I have spent a decade of my life dating. I am thrilled about

When Leah Pipes said, “I have spent a decade of my life dating. I am thrilled about never going on another bad date for the rest of my life. I’m also so excited to learn and grow with the person I respect most in this world,” she was not merely expressing joy at finding love — she was declaring the triumph of wisdom through experience, the hard-won peace that follows years of seeking. Her words carry the quiet strength of someone who has endured the storms of uncertainty, disappointment, and hope, only to arrive finally at the calm harbor of true companionship. Beneath her joy is an ancient truth: that love, when found in mutual respect, is not a fleeting passion but a school of the soul — a place where one learns, grows, and becomes whole.

The origin of her statement lies in her transition from the trials of modern romance to the serenity of commitment. For ten long years — “a decade of dating,” as she calls it — she wandered the same wilderness that has tested hearts since time began: the search for connection, the longing for someone who understands not only who we are, but who we wish to become. Her words remind us that even in a world overflowing with choices, love cannot be rushed or manufactured. It must be found, forged, and cultivated. To be “thrilled about never going on another bad date” is not simply to celebrate the end of frustration, but to rejoice in the discovery of something real — the kind of bond that gives meaning to all the searching that came before.

To the ancients, this journey was sacred. The Greek philosopher Plato spoke of love as a form of ascent — beginning with desire, but rising toward understanding and truth. In his Symposium, he wrote that love is the force that guides the soul upward, transforming longing into wisdom. Leah Pipes’ reflection captures this ascent perfectly: from the fleeting excitement of first encounters to the enduring strength of partnership built on respect. Her words, though grounded in the modern experience of dating, echo the timeless idea that love is both teacher and reward. Through the many “bad dates,” she learned discernment; through heartbreak, she learned resilience; and through patience, she found a love worthy of reverence.

Her joy also carries humility. She does not boast of conquest or destiny fulfilled; she speaks of learning and growing with another. This humility is the mark of true love. The ancients would call it sophrosyne — the harmony of mind and heart that allows two people to walk the path of life side by side, not as competitors, but as co-creators of something greater than themselves. To respect one’s partner “most in this world” is to see in them not perfection, but reflection — the mirror through which we see our better selves. It is a love that teaches us patience, kindness, and the quiet art of becoming.

History offers many echoes of this truth. Consider Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor of Rome, whose love for his wife Faustina was one of balance and mutual strength. Though his duties often took him far from home, he wrote of her with tenderness, calling her his partner in reason and in virtue. Like Leah Pipes, he understood that love rooted in respect endures beyond beauty, beyond passion — because it is built upon shared purpose. When two souls commit not merely to each other, but to learning and growing together, they create something unbreakable: a union not of possession, but of understanding.

From her words, we draw a lesson that all seekers of love should remember: that the journey itself refines the heart. Every disappointment, every false start, is a lesson in clarity, preparing us to recognize truth when it appears. We must not despise the long road, for it tempers the spirit and teaches us to value what is real. And when love does come — not in the form of fantasy, but as a partnership of respect and growth — we must enter it not as conquerors, but as students, eager to learn the art of giving and receiving in equal measure.

So let Leah Pipes’ words stand as both celebration and counsel: do not hurry the heart’s education. The years spent searching are not wasted; they are the chapters of becoming. And when at last you find the one with whom you may walk in trust and laughter, rejoice not only in the end of bad dates, but in the beginning of a shared life of learning. For love, in its truest form, is not the end of the journey — it is the beautiful work of growing wiser together, hand in hand, for the rest of your days.