The Great Read: Is Love Addictive? Many Say Yes, and It’s Changing Our Idea of Romance.
Poems and songs say love should be world-shattering. The logic of love addiction suggests that it shouldn’t.
The New York Times
The Great Read

February 18, 2026, 2:01 p.m. Eastern time

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An illustration of a woman dangling from a gigantic bunch of heart-shaped balloons in several shades of pink and red, against a sky with a few puffy clouds. New York City skyscrapers are silhouetted below her.

Illustration by Giacomo Gambineri

Is Love Addictive? Many Say Yes, and It’s Changing Our Idea of Romance.

Poems and songs say love should be world-shattering. The logic of love addiction suggests that it shouldn’t.

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