Unconditional love gets misunderstood as accepting any behavior.
That is not what it is.
The old pattern is to turn love into a contract.
I am here for you as long as you never disappoint me, never change, never touch my old wounds.
The moment something feels hard, the story becomes
Maybe you are not worth it.
Unconditional love is different.
In a relationship, unconditional love is not staying no matter what. It is how you choose to see each other while you decide what “what” even is.
It is a steady recognition of the other person’s basic worth,
even when you are hurt, angry, or unsure what comes next.
You can still have boundaries.
You can still say no.
You can even decide to leave.
What does not change is your respect for their humanity.
You do not reduce them to their worst moment.
You remember that both of you are learning how to love in real time, with all your history and nervous system reactions in the mix.
Love, here, is a field that says You are more than your latest mistake and so am I.