Safe and Healthy Relationships

A “boyfriend” or a “girlfriend” is one person that you have a special romantic relationship with. Usually, you only have one boyfriend or girlfriend at a time.

It takes time to get to know someone really well before becoming a boyfriend or girlfriend.

You might want to be in a romantic relationship with someone who does not want to be in one with you, or someone might be in love with you but you don’t feel the same way.

Some people choose to get married because they deeply love a person and want to be with them for the rest of their lives. Others stay together without being married because they love each other but are not interested in getting married.

Sometimes romantic relationships end and people’s feelings get hurt. Some people fall in love a lot and others don’t.

In romantic relationships, you may want to kiss, hug, hold hands, touch, and have sex with your partner. Not all romantic relationships are sexual. Not all sexual relationships are romantic. An intimate relationship is both romantic and sexual.

*There is more information about Romantic Relationships, Dating, and Sex in the next module.