I’m in my 30s now and I’m starting to wonder if love is really real. Not only have I seen close friends and family be cheated on, I’ve been cheated on as well. It doesn’t seem to matter anymore. It seems like a romantic partner just can’t be trusted.
First off, I want to say—I see you. I hear the exhaustion in your words. I hear the pain. And I hear the deep, deep loneliness that comes from having your trust shattered over and over again. When the people you love betray you, it shakes the very foundation of how you see the world. It makes you question whether love is even real or if it’s just some cruel joke society plays on us.
But here’s the truth: Love is real. It’s just that love—real, deep, steady, meaningful love—is rare. And it’s hard.
I don’t mean the kind of love you see in movies, where two people just know they’re meant to be and everything magically works out. I mean the kind of love that is built over time. The kind of love that’s chosen, fought for, and protected by two people who are committed to each other, even when things get tough.
And yeah—some people betray that. Some people lie. Some people cheat. Some people are so broken that they sabotage the best things in their lives. But that’s them, not love itself. Their failure doesn’t make love a lie. It just means they weren’t capable of holding onto it.
Right now, your heart is bruised. It’s exhausted. You’ve seen too much, and you don’t want to be the fool who believes in something just to get burned again. I get that. But I also want you to ask yourself: Who do you want to be?
Do you want to be the person who lets the worst people in your life define what’s possible for you? Do you want to let the liars and the cheaters be the ones who tell you how the world works?
Or do you want to be the person who chooses to believe that real, honest, faithful love exists—and then fights like hell to create it when you find it?
I can’t promise you that love won’t hurt again. Loving another person will always be a risk. But the alternative—living in a world where you shut yourself off from trust, connection, and intimacy—is even worse.
So, for now, take a breath. Mourn what you’ve lost. But don’t let the heartbreak of the past steal the love that could be waiting for you in the future. Keep your heart open, but be wise. Choose better next time. And when you find someone who is worth it, be someone who is worthy of love too.
You got this.