Love is about mutual respect, apart from attraction.

The line draws a sharp distinction between attraction—often immediate, physical, and volatile—and love, framed as an ethical relationship grounded in reciprocity. By defining love as “mutual respect,” it suggests durability and equality: each person recognizes the other’s dignity, boundaries, and autonomy, rather than treating them as an object of desire. The phrase “apart from attraction” does not deny attraction’s role, but implies it is insufficient as a foundation. In this view, love is less a feeling than a practice of regard and consideration, and it can persist even when passion fluctuates.