I'm just wondering how important it is to actually say the words "I love you" in a romantic relationship. My boyfriend of 3+ years has never said them to me first, unless he is trying to make up with me after a fight. He's never said the words unsolicited, and I'm just not sure if this is signficant in terms of our relationship or it is just the way he is. At this point, I never say it either because I don't want to even force him to reply in kind if he doesn't think/feel to say it first. He can be a fairly detached, even aloof, person at times and I try to respect who he is. However, if he would be more inclined to express feelings of love in a different relationship, then that would be important for me to know. I've asked him about this in terms of past relationships and he says he's heard this complaint before. Could it be that he actually does not feel love or he just does not feel comfortable expressing it. If the former, I'm not sure whether to stay. If the latter, it's probably not that big a deal to me.