The 7 Types of Love Relationships You Should Know About
Dive into the world of love relationships and understand their unique purposes.
Seven kinds of love relationships exist. The one you attract represents the inner work performed and the lessons you’ve learned.
The 7 Types of Love Relationships (And How to Know Which One You’re In)
Relationships become confusing when emotions blind us to their true purpose. Deep attachment can force you to stay in a relationship meant to end a long time ago, and pride can make you walk away from a person who’s actually your soulmate. At some point in your relationship, you’ll ask yourself, “Why is this person in my life?”
That answer depends on the type of relationship you’re in. Seven kinds of love relationships exist, each serving a unique purpose to your evolution. The one you attract represents the amount of inner work you’ve performed, the lessons you’ve learned, and the timing of your life. Reflect on your own relationship as you learn about the seven types to reveal where your love really stands:
Love Relationships #1 – Transitory Relationships
A transitory relationship acts as a bridge between two phases of evolution, enacting change or easing transitions. For example, such a relationship can teach a person their first lessons in love, or it may aid someone in coping with separation, loss, or divorce until they heal and feel ready to embark on a new, long-term commitment.
Transitory relationships are marked by desire, physical chemistry, excitement, and adventure but lack dedication and authenticity. Instead, they mostly involve a love of the five senses. Such relationships often commence when a person is vulnerable or after a serious relationship ends. The partners in this kind of relationship generally don’t become too attached and can let go of each other without much trouble. No serious sacrifices or advancements are made in a transitory relationship.
This type of relationship is almost always temporary but serves a greater purpose in gently pushing a person from one chapter of life to the next. The relationship typically fizzles out once they evolve and are left behind. If you find yourself in a transient relationship, know it is necessary, but only for now. Unless genuine emotions arise, your relationship will conclude at the right moment. Don’t expect devotion and undying loyalty, or you may become discouraged. Simply allow it to run its predestined course. Try not to stress or overthink things; just have fun! This is your time to enjoy yourself and the person in your life until a better opportunity appears on your path.
Love Relationships #2 – Toxic Relationships
A toxic relationship is like trying to mix oil and water; you can stir them as much as you’d like, but the two substances will never blend. It’s the most problematic of the seven because it operates at the lowest energy. You might ask why anyone would stay in a relationship that’s plagued by constant bickering and never-ending arguments, but you’d be surprised to learn what habit makes of us. Toxic relationships occur when two people who are simply not meant to be together try to defy all odds. On top of the partners being utterly incompatible, their relationship turns sour because they refuse to do their work. By being careless, negligent, and inconsistent, even two people who match well can turn a relationship toxic.
Neither partner in this type of relationship feels good or at peace. Even if the relationship is more toxic for one person than the other, both partners will feel a nagging sense of unease. Disputes over little things identify toxic relationships. The partners will turn defensive, if not downright hostile, toward each other, one constantly misinterpreting what the other says and does. For example, one partner could put away the dishes, and the other would charge him for putting them in the wrong cabinet. Bigger issues are usually also at play, such as cheating, manipulation, withholding, or abuse. Small and large differences characterize a toxic relationship; it’s never just one matter. Ironically, the partners return to each other at the end of the day, sometimes like nothing happened; they’ve become dependent on their pernicious bond. Because no work is being done to resolve the many problems, the next day delivers the same disasters.
This relationship will eventually end, most likely because each partner will have reached his or her limit. Escaping from such a relationship is the best thing that could happen for both partners because it frees them to seek more normal and compatible companionships.
Love Relationships #3 – Stagnant Relationships
A stagnant relationship can start off great and steadily expand until it meets a plateau it can’t get past. Such is the defining feature of this type of relationship: hitting a brick wall that makes everything stop in its tracks. It’s not necessarily that the partners did anything wrong or that they’re not performing the right work, like in a toxic relationship, but that the relationship has reached its capacity. At that point, it cannot get any further. Think about what happens to a body of water, such as a pond that doesn’t flow: it becomes infested with bacteria. So, a relationship must also stream forward with momentum and clarity, or it risks becoming lifeless.
Stagnant relationships are prevalent. I am frequently visited by clients who state their relationship was chugging along smoothly until it hit a bump in the road that caused it to come to a grinding halt. One client recently reported that she had been dating a great guy with whom she got along well but that several circumstances prevented them from moving in together: either he had to move from his apartment or his daughter from a previous marriage needed a place to stay, preventing my client from moving in. The relationship was never able to overcome this hitch and died out. Another client stated that she had met a wonderful man online who lived overseas. The two chatted daily and felt a mutual, growing affinity for one another, but seeing each other was next to impossible: the pandemic hit, and after a year of talking over a screen without a meeting, the couple decided to date people they could actually see face-to-face. These are just two of many examples of how a relationship can become stagnant.
