It may be the male lead sees the female lead with her ex, he is down on one knee proposing to her. The male lead assumes she is now engaged and distances himself without talking to her.

An email or conversation will be viewed or overheard out of context and the lead who gets that glimpse makes assumptions and distances themself without speaking to the other lead about the full story.

The leads are from two different backgrounds, usually one country and one city, and they make assumptions about what the other one wants.

Not even starting on the characters who are secretly royalty!

Anyway, you get the idea.

So many of these movies show misunderstandings that could be avoided if they only talk to each other.

Life Lesson:

Communication is the key in any relationship, and it can be hard, especially in the heat of the moment. Taking some time to talk to someone about any concerns takes an element of bravery and honesty, along with a whole lot of humility and vulnerability.

In the cases where a male lead sees a proposal, I get frustrated that they don’t stick around to see the answer, or even mention they saw the proposal and ask to see the ring to confirm if she says yes. Especially as they spent part of the movie talking about how she is over her ex.

In the case where a conversation is overheard or an email seen, asking for the full story or some clarification would prevent a whole lot of issues.

From an AuDHD, it can be really hard to bring up conversations about difficult topics, especially when it means being vulnerable. We often spend time thinking about things and our minds will have whole conversations with itself.

We also fear rejection, and RSD can make these assumptions for us!

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There are a few movies where the elder has passed away before the movie starts and imparts their wisdom in a number of ways including notebooks, cookbooks, or even a will! In these cases, the wisdom can be a key part of the story (such as leaving a will where the main characters must come together in a common goal, giving the platform for them to meet and fall in love).

The life lesson here is to have elders in your life.

These could be grandparents or simply those who have been there before you, whether it’s parenting, a job, or life in general.

Having elders is important.

Elders can provide a listening ear and advice when needed. They are also great people to give you some hard advice when needed, as well as a tissue and shoulder to cry on when needed to.

In many of the movies, the elder is the one who can tell the main character when they are being silly and need to actually talk to the other person, or be patient. They are also often the one to see what may be obvious to everyone expect the main characters.

In everyday life, elders can play a similar role. They can be someone to talk to when times are tough, as well as celebrate with us when things are going well, and generally provide some guidance when needed.

Elders are important, no matter how old you are. And if you get the opportunity to be an elder to someone else, it’s a wonderful role to play.

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One life lesson I’ve learned from romance movies is that there are no original ideas.

In these movies, they all follow pretty much the same formula. Couple meet, fall in love, break up, get back together again, then happily every.

There are also clearly defined tropes – enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, fake relationship, and so on. (Side note: it can be fun picking these).

There are also many common storylines, from a prince or princess trying to escape their ‘arranged’ engagement, to someone running a failing business and the love interest coming in to solve the issue or sell the business, going home to a small town for a family emergency from their high powered job.

So many of these movies fit into these boxes, however they all have their own quirks.

One day, I watched three movies in a row that were almost identical, at least on paper. All three of the movies were set on a background of a bakery and a baking competition. Each had their own features, whether it was the type of competition (a small local one, a TV show), who was the baker, and the various characters.

The lesson here is there are no original ideas, it’s what you do with it that counts.

I see so many authors, especially, but also small business owners, worry that their idea has already been done by someone else. The lesson is to run with your idea and put your own special spin on it.

This can apply to so many areas of life, whether it’s a creative pursuit or starting a business, or even baking and decorating a cake. There may have been others out there doing what you want to do, or are doing, however you can put your own spin on it to help make it your own.

The lesson from romance movies is to do things your way and make whatever it is you your own.

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This will simply be a list, along with the platform I watched them on, in case you want to check them out.

For the most part, these are the more cheesy romantic comedies. You have been warned!

• Love Upstream (Prime)
• Summer Prince (Prime)
• Love at the Ranch (Prime)
• Heart of the Manor (Prime)
• Cooking Up Love (Prime)
• A Romance Wedding (Prime)
• Love on the Road (Prime)

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I had a really challenging week last week, resulting in a complete shutdown, and I spent the weekend, and a lot of the week, binge watching romance movies.

One of the main reasons I like them is they are predictable. They follow a formula, and I don’t have to think too much. If I am having a time where my brain isn’t functioning as I want it to, I can still lose myself in one of these movies… plus they have gorgeous scenery that makes for a wonderful escape.

Over the weekend I realised something.

There are actually quite a few life lessons that you can learn from these romantic movies, and they’re not what you may think. It’s not always about meeting ‘the one’, there are others in there too. They may not become apparent if you only watch the occasional movie, or just watch the ads, but when you binge watch them over a few days, you start to recognise them (or maybe it’s my autistic pattern recognition).

I got the idea that this would make a great series for blog post & potentially a book…

Keep an eye on this blog for future posts as I try to sort out the lessons and put them in some semblance of order. Also, if you think this would make a great blog series or book, please let me know. If nothing else, it will be a bit of fun.

Do you like watching those cheesy romantic movies too? What are some of your favouriters, or even favourite settings or tropes?

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