6 Ways To Respond To I Love You Without Saying It Back

Just because you don’t love them at that moment doesn’t mean you never will. It simply means that, at that time, you don’t feel it. Sometimes you need more time to fall in love with someone or to feel comfortable saying it.

If you’ve ever been in this situation before, you know how awkward and uncomfortable it can be. You don’t want to hurt them, but you need to be true to yourself.

How can you balance being honest and possibly hurting someone? It takes some good communication, but it can be done. Luckily, we have everything you’ll need so you’ll know how to respond to I love you the next time someone confesses their feelings.

# Smile and be appreciative

I know it can be a little scary when this happens, but it’s still a great thing. This person loves you. They enjoy you so much they have completely fallen for you. That’s something to be happy about. As long as you still want to be with this person, this isn’t something to be upset about.

Even if you don’t feel the same way just yet, you still care about them. Learning how to respond to love you without panicking but with your actual emotions at that moment is key. The fact that they’ve fallen for you should make you smile. So show them that by responding with a big smile and appreciating that they have given you their love.

# Tell them how happy that makes you

You can even just say, “That makes me so happy!” It’s really that simple. It might not be the words back, but it’ll be enough to make them realize that you’re happy with their love. And it is better than saying thank you.

You can even take it a little further by explaining why it makes you so happy. Tell them just how much joy you get out of them loving you. They’ll be happy that they caused you that much joy.

# Give them a hug and a kiss

Sometimes words don’t even need to be said in response to love you. You can just show them your appreciation by giving them a kiss and a hug. You can even do this in combination with some other tips. The Bachelor franchise has nailed this down to a science, so if you’re not sure how, watch some episodes to see a prime example.

The point of this is to secure their confession with intimacy. It might not be verbal confirmation of your feelings, but they’ll love being close to you and take this as a good sign, even if not what they were hoping for. The physical intimacy can help them feel at ease with you not saying it back.

# Tell them how much you care about them

What messes most people up when they don’t know how to respond to I love you is that they don’t clarify that they still care about the person. By not saying I love you back, they assume you don’t have feelings for them when that likely isn’t the case.

You have to tell them you care about them deeply. You may not be able to say it back right now, but that doesn’t mean you never will. Show them this. Let them know that you have strong feelings for them and this confession only strengthens them.

# Tell them you’re so lucky to have them in your life

This is very important. If you do have strong feelings for them and are genuinely happy to have them in your life, say it. Tell them that your life is better with them in it.

If you gloss over this part, it’ll leave them insecure and upset. You don’t want them worrying about ending things, so make sure they know that you are grateful for them. Learning how to respond to love you even if you don’t love them back right now should be about your truth, not just avoiding those words.

You have to tell them you’re lucky they’re in your life. You can even mention something about feeling lucky they are in love with you.

# Let them know how much you appreciate them

Appreciation is really all someone wants. If you can’t say I love you back in response to them saying it, make sure they know you aren’t just ignoring them or overlooking this. This is a big moment for them and let them know you appreciate them and their vulnerability and don’t take it lightly. Even though they may not like that you didn’t say it back, they’ll feel better knowing how you do feel.

You can even say something along the lines of, “I know I can’t say the same right now, but I appreciate you in my life, and I love how honest you are right now.” This is enough to make them realize that you still care about them and their feelings.