I’m not a fan of love stories.
I realize this sounds odd coming from someone who teaches people how make others fall in love with them, but stay with me for a moment here.
The most famous, beloved love stories of all time all end in the death of one or both of the lovers. Tristian and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, Oliver Barrett and Jenny Cavalleri, Jack and Rose, Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, even modern books like John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars focuses on the tragedy of loss like a literary cheat code to make the love more poignant.

Meanwhile the love stories that don’t end in death tend to end with “and then they got together”. We get some final confirmation of their (implied) happily ever after – a wedding, an ironic repeat of dialogue from earlier in the story, something – and then the screen fades and the credits roll. It’s all very sweet… but we’re fetishizing the early days of love, when it’s all fresh and new and exciting. We rarely see a celebration of an old love – one that has withstood the test of time and has only been made stronger.
Which is why the love story I truly appreciate is the story of Gomez and Morticia Addams. When they were introduced to television the 60s they stood out in stark contrast from other couples – even ones in modern day sitcoms – as a pair who truly loved one another and have for a long time. In fact, whether in the 60s era sitcom or the movies from the 90s, Gomez and Morticia are, in many ways, the perfect couple… and many couples could learn how to make love last by following their example.