If the obstacle truly can’t be surmounted, then the relationship will come to a close. The timing depends on how long either partner wants to hold on to the other despite being unable to take steps in the right direction. If you find yourself in a stagnant relationship, you’ll have to evaluate this for yourself: how long can you stand by without making progress? Even if it drags on for a while, a static relationship will sooner or later dissipate.
Love Relationships #4 – Compromise Relationships
A compromise relationship is the most common of the seven types. It occurs when two people form a union based on an arrangement of comfort, such as financial stability or social standing. Many relationships that are meant to end continue because both partners have become so used to each other that they find it difficult to part ways. In short, they settle for one other. They may share a house and children, making them feel obliged to stay together despite not feeling fulfilled or fully in love. Relationships based on compromise keep us stuck in a comfort zone. It is crucial to your well-being to evaluate whether you’re truly satisfied with your partner or merely comfortable.
Being in a compromise relationship can become stultifying and downright boring; most result in one or both partners straying outside for romance, excitement, and love. Ultimately, most also result in divorce or separation simply because the perks of comfort can’t compare to a genuine connection. In my practice, I often hear my patients declare that their spouse is a great parent to their children and provider for their family, but they know their relationship is a compromise deep down. They can feel this truth in their hearts but dismiss their intuition. The defining quality of a compromise relationship is that one or both partners feel complacent but not complete.
This type of relationship can be complimentary, but more in terms of advancing in the physical world: generating income, buying properties, raising kids, and so on. Each partner follows specific roles and contributes to the success of the couple’s mutual goals. In terms of a relationship that’s based on arrangement, it is the free will of either partner to remain or separate. I’ve seen compromise relationships that have lasted a lifetime because neither partner wanted to let go of the other.
If you find yourself in a compromised relationship, know that the decision to stay or go is your own. However, if you crave a love that will nourish you deeply and wholly, you owe it to yourself to seek your soulmate (yes, you have one!). No matter how comfortable you are or what material gains you’ve made, it is your birthright to give and receive unconditional love.
Love Relationships #5 – Complimentary Relationships
A complimentary relationship is stronger than a compromising relationship but is a step down from a soulmate bond. Complimentary relationships are harmonious and uplifting in nature, with each partner balancing the other physically, emotionally, and mentally. Of course, they can still share mutual interests like finances, but a special spark in this type of relationship is not present in a compromise. Complimentary relationships are usually for the long term or lifelong; they generally remain consistent and don’t diminish over time like transitory, toxic, or stagnant ones.
Those who are in this kind of relationship will still experience their share of problems. Because there is no smooth sailing in relationships, the partners in a complimentary relationship can still fight over little things, disagree on fundamental matters, and split up if they’re not mindful. Unlike karmic relationships, which are dictated by an action that has to take place, there is plenty of room for free will in complementary relationships. This means the partners should regard their relationship as a blank canvas: although you are a great match, the relationship will be what you make of it. Water it, and it will bloom. Neglect it, and it will wither away. Even though it will take a lot to destroy this bond, its integrity can still be broken.
The partners in this relationship can make beautiful things happen if they know each other. They can travel the world, raise a happy family, and make lasting memories, among other things. They can even run a successful business together even though they don’t quite fit like two pieces of a puzzle (like a soulmate relationship). The partners in this relationship will feel a substantial pull toward one another. Complimentary relationships remind us that our choices can be just as powerful as the hand of destiny in shaping the course of a relationship.
Love Relationships #6 – Karmic Relationships
A karmic relationship is like a stage play: it involves some sort of plot that must unfold within the relationship, such as breaking behavioral patterns or cycles of events. This type of relationship denotes past lives shared by two partners, hence a strong feeling of familiarity or “knowing” this person from somewhere. Two souls that have passed through certain experiences together will find each other again to close what was left open.
A karmic relationship is almost always described as intense: when it’s good, it’s great, and when it’s bad, it’s awful! But there’s instant magnetism from the beginning, and the person is simply irresistible to you. This relationship can be prone to disagreements as the two souls try to find solutions to old problems. They may also feel a deep-seated desire to be dutiful or sacrificial for one another, sensing the need to cooperate to reach higher ground. Regardless, those in karmic relationships are guaranteed to learn a lot of necessary lessons, both as a couple and as individuals.
