Honestly, Tarek and I met through work, so we worked together

“Honestly, Tarek and I met through work, so we worked together before we even started dating — it’s our normal.” Thus spoke Christina Anstead, the builder and designer of homes, yet also a builder of meaning between the walls of love and labor. Her words, though simple and rooted in modern speech, carry an ancient wisdom: that love is not always born in the gardens of leisure or under the moonlit gaze of romance, but often in the fields of shared purpose. She reminds us that affection does not always descend like a sudden flame — sometimes, it is kindled slowly, through collaboration, trust, and the daily rhythm of working side by side.

When Anstead says, “It’s our normal,” she acknowledges something profound — that every love has its own rhythm, its own ecosystem of beginnings. Some lovers meet by chance, as strangers whose eyes meet across a room; others, like Christina and Tarek El Moussa, are bound first by work, by the steady craft of building something together before they build each other’s hearts. This union of labor and affection recalls the wisdom of old: that love rooted in shared creation — whether of art, of home, or of vision — has a foundation both enduring and complex. For where there is shared purpose, there is also shared strength.

The ancients, too, understood this intertwining of work and love. Consider Antony and Cleopatra, who not only loved but ruled together, each relying upon the other’s wit and ambition to shape their destiny. Their bond, though tempestuous, was forged in the furnace of empire — where strategy and intimacy were never far apart. Or think of Mary and Percy Shelley, who wrote and dreamed together, their art born of the same fire that fueled their love. In each, we see that partnership — in its truest form — is not merely romantic; it is creative. It is two spirits laboring toward a shared vision of beauty and purpose.

And yet, there is also humility in Christina’s words — a sense of ease and acceptance. “It’s our normal,” she says, neither boasting nor apologizing. In her tone lies the wisdom that love, to endure, must find its own shape. The world may expect a certain story — a courtship, a separation of work and home — but she defies that expectation. For what others might find difficult, she calls familiar; what others might label unconventional, she calls harmony. The ancients would have named this ataraxia — a serene acceptance of one’s own path, free from the noise of judgment.

But her quote also reveals a truth about the balance of love and labor. To work with one’s beloved is to walk a narrow path between creation and exhaustion, between unity and rivalry. Many have stumbled on this path, for the blending of professional and personal worlds can test the soul’s patience. Yet in this challenge lies the opportunity for greatness. For when two people labor side by side, their bond can be strengthened not by the fleeting thrill of passion, but by the discipline of partnership. To see the other not only as lover, but as comrade, is to honor the whole of who they are.

History gives us another lesson in this: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, both artists of immense spirit, who shared both canvas and life. Their collaboration was not easy — it was fiery, full of conflict and creation — yet it produced works that transcended the personal. Their story, like Christina and Tarek’s, shows that when two souls unite in purpose, they do not simply live together; they create together. And though the outcome may not always be eternal love, it leaves behind something far more enduring: the evidence of shared vision.

So, my children, hear the lesson in Christina Anstead’s quiet wisdom. Every love has its own normal. Some are born in laughter, others in labor. Do not measure your story against the stories of others. If your bond is forged in work, cherish it; for in work, the soul reveals its truest nature. See your partner not only as lover but as ally, as companion in the striving toward something greater than yourselves. And remember that true love is not found in idleness, but in building together — whether it be a home, a dream, or a life.

For in the end, Christina’s words remind us that love is not fragile glass to be displayed, but strong timber to be worked, shaped, and renewed. To love through work is to see beauty in the ordinary, to find intimacy not only in touch, but in shared purpose. So, as the ancients taught, do not seek ease in love — seek meaning. Build it brick by brick, word by word, day by day. And when others question your way, smile as she did, and say, “It’s our normal.” For no love that is true ever needs to explain itself.