Long-term relationships might seem like a perfect, romantic experience. One where couples sit around cooing into each other’s ears and feeding each other chocolate-covered strawberries all day. As someone who’s been in a committed relationship for many years now, I’m here to tell you that’s just not the case. I’m not saying there aren’t wonderful times – there are plenty – but it’s also not as picture-perfect as it is in the movies.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. LA-based artist Amanda Oleander has been documenting the lives of couples behind closed doors and her work is way too relatable. She’s been dating a man named Joey for the past three years and is very open about how much their relationship has influenced her work. “Before I met Joey if anyone told me their love and relationship was like ours I wouldn’t believe it,” Oleander said in an interview with Bored Panda. ” It’s nothing less than amazing. We can’t get enough of each other.”

She went on to say that, “[She’s] enthralled by the way people behave behind closed doors, intimate moments we never get to see. Those are moments that can’t really be documented because if they were, it would alter the way the person behaved. So I draw them.”

You can check out some of Amanda’s work below.

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