Love means patience. Love means respect. Love is commitment. Love is unselfish. Love also is what gets you through the days you don't like each other very much.
Love involves deference towards each other.
Maybe I'll get up the gumption to write a realistic romance someday. The hero will be a hard-working man who's doing the best he can for his family. He'll be wide in the shoulders and slim in the hips. His wife won't mind what's above the belt buckle or his thinning hair. The heroine will have plenty of smile lines and just a few worry lines on her face, some gray hairs that her husband doesn't seem to notice, and an ample lap with lots of comfortable spots grandchildren can cuddle up to.