This was such a mindfuck to me when I first heard it from a good friend (a decade older than me so she always knows what’s up), because I had it drilled into me for so long that relationships took WORK and the strongest relationships were always the ones that worked through a lot of differences/difficulties/etc.
But relationships are also supposed to be fun and joyous!!! And while just dating, it should feel easy for a good LONG while because yes of course some things will get hard eventually as life happens—but if dating them was easy, staying in a more serious committed relationship with them (if that’s your goal) will be much more attainable than it would have been with someone who was hard to date before things became more serious.
(i know this probably sounds so obvious and i was just a 19-year-old dumbass but this is the advice i always give people and so far every person i’ve told it to has broken up with a difficult person and found someone who feels safe and easy—including me 14 years ago 😅)