Can companionate love still include sexual activity?

Can companionate love still include sexual activity?

• A. No, it is purely emotional.
• B. Only if there is no intimacy.
• C. Yes, but it may not be as frequent or intense as in passionate love.
• D. Yes, equally as intense as passionate love.

Answer: (C)

Companionate love centers on deep friendship, trust, and long-term commitment. It doesn’t exclude sexuality; partners can still be physically intimate, but the emphasis is on closeness and security rather than high arousal. Because passion—marked by intense desire and novelty—usually drives the frequency and intensity of sexual activity, companionate love tends to involve sex that is present but not as frequent or as intense as in passionate love. So the best answer acknowledges that sexual activity can exist within companionate love, but its frequency and intensity are typically lower than in passionate love. The other options mischaracterize companionate love by denying sexuality, tying sexuality to the absence of intimacy, or claiming equal intensity to passion.

Companionate love centers on deep friendship, trust, and long-term commitment. It doesn’t exclude sexuality; partners can still be physically intimate, but the emphasis is on closeness and security rather than high arousal. Because passion—marked by intense desire and novelty—usually drives the frequency and intensity of sexual activity, companionate love tends to involve sex that is present but not as frequent or as intense as in passionate love. So the best answer acknowledges that sexual activity can exist within companionate love, but its frequency and intensity are typically lower than in passionate love. The other options mischaracterize companionate love by denying sexuality, tying sexuality to the absence of intimacy, or claiming equal intensity to passion.