After the karma is settled, however, the relationship may come to an end because its role has been rendered. Sometimes, karmic partners can also be soulmates. If they are, the relationship will endure beyond the completion of the karma. Karmic relationships are enriching, progressive, and enlightening, whether temporary or long-term. If you find yourself in a karmic relationship, you have attracted a soul you knew before. Try to pinpoint the reason why this person is in your life once more: what is it that you must resolve, enact, or change in yourself, in each other, or with each other? For example, maybe your partner hurt you in a past life, and now he or she must make it up to you by helping you in other ways. Or, maybe you had children with this person in a previous lifetime and reunited to start a family again. Karmic relationships are powerful and passionate and can be tremendously positive once you grasp the transcendent nature of karma.
Love Relationships #7 – Soulmate Relationships
A soulmate relationship is a one-of-a-kind bond reaching deeper than physical or emotional levels. Soulmate relationships are far and few, but when they do occur, they often last the test of time. This kind of relationship is marked by a profound connection between two people, one that may even be difficult to convey. Soulmates just get each other: they can finish each other’s sentences, are best friends as well as lovers, and share an “us against the world” mentality.
When two soulmates have found each other, the feeling is likened to two pieces of a puzzle that align perfectly. First, soulmates can’t wait to come home to their significant other after a long day, and they may even be linked telepathically, one partner sensing what the other feels, needs, and fears at all times. They never tire of one another and can work and play together because of how well they complement each other; one elevates the other in thought, potential, and ability. Perhaps most importantly, soulmates are on parallel paths, and their lives and perceptions evolve in the same direction over time. Thus, the relationship is spared petty arguments and bursts with compromise and compassion. This is not to say that soulmates won’t stumble into problems along the course of their journey, but that they’ll be able to resolve their issues more easily than couples who aren’t bound by soulful ties. Very few things in this world can break up two soulmates because their connection is otherworldly. Soulmates can also have mutual karma to work on, but unlike in a karmic relationship, they won’t sever ties once their past-life business is finished.
If you find yourself in a soulmate relationship, congratulations! This is the purest, highest, and most unconditional relationship type. Be thankful for your union because many people wish they could meet their heart’s other half. Be as involved in your relationship as possible and dismiss insignificant problems from the outside world. Together, you are a sublime force. Treasure your partner and take joy in every moment by his or her side, knowing that your souls have finally reunited.
It can be difficult to disentangle our emotional knots and understand the core function of a relationship. However, detaching ourselves from our feelings just enough to assess the authenticity of a relationship can make a world of difference in the quality of love we give and gain.
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About the Author
Dr. Carmen Harra is a household name at OMTimes, and her influence extends far beyond as she clinched the prestigious Ommie Award for 2022’s Most Influential People. This accolade is just one testament to her remarkable career as an accomplished author, writer, radio show host, and TV personality on OMTimes.
Carmen Harra’s journey to becoming a world-renowned intuitive psychologist and relationship expert is as fascinating as it is inspiring. Her early fame as a singing sensation in Europe set the stage for a life filled with unexpected twists and turns. She originally traveled to America for a singing engagement, but destiny had other plans for her. In the United States, she encountered the love of her life, leading her to decide to stay.
In this new chapter of her life, Carmen boldly reinvented her career trajectory. She embarked on a path of profound self-discovery, eventually earning a Ph.D. in Psychology. Her transformation was nothing short of remarkable, and she quickly emerged as a leading expert in her field.
One of Carmen’s pivotal moments came in 1998 when she began writing her first book, “Everyday Karma.” She knew this book would become an international sensation, transcending borders and languages with translations in over 20 countries. Carmen’s unique insights into human nature and spirituality struck a chord with readers worldwide.
For the past 28 years, Carmen has dedicated herself to helping over 40,000 individuals rediscover inner peace, reclaim their personal power, and rekindle the flames of joy in their lives. Her clients represent a diverse spectrum of society, ranging from ordinary individuals next door to Hollywood celebrities and prominent politicians. Carmen’s approach to transformation is nothing short of extraordinary.
What sets Carmen apart is her ability to blend the conventional with the mystical seamlessly. She combines tried-and-tested cognitive therapy techniques with ancient arts like numerology, mediumship, and an astonishing intuition. This fusion of approaches empowers her clients to achieve profound and lasting positive changes in their lives.
Dr. Carmen Harra’s impact on the world is immeasurable, as she inspires, guides, and uplifts those who seek her wisdom. Her journey from a European singing sensation to a world-renowned psychologist, bestselling author, and influential media personality is a testament to the power of reinvention, self-discovery, and the pursuit of one’s true calling. Carmen’s life and work are a beacon of hope and transformation for countless individuals worldwide.
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