The Rules of Love, 3rd Edition

RULE 68

You don’t both have to have the same rules

We’re all different, and if your partner was a clone of you it would be very strange, not to say mildly worrying. And if they’re different from you, they’re obviously going to need different rules. That’s rules with a small ‘r’. Of course it’s different for the Rules in this book, along with others that are so universally accepted I haven’t included them (don’t hurt each other, don’t murder each other’s family members, don’t keep alligators in the marital bed). But the day-to-day rules or principles you both operate by don’t have to be the same for both of you.

That’s fair. After all, what’s unfair is making one partner work to a rule that doesn’t suit them and isn’t needed, just because it ...