After hearing more than a few dramatised love stories, that were either fairytales or complete disasters, Nate Begley became interested in the whole concept of love.
In a bid to find out the answer to the ultimate burning question “what is love?”, he quit his job and travelled across America.
To document his journey he used online site Reddit where he posted an AMA, which stands for ask me anything.
This resulted in over 100 interviews where Nate asked everything he could think of and focused on all types of relationships.
“I’ve interviewed gay couples, straight couples, rich couples, poor couples, religious couples, atheist couples, couples who have been together for a short time, and couples who have been together for over 70 years. I’ve even interviewed couples in arranged marriages and polygamous couples,” said Nate.
He started a Kickstarter and began to work on the project with journalist Melissa Joy King.
Nate Begley interviewed couples all over America
The Lovumentary is a documentary which allowed them to share their findings with the world.
He found several characteristics present in happy relationships, one of which is intentionality, “This is the icing on the cake. There’s a difference between the couple who drives through the rainstorm and the couple who pulls their car to the side of the road to make out in the rain. (Yes, that’s a true story.)
“There’s a difference between the couple who kisses for 10 seconds or longer when they say goodbye to each other rather than just giving each other a peck… or nothing at all. ”
That particular snippet had us welling up with tears.
Solving disagreements was a topic that kept emerging and from interviewing numerous couples, Nate learnt that you shouldn’t fight to win.
“A huge number of couples talked about how they didn’t fight against each other. I mean, if you’re in love, you should be playing for the same team.
“Your goal should be to resolve the issue, not to emerge victorious over the love of your life… and let’s be honest, you just feel guilty when you win anyway,” said Nate.
To learn more about Nate and his experiences, visit his Twitter or Facebook page.
