Experts Reveal What It Means If Your Partner Says They Don't Love You

"When people say things such as 'I don't love you' that could be a way to unleash the hurt that they are experiencing in the moment and say it as a way to get back at their partner so that they can also hurt," Candice Cooper-Lovett, PhD, licensed marriage and family therapist, and owner of A New Creation Psychotherapy Services, LLC, tells Bustle.

According to her, it's a method of fighting that's ineffective and unhealthy. More often than not, you end up coming out of it more wounded than you were before. The best thing to do in this situation is to take a break from the argument and gather your thoughts. When you're both cooled off, Cooper-Lovett says it's important to have a conversation about what they really meant when they said they didn't love you.

It's painful to hear that your partner doesn't love you, even in a moment of anger. But as Rabbi Shlomo Slatkin, licensed clinical professional counselor and certified Imago Relationship Therapist, tells Bustle, try as much as you can to take it with a grain of salt. "When we're angry or reactive, we leave our rational brain and are in survival mode," Slatkin says. "Even though we may be extremely frustrated with the relationship, it may come out harsher than we intend." It's important to remember that feelings come and go. There may be some moments when you don't even like your partner. But as Slatkin says, "That doesn't necessarily define our true feelings." When things are calmer, tell your partner how their comment made you feel. If they look genuinely remorseful and they appologize, accept it. Chances are, they mean it.

When your partner says they don't love you, it can be a sign that they're emotionally immature. As Lesli Doares, couples consultant and coach, tells Bustle, "They don't know how to handle their emotions, so they give themselves permission to lash out. This is true of name calling and any other hurtful things they express when upset."

If this is the case, they likely developed a pattern and do this consistently. The reality is, you can only be understanding for so long. As Doares says, "It's perfectly acceptable to request that your partner alter how they act when they're upset."

It's also helpful to learn their triggers and try to avoid "emotionally charged interactions" as much as you can. This doesn't mean that you should avoid arguing at all. You just need to be more mindful when you're in the middle of a fight. If you feel like it's becoming too intense, it's OK to take a step back, cool off, and then finish your discussion later.

If your partner says mean things to you when they're angry, take note of how often this happens. As Christine Scott-Hudson, marriage and family therapist and owner of Create Your Life Studio, tells Bustle, you may be dealing with a toxic situation. "Verbal abuse is a repeating pattern of verbal attacks towards another person, including criticisms, insults, derogatory comments, sarcasm, and put-downs that systematically harms the recipient," she says.

Your partner repeatedly telling you that they don't love you, may be a form of emotional abuse. An emotional manipulator may even use this phrase as a way to control you and get you to do what they want. So it's important to be very aware of what you're dealing with. "The red flags you ignore in the beginning of your relationship will be the reasons for your relationship’s downfall," Scott-Hudson says. "If your partner is verbally, emotionally, or physically abusive, do not ignore the signs. You can't love them hard enough to change them." You may want to consider looking for help.

"A lot of times anger can be dangerous in relationships because we're acting on impulse," Cooper-Lovett says. So if your partner says they no longer love you or they want to break up during every bad fight, that should be cause for concern.

At this point it's become a pattern and it's hard to believe that there isn't any truth to it. Your partner may be afraid to say it, so they bottle it up and only let it out when they're mad. If this is the case, you have to make a decision about what you want to do. As Cooper-Lovett says, "If the person you're with doesn't love you or says it in moments of anger, my belief is that in anger we speak the truth and it's hard to take words back."

If you've talked about it before and nothing has changed, you may want to consider asking for help. A couples therapist can help your partner deal with their feelings in a healthy way or help you figure out where the "I don't love you" actually comes from.

Editor's Note: If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1(800) 799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org.