertain advances from other people while you are in a committed relationship.  

Never share intimate details of your relationship with others without your partner’s consent.  

Always try to build up your partner in other’s eyes, talk about the good they do. 

Related: Rediscover your partner’s love language and grow your love deeper

Download a free HD pdf copy of the infographic here.

How to Build Respect Between Both of You 

Respect is the recognition that your partner is a unique and valuable person who deserves dignity and consideration.  

Respect is the bridge that connects you with your partner and allows you to appreciate and admire each other.  

Respect is also the basis of friendship, as it enables you to enjoy each other’s company and have fun together. 

To build respect in your relationship, you need to: 

• Be attentive:  

Attentiveness is a sign of respect.  

Listen, don’t ignore or interrupt your partner when they are talking to you.  

Show interest and curiosity in their thoughts and stories.  

Remember and recall their likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, dreams and goals. 

• Be appreciative:  

Appreciation is the expression of respect.  

It’s easy to focus on someone’s shortcomings but all that does is tear them down. 

Instead, build them up by showing appreciation for the good things they do and their successes.  

Thank them for their contributions and efforts.  

Acknowledge and celebrate their uniqueness and individuality. 

• Be courteous:  

Courtesy is the demonstration of respect.  

Nobody wants to be mocked or belittled and doing so in a relationship tears down our partner and the life we are building. 

Instead try to praise their good behaviors that you want to encourage. 

Don’t make fun of or belittle their opinions or preferences.  

And most importantly, apologize when you are wrong and accept their apologies when they are wrong. 

• Be considerate:  

Consideration is the manifestation of respect.  

Consideration of our partner is when we show deference to them and their preferences. 

It’s allowing them to give their say in things about the relationship and giving their say an equal weight and value to our own wants and needs.  

Think about how your actions and words affect them.  

Respect their boundaries and preferences and in those times of disagreement, try to compromise and accommodate them. 

How to Build a Love That Never Fades

Love is the feeling that your partner is the most important person in your life and that you want to share your life with them.  

Love is the bond that unites you with your partner and allows you to care for and cherish each other.  

Love is also the basis of happiness, as it enables you to experience joy and fulfillment in your relationship. 

To build love in your relationship, you need to: 

• Be expressive:  

Expression is the language of love.  

Don’t hide or suppress your feelings for your partner.  

Think of how it makes you feel when you see your partner showing their love for you.  

It feels great, it fills up our hearts.  

Give your partner that same feeling. 

Never assume they know how you feel because if they aren’t being shown your love, they aren’t going to feel your love. 

Tell them you love them every day and in different ways.  

• Be romantic:  

Romance is the spice of love.  

It’s like the flavorings that make our relationship something special and unique. 

Real life happens and it’s easy for us to fall into ruts and routines where our relationship can stagnate. 

But we have to continuously put in the energy to build romance in our relationships.  

And this can be fun and easy to do. 

Keep dating, just because you have been together doesn’t mean the fun stops. 

Never stop taking each other out, seeking new experiences and growing as a couple. 

• Be playful:  

Playfulness is the fun of love.  

Don’t take yourself or your relationship too seriously all the time because when we do it’s like a weight slowing down the growth we could be having. 

Fun experiences bring us closer; they build up the foundations of our love.  

Never worry about what others will think of you being playful or romantic with your partner. 

Grab, kiss, hug, snuggle and do it in public so that your partner knows you are not afraid to show your love for them to the world. 

Being playful is especially important if you are going through a rough patch in your relationship and want to reignite the intimacy.

Trust love and respect are the 3 pillars of a healthy relationship 

Without all 3 being fostered and nurtured we don’t have a relationship at all. 

Without trust, we can never truly be secure in our feelings and feel emotionally safe within our relationship. 

Without respect, we can never feel truly appreciated for who we are and what we bring into the relationship. 

And without love, there is nothing to refuel the relationship and to refill our hearts. 

But by embracing these pillars and by nurturing our partners with trust, respect and love, we can build our relationship into something greater. 

We can turn our relationship into a happy marriage that lasts a lifetime.