“What makes you want to commit to a woman or have an exclusive relationship?”
“I have to feel like we’re equally yoked. There’s an old quote that goes something like: ‘Love is not looking into each other’s eyes, but gazing in the same direction.’ We have to be on the same page.”
-DeJuan S., 40, IT project manager
“In my last relationship, I feared that my girl might slip away, so that pushed me to commit faster. She had a lot of great personality traits, such as genuineness, thoughtfulness, kindness and warmth. When a woman has all that and can check me, I like that. Constructive criticism without being manipulative or hurtful goes a long way too.”
-Malik W., 30, photographer
“Being able to trust the woman and having the sense that our relationship will be a joint venture with a lot of compromise. I have to know that, in the end, she is going to take care of me, and I will take care of her.”
-Jeff J., 27, consultant
“I believe in that spiritual connection thing. Call it her aura. It’s that initial instinctual reaction that I have when I look at her. Every woman I’ve ever committed to, I knew right when I met her that I wanted to be with her.”
-Nicoye B., 35, actor
WHAT YOU SAID:In an essence.com poll, 31% of Essence readers said they don’t believe a man can be faithful in an exclusive relationship.