Ask A Dude: Do Guys Believe in “Happily Ever After?”

By The Dude

Dear Dude,

This question is more about satisfying curiosity than searching for advice. Do guys think about happily ever after? We all know that girls often think about love in terms of the fairy tale, Prince Charming, etc. How do guys think about love?

Sincerely,

Candidly Curious

Dear Candidly Curious,

Do guys think about love? Of course we do. What is a guy’s idea of love? Porno! JK. Mostly…we’re a visual minded gender…

There’s a different sort of guy for every scenario you could think of. There are some who want their lives to run like When Harry Met Sally… or even Knocked Up (in part because most guys hope they get to have pity sex with Katherine Heigl, her bitchy reputation aside).

Then you have the guy who wants his dick to be rarer than tritium. His idea of happily ever after is to sleep with more women than Walt Chamberlain and Picasso combined (we’re talking five figures there, allegedly). He’s Charming without much Princely to his persona.

You could maybe try to chart a guy’s definition of happily ever after according to what age bracket they check off on their OKCupid profile.

Every guy wants a fairytale ending. We’re just not all in the same fairy tale. To most guys in their early 20’s, forever isn’t something they think about. To guys in their 30’s, the long-term become more imperative and to guys in their 40’s, well, the long-term feels like it’s starting to pass them by. So what’s the most important aspect of creating our happily ever after? Location, location, location!

Or maybe just a confidence thing.

What makes you happy tends to change over time. To a lot of the sexually secure specimens, going off into the sunset with a gal by his side isn’t the main drive. To those who’ve learned to be lonely sitting at a café table by themselves is a miserable fate. We have the confident versus the codependent. Sounds good, right?

My idea of a happy ending is to be with someone. But I’ll be the first to admit that there are some guys who shouldn’t get married and have no interest in ever being tied down unless it’s for foreplay purposes. And you know what? Both ideas of a happy ending are valid.

No one need say there’s a right answer to “what’s your idea of happily ever after?” There’s only an answer that’s compatible with your idea. When a guy’s endgame is in common with yours, then you might just have found a fella to stick it out with.

The End,

The Dude