I try and hold out as long as I can haha. Honestly, I want them to say it first!
Thankfully my boyfriend did tell me he loved me first. On my birthday haha. And it was only like 4 months after we started being offical

i honestly believe that people cannot really be in love until they go through their first big fight and makeup. the lovey-dovey thing in the beginning is never an indication of real love. so i say maybe 7-8 months is the earliest i'd ever expect my guy to say I love you.

i would always let a guy say I love you first. it may be a horrible double standard but when a guy says i love you first, it's endearing and sweet. When a girl says it first, the guy's going to get freaked out.

My boyfriend told me he loved me on our third date. I said it back even though I wasn't sure at that point, lol. I do now, so no harm done, and I told him that, so it's cool. I was like, really? Three dates? But he was sure. He had a big crush on me before we started going out and I didn't know he existed so. Well, I knew he existed, cause he always smiled funny at me when I was in the store, and I thought he was cute, but I didn't think he was interested in me. I had short little fantasies about him asking me out, but... yeah, anyway, what was my point?

Three dates, a week, apparently not too soon for him.

I have only said it to one person before my husband and I held out for quite a while before it happened then. I think it takes time to realize it is love and not infatuation. I was such a tool with my husband though. We had been dating for only two months and he was tickling me pretty severely and I blurted it out (I couldn't control myself). Of course he jumped back and stopped tickling me and I was so embarrassed! Luckily we ended up going out for three years and then got married. So who knows if there are any rules with this sort of thing?

a week is definatly too soon. I dated a guy for a few months when he told me he loved me, I just looked at him like he was crazy, but not because it was too soon, just because I didnt feel the same way, and I knew that he didnt really love me..he was just saying it. I dont think there is a right or a wrong time. The best time is when you feel it and fight saying it for like a month or two because you think its too soon. After you've stopped yourself from saying it so many times that you are about to burst if you dont tell them right then...thats when its right. Ill never forget when my BF first told me he loved me, I think we had been dating for like 5 or 6 months already, we had gone to a concert with some of my friends, and by the time we got back we were too tired (and/or drunk) to drive back to his place so we slept on my friends couch, we were just laying there all unfomfortable not being able to sleep. and he just goes "im really scared" and I, having no idea what he was talking about was just like "huh? why?" and hes like "because Im pretty sure that Im falling in love with you" it was so sweet and perfect, Ill never forget it.

I think a week is too soon... you're still in that lovey-dovey phase! I think waiting about 6 months to see their true colors, etc. is a good time period. After a week it's too soon to know if you're really compatible.

One week is definitely tooooo soon! You'll freak the guy out! I always wait until he says it first.. and blurt it back faster lol

A week is too soon. I think you need to give it a little more time.

My boyfriend said it after we had been dating for about 6 months or so... just kind of casually for a while when saying goodnight or whatever because I wasn't quite comfortable saying it back yet (even though I was thinking it).

Generally I'd say a week is too soon... but then, I really shouldn't be one to judge--my boyfriend's and my relationship began with him proclaiming to the internet that he was in love with me (it was an unrequited deal, for two years), and I said it to him about three months after that, after struggling and fighting it for about a month... and we started dating "officially" about three weeks after that!

Once upon a time I met a guy at a conference. He had a girlfriend at the time but we talked for hours and hours the last night we were there. He broke up with his girlfriend shortly after the conference because he couldn't stop thinking about me. We talked on the phone all the time. All night long. We told each other we loved one another before I had even seen him a second time.

The funny thing is, looking back, I didn't love him in any meaningful way. I thought he was "the one" and I was smitten beyond comparison to ever being smitten before. But when all was said and done, all I had meant by those words were: "I love the idea of you, and I love how I'm feeling right now."

Some people can have similar experiences to the above, and then it turns into "real" love later.

Mine never did.

So I'm a lot more careful now. I think "I love you" means different things to different people. To me it means, I know the good things about you and the bad things about you. You're imperfect. And still, I love you.

There's a hand full of women that dated men for a few good months and got married and are still together til this day! However they met the right one for them early.

I personally believe that there should be a time frame before saying "I love you". If a man said it to me and its been only a few weeks, I'd believe he was the prince charming type who would leave me at the time where I'd need him the most...

My fiance told me within our first week of dating. At the time, I felt it was too early and that he didn't know the true meaning of love which was the case. However, as the 4th month rolled by, the dynamic of our relationship changed and his definition of love was redefined. With his two past ex's, he had only encountered the infatuation stage before both relationships declined drastically and immediately. We already jumped over that hurdle. He knew now the difference between false and true love. Real love grows after the infatuation stage, not decline.

My guy said it about two months after we started dating, but doesn't know I heard him say it (when I asked what he said, he just told me, "I said something too soon"). It took me another few months to say it and really be sure. While we were still in the infatuation stage, it was showing that we'd outlast that.

I don't think there should be any kind of timeline...I just don't get what the big deal is with "the L word." What's wrong with loving someone right away? I've told guys I loved them even before we were dating, and it never scared anyone.

A week does seem too soon, unless you guys were friends for a while or had known each other for a while. My boyfriend told me about 3 months into the relationship, and I was too happy to blurt it back. Hahaha. But yeah, i'd wait for the guy to say it first.

I think that it's true that what feels like "love" at the beginning is usually infatuation. I've said it too early before and I've been the recipient of it too early as well, and in my experience the result is a rather awkward moment.

