In the words of Pat Benatar and Jordin Sparks, love is a battlefield. No one knows this better than celebrities who have their relationships displayed for all to see in magazines and on the Internet. Who better to guide us in our never-ending quest for love? Check out these tips from celebrities on relationships and love. Who said celebrities were that different from us anyway?
If you’re in a romantic mood…
“Real true love is like that, where it just creeps up on you when you’re not expecting it … Love is a wonderful, complex, exciting and yet, a sometimes terrible thing. It will take you places that you didn’t know you could go inside yourself, and sometimes you get the gold, and sometimes you don’t. In love, ANYTHING is possible. Absolutely anything.” — Kate Winslet
“Sometimes, when we’re laying together, I look at her and I feel dizzy with the realization that here is another distinct person from me, who has memories, origins, thoughts, feelings that are different from my own. That tension between familiarity and mystery meshes something strong between us. Even if one builds a life together based on trust, attentiveness and mutual support, I think that it’s important that a partner continues to surprise.” — Barack Obama (on Michelle)
If you want to find humor in your relationship…
“Being married means I can [break wind] and eat ice cream in bed.” — Brad Pitt (on Angelina Jolie)
“He’s the funniest, smartest person I know. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t bug me and I’m sure I bug him sometimes.” — Sarah Jessica Parker (on Matthew Broderick)
“The best smell in the world is that man that you love.” — Jennifer Aniston (on Brad Pitt)
If you want to stick to what’s important in the relationship…
“Sometimes I think [my husband] is so amazing that I don’t know why he’s with me. I don’t know whether I’m good enough. But if I make him happy, then I’m everything I want to be.” — Angelina Jolie (on Brad Pitt)
“Trust is really important, just in relationships in general. I really don’t like people that aren’t real people around me at all. I don’t like people that are ‘yes’ people. I don’t like people that tell me what they think I want to hear.” — Beyonce Knowles
“I believe that when you’re in love you have to pour your heart and soul out to your partner… or why bother? So in that sense I’m an incurable romantic when it comes to men.” — Cameron Diaz
“You know it’s love when all you want is that person to be happy, even if you’re not part of their happiness.” — Julia Roberts
“Every good relationship, especially marriage, is based on respect. ?If it’s not based on respect, nothing that appears to be good will last very long.” ?— Amy Grant
“Being married you have to have a good sense of humor! It’s a very important part of my life, and my marriage.” — Kate Winslet (on former husband Sam Mendes)
“I know I would sacrifice anything for my boys [husband David and sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz], including my career, even though I also know that they would never ask me to.” — Victoria Beckham
“If you love someone, you want to treat them, surprise them, remind them how you feel, whether that means a weekend away somewhere, or a bowl of fruit in the morning laid out in the shape of a heart. I know Victoria thinks I’m romantic like that.” — David Beckham
“It [deciding whether or not to be in a relationship] takes a lot of time, commitment and a choice. I’ve chosen this path [being single], but it’s not to say I’m not open to love or whatever comes my way. You never close doors.” — Rachel McAdams
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If you’re trying to remain an individual in your relationship…
“I feel like you have to get to know yourself, know what you want, spend some time by yourself, and be proud of who you are before you can share that with someone else.” —Beyonce Knowles
“Become the man you want to marry. I’ve taken that on. What qualities do I find attractive, and can I find them in myself? What am I missing? Can I be that for myself?” — Michelle Williams
“Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.” —Lady Gaga
If you’re single…
“You have the power to move things to a point where you are satisfied and happy. Don’t sit on a couch and wait for it to happen, you have to do it yourself.” — Boris Kodjoe (actor and fashion model)
“When you’re not looking, that’s when it happens. I thought I didn’t need anything. But now I have someone who has the heart, the soul, and the hotness.” — Kimora Lee Simmons
“Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” — Lady Gaga
“As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going.” — Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker)
If you’re trying to express your emotions…
“Write it down. A lot of people aren’t good with speaking words. That’s how I used to be. But if I wrote it in my journal or as a letter, I would get out what I wanted.” — Jessica Simpson
If you want to help your friends…
“I was filled with advice! I’d tell my friends things like, ‘Don’t accept that apology! That isn’t sincere! Or he hung out with his ex-girlfriend? Get rid of him.’ But love is never that simple. Now I’m finally getting the idea it’s the one thing I don’t need to have a strategy for. I can only write the material I know, which is what happens to me.” — Taylor Swift
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If you need some good advice on picking the right guy…
“Cute’s good. But cute only lasts for so long, and then it’s, ‘Who are you as a person?’ Don’t look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul. When you’re dating a man, you should always feel good. … You shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn’t make you completely happy and make you feel whole.” — Michelle Obama
If you’re in a long distance relationship…
“I believe that two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn’t matter what you do, or who you are or where you live; there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together.” — Julia Roberts
If you need some post- break-up advice…
“Maybe I needed this rug yanked out from under me so publicly so that I had no choice but to look at what I needed to look at, both inside and out. We wouldn’t know the sweet moments in life unless we had the pain.” — Sandra Bullock (on her divorce with Jesse James)
“My favorite quote is from Martha Stewart: ‘I have a short memory for painful things.’ And I do. I have one of those incredible memories where I just erase painful things. Maybe that’s really unhealthy, and I probably need to see a therapist. But I don’t dwell. You just keep going forward.” — Reese Witherspoon
“I truly believe you never lose in a relationship. You’ve always gained something.” — Reese Witherspoon
“Everything that has happened to me, good and bad, I feel has happened for a reason. I’ve been made stronger from the good stuff and much, much stronger from the bad stuff.” — Anne Hathaway
“After you’ve been with the same person for a long time, it’s weird to start dating again. But there’s nothing more exciting than looking at someone, who’s looking at you in that way for the first time. You forget what that’s like.” — Hoda Kotb
“I guess each relationship is different. That’s what I love about relationships. Even when they end, you’ve learned so very much, so much to take into your next relationship and to take into your life. It’s the greatest thing that comes out of an ending — so it depends on the person.” — Rachel McAdams (on her relationship with Ryan Gosling)