Have you ever wondered why, even after growing up, we still love romantic fairy tales?
We know better. We know that real life doesn’t usually come with a handsome prince, a glass slipper, a magical castle, or a perfect happily-ever-after. We have seen relationships begin and end. We have watched people fall in love and fall out of it. We have learned that sometimes promises are broken, people change, and the person we thought would stay forever becomes a beautiful chapter from our past.
And yet…
Give us a good love story, and somehow, we are children again. We wait for the first glance. We wait for the moment when two people finally realise they belong together. We smile when the music begins. And somewhere deep inside, something whispers, “Maybe love like this is possible.”
Why?
Perhaps because fairy tales give us something that ordinary life often takes away from us: hope…….
As children, we believed in fairy tales without questioning them. We believed the princess would be found. We believed the lost person would come home. We believed love would defeat every obstacle.
Then life happened.
We grew older and discovered that sometimes the person you love doesn’t choose you. Sometimes you give your heart honestly and still get hurt. Sometimes two good people simply cannot make a life together. And yet, strangely, we don’t stop believing completely. Maybe we don’t actually love the fairy tale. Maybe we love what it represents.
The longing to be seen.
To be understood without explaining every little thing. To have someone notice when our smile is not real. To have someone stay—not because life is easy, but because leaving is harder. We want someone who knows our difficult sides and doesn’t immediately run away. Someone who can look at all our imperfections and still say, “I choose you.”
Perhaps that is the real magic.
Not the castle. Not the prince. Not the perfect dress. Being chosen. And maybe this is why romantic stories affect us even more as adults. When we are young, we watch them because they are beautiful. When we are older, we watch them because we understand what they are promising. We know how rare it is to find someone who makes you feel safe. We know how precious it is to be loved without having to perform for that love. We know that “happily ever after” does not mean there will never be arguments, difficult mornings, misunderstandings, silence or tears. Real love is much less glamorous.
It is making tea when the other person is tired.
Remembering how they take their coffee. Sitting quietly beside them when there are no words. Saying “I’m sorry” when your ego wants you to remain silent. Holding someone’s hand when life is frightening. And sometimes, real love is also knowing when to let someone go.
Because perhaps the greatest misunderstanding about fairy tales is that they teach us that love always means staying together. Maybe sometimes love means learning, growing, forgiving, or simply carrying someone in your heart long after they have left your life. And maybe that is why we keep returning to these stories. Not because we are foolish. Not because we don’t understand reality.
But because reality can be hard.
And every once in a while, our hearts deserve a place where they can rest. A place where someone comes back. Where a lonely person is finally found. Where two people who have searched for each other finally meet. Where love gets one more chance. Perhaps we never really outgrow fairy tales. We simply grow old enough to understand why we need them. Because somewhere inside every grown-up heart is still that little child who wants to believe that love can find its way through the darkness. And maybe that isn’t childish at all. Maybe it is one of the bravest things we can do to know how much life can hurt, and still leave a little room in our hearts for the possibility of love.