When in doubt, I hold my tongue because I think that when "I love you" comes too early, it can raise doubts in the mind of the recipient ("does he/she really mean that? what's wrong with me that I don't feel the same way? etc). If the other person just isn't ready to hear that, it seems to crystallize the fact that he/she doesn't love you back yet. That's somewhat anxiety-producing to have to face up to.

My BF said it at the end of week three. I remember it distinctly. We were just dozing off for the night after poker at my friends house, when he blurted it out. I think we were both a little tipsy. But it has been in our vocabulary ever since. We probably say it 10 times a day, and we both mean it. I wasn't sure at first, the whole relationship moved too fast for me at the beginning, but it all worked out. We are 2+ years strong.

I think it all depends on the relationship, how it's moving & how you both feel. We were just smitten at the time, but it ended up working out.

And I agree, let him say it first.

I hold out as long as I can. I really want him to say it to me first. I tend to wait until at least 6 or 7 months because by then we've usually had a fight and made up (or not made up). So that's usually a good period of time to tell. Or if one of you experiences something dreadful and you stick by each other, that's a good time to let the other know how you feel.

my boyfriend first said it a month after we started dating, and i was a little reluctant to say it back because my first boyfriend (he's only my second...first is the worst, second is the best!!) said it really quick, and that didn't end so well. Not to mention that a month after we started going out happened to land on April Fool's Day!!! After a week of him saying it incessantly to convince me he meant it, I believed him, and I said it shortly after that...It's been 3 years, and we still say it ALL the time to each other...
I don't think that there should be a timeline persay because everyone and every relationship is different, but a week does seem too early to really know

i think that with every relationship we're in, our definition and feeling of love changes. so younger people or people who haven't been in relationships feel it sooner, and others later. so i don't think there's a right or wrong time to say i love you.

akosijen, I agree!

Also, it seems I am the only one in the crowd - I say it when I feel it, I don't wait for the guy to say it first.

My last boyfriend, I said it after 2 months. In retrospect, I would say it was too soon. But at the time it was genuine and that's what I felt. Now that I'm older, in the same situation I probably would have waited longer because my definition of love has changed.

My boyfriend actually told me he loved me at our third date and I told him too. And it's true. ..ok...our love grows stronger as months go by now, but it sure was love. Considering he waited for me 4years... and me being in a relationship before (he was too)... you know from experience what to love a person feels like. I believed him and no doubts about it when he said it at our third date. i meant it as well.

Waiting a year is fine with me but DEFINITELY NOT before the 6-month mark. That's just nuts.

Well... I said it before we were official, but we've been best friends for ages, and something romantic was bubbling for months... We were official for awhile, but things got complicated with the distance, so we're working things out...

When people make up rules about this kind of thing, what they're really trying to do is avoid heartbreak. It's trying to make love into something non-scary. I think that's ridiculous, personally. Love is a wild emotion and trying to put it into a box or prescribe rules feels unnatural for a *reason*. Say it when you feel it, if you want to. Waiting for time to pass isn't going to insulate your heart.

A week?? I think that's a tad soon to truly LOVE someone...

I agree with AKirstin...say it when you feel it. There are no "rules" and no timelines to follow when it comes to relationships. Everyone feels things differently and experiences things differently.

I've never been too quick with the 'I love you's. There's infatuation, which is what I think is the starting point for most relationships. True love grows over time, as you get down to the business of everyday life together. That's when the 'I love you' really means something to me. So while I don't recommend putting a clock on when things happen in a relationship, I do suggest being sure of what you're saying when you utter those 3 special words.

It's too soon when you don't truly know the person yet, AND before he says it to you. JMHO.

It really depends on the people & the situation. With my first love, we said it within a month. With my current boyfriend, it took us 10 months! I think it's all dependent on level on comfort & intimacy. I'm with Marci, I don't like putting a clock on when things are supposed to happen in a relationship. To me, it's considered "too soon" when you are blinded by infatuation & haven't had the chance to get the know the other person.

*of comfort & intimacy.

There are too many definitions that fit the three little words "I Love You". If you are so moved to, or just cant hold it in, by all means say it. If it's not "true love" or it's "puppy love" or whatever it's still something that moves you in a meaningful way. Me and mine do not say we love each other often, as it's a known fact there is no need to throw around the words that other misconstrue and stretch. There have been times though that I've said it and not even thought about it. There it is when you say it and then have to plant your hand over your mouth because you didn't really mean to, there that's a good time. XD It's love! ENJOY IT!

Its tough to say what is early and what is appropriate because in my opinion, it REALLY depends on the couple and the intensity of love and respect between them. And yes, maybe one week is too soon, WAY too soon, but whos to say 2 or 3 or 6months is too soon? I think you know deep inside how you much love you have for this one person and how being without them just doesnt seem feasable. Thats love.

I said it to my HS boyfriend after a month, and he said it back. I know we were young but we dated for another three years after that. Things ended for several reasons. He joined the military, I was off to college, I wasn't ready to be an army wife, etc. Mostly due to age and experience levels. We fell out of touch for about seven years, then got back together two summers ago. We married six months after that. Basically how we look at it was: we had this incredibly intense mature love at a very young age and weren't ready to deal with it. We split. When we got back together it was like fireworks times ten. I cannot be happier that we have found one another again...I haven't been as happy as this since high school. So while it's not for everyone to say "I love you" so early, sometimes it's just a true admission of feeling.

Are you gonna fall in love in one night? I suppose its possible. Advice though is to wait of course until the timing is better and you know it's not going to fade with the next bowl of soup or seeing his checking account balance.