Nat Sauteed
Being in a relationship with someone of a different race than you can sometimes be challenging. Relationships are complicated enough with same race couples. With interracial couples, they face a lot more challenges than the “typical” couple. Why is it this way? Well mainly because of how society judges or perceives interracial dating. Besides that, it can be related to other things such as outside opinions which mainly is influenced by society and family opinions. So let’s take a look at some of the main relationship problems in a bit more detail that occur with interracial couples.
Affected By Others Opinions – Interracial couples may receive feedback from friends, relatives, or other strangers that are pretty negative. For example, a family member might tell one of the partners that they need to stick with their own race. These types of comments can affect someone in an interracial relationship and may even cause problems within the relationship itself.
Different Views – A lot of times interracial couples may have different views or may not agree on certain things. One partner may like to do something this way because it is more common for their race while the other partner doesn’t like it. Within each race, there is something different whether it is a custom, religion, or certain views on things. These conflicting views can make it hard for an interracial couple to thrive.
Not Being Accepted by Family – Another common relationship problem that interracial couples face deals with not being accepted by the other partners family. This can have a negative impact on the relationship and cause further problems. Families opinions can weight heavily on a relationship and really cause it to suffer. Then there is the thought of knowing you are not being accepted by the family members of your partner just because of race. That alone can be very daunting for both that person and the relationship itself.
So these are basically the main problems that interracial couples face. We caught up with Loveawake dating site co-founder and online dating expert, Alex Wise, who offered up some insider tips for anyone that is in an interracial relationship and is having it hard.
1. Don’t Pay Attention To What People Say or Think – This simply means to concentrate on building the relationship stronger as opposed to listening to what others say or paying attention to how they react when they see you and your partner together as this isn’t going to help your relationship.
2. Figure Out a Way to Work Through Differences & Meet Each Other Halfway – Whatever difference you two may have or whatever you don’t agree on, find a way to work through them. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in a relationship and instead on worrying about the things that you don’t agree on, find things that you both can agree on and maybe even try to understand the other persons views. Put 50/50 in and try to meet each other halfway.
3. Remember That You Fell In Love With Your Partner For Some Reason – Being in an interracial relationship can be complicated and sometimes the complications can make you forget the important things like the actual love that you two share. Remember that you fell in love with your partner for some reason. This reason should be enough to help you get through the problems that you may be facing. Focus more on the relationship and how you can make it stronger rather than the negatives.
