What does that mean? I love you, but I am not "in love" with you.

It is true that many forms of love exist. The love for your family (blood is thicker than water), the love you have for your friends (always there for them), the love you have for your kids (unconditional) and the love you have for an intimate partner( romantic, sexual, passionate, deep love).

I've heard many female points of view and the reasons for thier use of the statement, I'm not "in love" with you. Things such as, "The intimacy and passion was gone. I felt it slip from a romantic love to a friendship love. I didn't want him to touch me anymore. "

Ironically men also use this statement too, yet still want to continue an intimate/sexual relationship with the one they are not "in love" with.

For all the men out there...what does a man mean when he says I love you, but I am not in love with you?

As I walk down the path of life I find that one person's definition is not the same as the others. More importantly, the opposite sex has a very different way of thinking and interpreting.

I feel like an odd ball in the world, my definition is very different all together. To me, love is love. You either love that person or you dont.  If you don't love someone then you like them. You either have a romantic love for someone or a platonic love for someone.  I have never heard anyone when expressing their love to say, "I in love you" we simply say, "I love you."

Maybe saying I'm not "in love" is a misconception and really means I am not "infatuated" with you any longer....we all know infatuation is a short lived emotion.

Or what one is trying to express is that the love stoped growing and became stagnant or status quo.  It isn't that you stop loving that person, you just cant grow that love any further for one reason or another. Love is a force that must  be free to continuously grow and develop. If confined or restricted, eventually love, the feeling of fullness, is replaced by a feeling of emptiness.