Highly creative people can get a bad wrap when it comes to relationships.
Artists such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh had a fervent flair and intensity in their work. While this kind of creativity materialized breathtakingly into their art, it made their love lives intense, unpredictably hot and cold—not to mention downright tumultuous.
Creative types can be branded with labels such as loners and daydreamers, but they also have a plethora of positive qualities inherent to their nature that take you on an amazing romantic adventure—both literally and figuratively.
Here are ten things highly creative people do differently in relationships that might just make you fall head over heels in love with them.
1) Creative types tend to be free spirits—even in a relationship
Creative people don’t aspire to live up to classic models of a relationship. They don’t require rules of engagement, routines, and weekend dinners with family or friends.
They don’t necessarily want an annual summer vacation to the same old tropical destinations, doing the same old things (not that that’s a bad thing).
Rather they take life as it comes, depending on their mood, desires, and where they’re at in life.
These are the people who decide to take the red-eye to New York City on the spur of the moment because they have a craving for cheesecake. But they won’t have a holiday for another couple of years because they’re focused on the business they’re growing.
Creative types also have no problem living in a run-down cottage instead of a three-bedroom, two-story home because it’s “more inspiring”.
“In the gray area there are no universal laws dictating wrong or right,” says psychotherapist Ilene S. Cohen. “There are no best answers or perfect choices. The only thing that is certain is that there’s no right path, no absolute truth.”
No doubt living with this idea is strange, and being in a relationship with a free spirit isn’t for everyone because it constantly means inhabiting the unknown, says Dr. Cohen.
“However it can [also] be freeing.”
2) They don’t care what other couples are doing
This one is kind of similar to the above and it can be deeply refreshing to be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t submit to society’s ideals—and who doesn’t compare what you have to other couples.
Like in the previous example, a creative type doesn’t go along with the Joneses: they don’t need a house with a white picket fence. They don’t need the BMW in the driveway.
They also know that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. They’re pretty proud of the people they are and what they offer the world.
What they will do is be your partner in crime; your utter ride or die, and they’ll help you to be the best version of yourself. These are the people who will help you get your marketing business off the ground, or encourage you to pursue your art.
3) Their unpredictability might give you whiplash
We’ve touched on this already, but creative types can certainly be unpredictable in relationships.
“One day they will be seen all shouting, jumping, and dancing and in an amazing mood, and the [next] day they will be lost in their own little world and speak [at a] minimum,” says relationship and lifestyle writer Priyanka J. Patel.
4) They can be intense in love
Patel says that with a creative person, mood swings might be common and there might even be some extreme behavior. They might even be a little too much to handle.
But there’s a positive side to their intensity: they have an “unwavering passion for all aspects of their life,” adds Patel.
“Creative souls have the potential to bring a great deal of adventure and intensity to relationships, [and they will ensure] that partners feel noticed and deeply appreciated.”
5) Their emotional intelligence enhances the relationship
Experts say that emotional intelligence (EQ) is the secret to lasting intimate relationships—and creative types tend to be emotionally mature.
Emotional intelligence is especially helpful in a relationship in that it allows people to exercise empathy and identify areas for growth and improvement.
Scientists Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Grégoire identify creative people as having empathetic tendencies: this allows for a deeper understanding and nurturing of the relationship.
6) Their intuition can improve your relationship
It’s no wonder, then, that creative people tend to be especially intuitive—something that can immensely help and strengthen a relationship.
For example, they might be attuned to your moods and instinctively know what will help you feel better without you having to say a word.
Maybe they’ll gather from your short texts that you’re feeling down in the dumps, so they’ll go out of their way to draw you a bath when you get home.
Maybe they see how you’re worried about your ailing mother and so they suggest spending the weekend with her even though the two of you had other plans.
Little things like this are true gifts in a relationship and they show how much care there is.
7) They are lifelong students and will challenge you to be the same
The beauty about creative people is that they are forever learning—and they’ll want the same for you.
They might suggest taking up a creative writing course (what else?) together. Or they’ll debate politics with you until the wee hours of the morning over a bottle of wine.
They’ll also suggest educational trips for your holiday. Be prepared for a tour of all the museums in Washington, or they’ll want you to brush up with them on the Renaissance painters before your visit to the art galleries of Paris.
8) They can be more romantic than most
It isn’t hard to guess that creative types are typically very romantic, but this notion even has the backing of science.
A study conducted by Northwestern University and the University of London discovered an intrinsic link between creativity and romantic passion—or Eros.
Creative people can get very—well, creative—at maintaining a romantic spark in a relationship.
9) They’re open-minded and think outside the box
It’s their very open-mindedness that makes creative types sometimes a little bit “out there”.
Research from the University of Bath found that creatives love to seek out new and unique experiences, sensations, and perspectives, according to Cooper.
This can bring out fresh ideas for making a relationship with them fun and exciting. We mentioned their spontaneity, for one thing.
For instance, creative thinkers are interested in what interests you. They might help you come up with an unconventional way to solve a work problem.
You’ll also be taken by surprise at some of their sentiments.
For example, a creative person might say something like: “Your mom sounded a bit down when I talked to her on the phone earlier. Let’s pick up some of her favorite pastries from the bakery downtown and surprise her with them!”
10) They’ll reveal their vulnerabilities…and expect you to do the same
It’s true that being in an intimate relationship requires taking risks.
“There’s no way around it—in order for your partner to know who you really are, you must be vulnerable,” say the psychologists at Symmetry Counseling.
“You have to reveal your soft spots, your weaknesses, and your authentic self in order to create a deep connection with your partner to know who you are, you must be vulnerable.”
Creative types truly believe in this. They will reveal their soft spots, their weaknesses, and their authentic self so that they can create and foster a deep bond with you—and they’ll expect no less from you in return.
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