It’s a classic story: You meet someone, feel butterflies, and start pondering a future, whether it’s Friday’s dinner or next year’s proposal. You’re pretty sure you’re falling in love—or are you? However strong the feeling, it can be tough to decipher whether it’s grounded in something real or something more fleeting. After all, plenty of things can look and feel like love. Lust, for example. Or infatuation. Or toxic love bombing. And even if it does seem like 100% genuine Love, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is.
Disclaimer: In the 1950s and 1960s, falling in love was often understood as the first step toward marriage and family life. Romance was closely tied to stability and social approval, with love seen as the gateway to building a household. A woman who fell in love was expected to marry young, while a man was expected to provide and protect. These gender roles were rarely questioned, and most stories about love—from films to advertisements—reinforced the idea that a woman’s fulfillment came through being chosen by the right man.
