Does romantic love eventually just turn into platonic love for long relationships?

[Norellia]

So recently in some of my classes we have been discussing successful relationships and just facts regarding marriage in general. One of the things is how eventually things fizzle out in long term relationships after a certain period of time. I was just thinking so does the romantic attraction that is felt at the beginning of a relationships eventually turn into something else, possibly platonic? Just looking for peoples thoughts about it who possibly have been in long relationships that might have experienced it. As someone who has never experienced romantic attraction it just interests me with the possibility that romantic attraction may not matter for long term relationships. Or maybe I am just missing the mark. 

[mitsu]

This is an interesting topic. I think long term relationships that started romantically can definitely turn into more platonic ones. I've never been in a relationship longer than 6 months, so I really can't say from experience, however my parents have had a long and fairly stable relationship(roughly 26 years). They are both middle aged(50s-60s) and I would interpret their relationship at this point as purely platonic. My mother is a bit more affectionate, however I would say both of them have rarely acted or done anything romantic(kissing/hugging, dates that are established as "dates", celebrating valentines or anniversaries) since their 40's. To me, their bond is more familial/friendship-like than anything right now, with them showing they care about one another by showing concern for each other's health, going on day trips/doing errands together, or enjoying each other's company at home without really doing anything specific.

 

I think at least for allosexuals(not all but many) , romantic attraction ties in somewhat with sexual attraction.  Sexual desires/needs usually dwindle over time in long term relationships due to age, lifestyle, hormones and other factors. Therefore, once those desires decrease, what is left is simply the personal bonds that have built up over time and if it is strong enough, a platonic relationship remains out of the romantic one.

[amat96]

That's very interesting, I've never really thought about that. That could very well be the case thinking of marriages that I know of. Don't know for sure though, but yeah as people get older they do seem to do less of the romantic stuff. It could also just be the fact that they have less time to do all of that when they have more things to deal with in their lives.