There may not be an exact right time to say “I love you” — but how do you respond to someone who says the words when you’re not ready to say them back? A late night AskReddit thread from yesterday asked just that. And of course I read it, because obviously the best place to go for relationship advice is a whole bunch of people sitting at their computers at two in the morning. Or something.
OK so technically the thread asked, “What’s a nice way to respond to ‘I love you’ without saying it back?”, but let’s face it: There isn’t really one. Some responses are more entertaining than others, though; furthermore, if you have the kind of relationship where you don’t need to verbally say the words to show that you do, in fact, love your partner, sometimes the best answers are the more creative ones.
So, the next time someone tells you that they love you, here are 10 alternate responses you can pull out of your back pocket in any situation :
1. The “Surely Not!”
Of course, then you might have to deal with a situation like this:
Awwwwwwwkard.
2. The “Boop!”
I’d like to take this moment to note that this redditor goes by a name eerily similar to a certain other Carlos Danger I could mention…
3. The Prim and Proper
There’s a time and a place for everything.
4. The “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”
Not going to lie: The misuse of “hear” instead of “here” kind of takes the romance out of this one for me because I am a grammar freak. But it’s the thought that counts, right?
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5. The Han Solo
For reference:
6. The Bullet Dodge
Ah, the old purposefully-misunderstood trick…
7. The Lady and the Tramp
I’m not really sure how you’d manage this if you didn’t actually happen to be sharing a plate of spaghetti and meatballs right at that moment, but never say never, I guess?
8. The Smooch
This is definitely an acceptable answer.
9. The Seinfeld
There’s a Seinfeld quote for every occasion.
Or, if you don’t love the person back and you know it, you could just go with…
10. The Truth
Honesty is still often the best policy.
