Love Off Script

by Laura Starkey

‘It is now clear to me that, for too long, I have set aside my true feelings for the sake of satisfying others. But I cannot ignore them any longer – not for a fortune … Nor for my family and friends, such as they are. I must live as I see fit; I must pursue my own happiness, not honour or respectability. I can only have happiness if I also have you.’

she owned her achievements without implying they’d been easily won, and in turn she also celebrated them unapologetically.

First: if you love someone, what matters isn’t the different worlds you come from. What counts is the one you build together. Secondly: assumptions are very dangerous things. Trust me when I say you’re far better off asking questions, demanding answers and then telling your own truth, no holds barred. I wasted a lot of time thinking I understood things I didn’t, and not saying things I should have said.’

But you know, at some point, Nate, it’s our decisions that define us: the things we do and say, not what’s happened to us previously. We become our choices, even if we carry scars.

You know, you don’t have to be like your partner – you only have to like them.