You’re head over heels—you found that fantasy romance you always dreamt of. After months of browsing online dating profiles, you thought you found the one, the perfect mate you were going to spend the rest of your life with. It was as if your life was the plot of one of the best Harlequin romance novels. Then all of a sudden, it was over. What happened?

Bottom line: love doesn’t always last. Despite your best efforts to keep the adventure romance going, it may just not be meant to be. The question is, can you do anything to stop love from ending? We asked some experts why the young adult fantasy ends and how we fall out of love.

Fear. Often times, we’re in a relationship with who we think is the perfect mate—and then we cause our own romantic apocalypse. When intimacy gets too scary, we may unconsciously push an open, loving, emotionally available partner away by diminishing their worth in our own heads and to them. This happens when we know deep inside that we’re very vulnerable with this person and our defense mechanisms kick in to sabotage it. If you find yourself killing the young adult romance before it’s had the chance to grow, be aware. If you have to, talk to a therapist or counselor. When you find a mate, be open with your feelings and when this feeling comes up, share with them how you are trying to deal with this fear. Don’t go creating a bunch of new online dating profiles either. Try to work through this issue now instead, because it will just keep rearing its ugly head.

Lack of communication. Regular communication is essential to having that amazing relationship that has all the makings of Harlequin romance novels. When you’re dating and mating, you must discuss your issues and be able to voice your complaints in a productive way. The earlier the better—it’s becomes more difficult to face issues later on. We’re not talking about fighting or playing the blame game—it’s about keeping your adventure romance on track by letting your partner know when you’re upset or which behaviors annoy you.

When we’re trying to find a mate, we tend to pit our on our best front. Once you’re immersed in that young adult fantasy romance, you may let your guard down and show new sides of yourself that surprise your partner. This is why it’s always best to be yourself from the get go, and that includes being honest about your likes and dislikes. Forget about being “right” all the time—focus instead on keeping the fantasy romance alive, being thoughtful and careful about how you behave towards each other and communicating effectively and sympathetically.

Change. Eden Newman shared a story with us about how one of the potential mates in one of her interracial relationships seemed like the perfect match for dating and mating. Then, after many months, he shared with her that while he was okay with interracial dating, he was not okay with having children with her.

Over time, people can change—or more often, they become who they really are. In addition, they can change their mind based on their experience in their young adult romance or long-term relationship, especially when it comes to interracial relationships. The man that Eden Newman was dating may have just decided that it wasn’t for him, after realizing the problems they encountered dating in a world where she was working on the save the pearls campaign and he was not behind it. They came from two different worlds and he simply decided that this young adult fantasy romance wasn’t for him. Thus began Eden’s personal romantic apocalypse.

People may decide they no longer love their career. They may want to throw away that amazing medical career to become an artist. People evolve and their circumstances change and that may ultimately affect their relationship. The most important thing is to know the difference between your young adult fantasy and who your partner really is at their core. Whether you’re interracial dating, in a homosexual relationship or there is a sizeable age difference, the parties involved are always going to be susceptible to change. Life is about changing and growing.

So keep working on your mate-rate, educate yourself about successful relationships, and learn to be open to all of the elements of love. Most importantly, be aware that not every relationship is meant to last forever and sometimes they will transcend to beautiful, lifelong friendships. Either way, seize the day, enjoy the journey… and help us save the pearls!