7 Lies The TV Has Fooled Us into Believing About Dating and Relationships

The love lies are all around us, all of the time. At the cinema, in celebrity gossip magazines, and on our TVs. If you use popular media as your yard stick, you are seriously over-estimating the power of love, and setting your standards far too high.

To help you get a much needed reality check, here are seven dating and relationship myths debunked.

1. Your Partner’s Love Is Unconditional

Marge and Homer Simpson (The Simpsons) are the perfect example of loyalty being taken just that little bit too far. No matter how many times he grinds donut crumbs into the sofa, or wipes his nose on the clean bathroom towels, Marge just keeps on loving her man. In reality, any man wallowing in this selfish, laziness would probably experience a swift boot up the backside, and a one time opportunity to grow up and start contributing to the running of the house.

2. It Is Possible To Escape The Friend Zone

Ross and Rachel (Friends) drifted in and out of the Friend Zone for their entire lives before finally settling together at the end of the last series. In reality, once that woman you are yearning after has known you for more than a year, started to confide in you about her love life, and asked your advice about outfits, you are firmly in the Friend Zone, from which there is no escape. Once you hear the words, ‘I love you like a brother’, there’s no hope.

3. If All Else Fails Marry Your Brother’s Best Friend

Rushing through your 30s, with no marriage proposal or baby in sight? No problem, simply marry your sibling’s best friend. It worked for Chandler and Monica (Friends) so what could possibly go wrong? There are two flaws to this unromantic backup life-plan. Firstly, if you have known each other for years, you will have by now entered the Friend Zone from which there is very little chance of escape (see above). Secondly, your relationship will always be tainted with a desperate ‘last chance saloon feeling’. If you’re starting to use your brother’s Facebook friend list like a free online dating site, you’re headed for trouble.

4. Men Are Totally Comfortable Sharing Their Hot Wives With Other Good Looking Men

Rory barely flinched whenever Amy left with The Doctor (Doctor Who) in his sporty-looking TARDIS. This absolute trust in his wife’s devotion left the door wide open for some extra-marital relations. Rory was a clever lad though, who quickly realised it was in his best interests to tag along for the ride.

5. When You Have At Last Found True Love, One Of You Will Die

Thanks for this cheery storyline Downton Abbey and Cold Feet. As if the journey to true love wasn’t hard enough for Matthew and Lady Mary, and Adam and Rachel, their romances met with a premature end after they were visited by the Grim Reaper.

6. You Will Find Love In High School

Blame Cory and Topanga (Boy Meets World), and Zack and Kelly (Saved By The Bell) for this. These sickeningly cute couples generated a gut-wrenching fear of perpetual singledom amongst adolescents across the US and UK. Rest assured, statistical evidence indicates that 12 is not the optimum age to settle down with your life partner.

7. You Can Fall In Love With Someone You Live With

Spoiler alert! In the latest season of New Girl, Jess and Nick fall in love. This is never going to happen in real life, as no sane woman will be able to see past the irritations of the milk being left on the worktop, pants scattered across the floor, and remnants of a morning’s shave splashed around the sink. These are not the ingredients for romance needed to turn a roommate into a real mate.