Influence on Relationships As anyone who has ever lived and loved can confirm, not all types of love are the same. The love you feel for your partner during the early stages of a romance can feel much different than the love you may feel years later into the relationship. Psychologist Elaine Hatfield has described two different types of romantic love: compassionate also known as companionate and passionate. Compassionate love involves feelings of mutual respect, trustand affection while passionate love involves intense feelings and sexual attraction. Hatfield defines passionate love as a state of intense longing for union with another. People in this state of love tend to experience very powerful feelings for each other. They need to be near the other person, may think about the other person constantly, and experience extreme distress when separated.