Love Means Having To Say You’re Sorry

In what is perhaps one of the most iconic quotes of cinematic history, Ali MacGraw and her inspiring brows tell Ryan O’Neal’s Oliver that “love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

But that makes no sense. Love is all about making mistakes, learning from them and then owning up to them repeatedly. How many times have you mumbled “I’m sorry” to your mom after she yelled at you for hiding the family cat? And have you never had to slump dejectedly into your father’s office and say “sorry” for swallowing his most prized collector’s stamp? When I was five I painted all over a tree  (my mother used the term “vandalized,” but let’s not get carried away here). When I got caught, she made me apologize to both the tree and her.

What about all of the countless fights with significant others, soul mates and those who you’ve declared as your best, forever? We’re only human, after all. And humans do a lot of things that call for atonement – especially to those we love. Was it not Jay Z who sang, “All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend”? Beyoncé may appear infallible, but we all know she’s had to apologize at least once for accidentally leaving her red underwear in with his white tees thus turning everything pink.

So if love does mean having to say you’re sorry, and you, like us, are constantly doing weird things (by accident! …or not!) then maybe what everyone really needs are tokens of apology – an updated version of the Best Friend Forever bracelet.

That’s where Monica Vinader comes in.

Yarn and macaroni just won’t cut it when you’ve superglued a banana peel to someone’s nose, but a rose gold-and-colored-cord variety might. Concealed an open can of tuna under your closest friend’s mattress just to see how long it would take for her to notice? She’ll forgive you in exchange for a gold coin around her wrist. You set an army of live hamsters in jet packs down her pants? Pavé diamonds for that one. I mean you really messed up there. And if you did something that you really feel badly about…but kind of know it will make for a funny story later on, engrave the memory right on to the customizable plates.

If that doesn’t say, “I’m sorry,” maybe it isn’t love.

Part of a collaboration with Monica Vinader