'Always kiss goodbye.' 'Invest in a good couch.' Americans share best and worst relationship advice.

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY

Updated February 14, 2024 at 11:10 AM·4 min read

What is the best relationship advice you ever got from your parents? A friend? Maybe even a stranger?

Did it work?

What about the worst relationship advice someone ever gave you?

This Valentine's Day, USA TODAY asked people across the nation to share their best and worst responses. From California to Florida, the answers ranged from witty and off-beat to vain and endearing.

Here's what Americans say is some of the greatest relationship advice they have ever received – and some of the not so great tips they got, too:

Stellar relationship advice

Expensive furniture is worth it

Name: Josh Evans, 36

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Advice: “Invest in a good couch... you might have to sleep on it some nights."

Hold onto that spark

Name: John Labig, 48

Hometown: Knoxville, Tennessee

Advice: Labig's fiancé died in 2018 after a battle with cancer. His advice: "Find someone who lights up when they see you. Every. Single. Time. It’s a priceless feeling ... I will never forget how every single time I walked into a room, she would light up like a Christmas tree when she saw me."

Don't worry about a gift

Elizabeth Dominick, 42, of Bradenton, Florida

Name: Elizabeth Dominick, 42

Hometown: Bradenton, Florida

Advice: Dominick's dad told her in high school when she and her boyfriend broke up before Christmas: "Well now you don’t have to waste your money on a gift."

A union apart

Name: Jen Davis, 48

Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona

Advice: “You don’t have to live together to be happily married. An old client of mine lived across the street from his wife and said it was why they stayed married for so long."

A mindful, handsy partner

Estelle Newman, 74, of Boca Raton, Florida

Name: Estelle Newman, 74

Hometown: Boca Raton, Florida

Advice: "Find the guy that can’t keep his mind or hands off of you. A guy that thanks God for bringing you into his life. The guy that friends and family like. A guy that really will do everything to please you."

Always kiss goodbye

Nancy DeGennaro, 52, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Name: Nancy DeGennaro, 52

Hometown: Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Advice: "Never go to bed angry. Never leave your house angry; always kiss goodbye. Death can make those angry moments insurmountable in your mind."

Be a taker and a giver

Colleen Glenn, 48, of Saint Petersburg, Florida

Name: Colleen Glenn, 48

Hometown: Saint Petersburg, Florida

Advice: "Be a taker when you need it and be a giver when your partner needs to take. There's no score to keep, just accountability 100% of the time. Being funny doesn't hurt either."

Lust vs. love

Chris Ferguson, 48, of Hooksett, New Hampshire

Name: Chris Ferguson, 54

Hometown: Hooksett, New Hampshire

Advice: “Marriage isn’t about love or lust; it’s about sacrifice.”

No one is perfect

Brandon Campbell, 29, member of country duo, The Kentucky Gentlemen

Name: Brandon Campbell, 29

Hometown: Versailles, Kentucky

Advice: "Remember that your significant other is human and no human has ever been perfect!”

Straight bad relationship advice

Just get over it

Derek Campbell, 29, member of country duo, The Kentucky Gentlemen

Name: Derek Campbell, 29 (Brandon's twin).

Hometown: Versailles, Kentucky

Advice: "Never go to bed angry at each other. That is B.S. and literally impossible. If you do something super annoying at 10 p.m. I’m not getting over that crap before bedtime."

Just try

Name: Dana Sulonen, 42

Hometown: Warren, Ohio

Advice: "Someone once told me to try. Worst advice ever."

Ask your mom

Katie Long, 49, of Morgantown, West Virginia

Name: Katie Long, 49

Hometown: Morgantown, West Virginia

Advice: From her dad, a retired Army colonel, upon hearing her cry after a breakup: “Kate, General Patton once said, ‘the object of war isn’t to die for your country. It’s to make the other bastard die for his.’ I don’t know if that helps or not. I’ll have your mother call just as soon as she gets home.”

Get matching tattoos

Erik Thomsen, 41, of Nashville, Tennessee

Name: Erik Tompsen, 41

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

Advice: "You guys should totally get matching side-rib tattoos!"

Be smart

Maria Aboubaker, 46, of Chattanooga, Tennessee

Name: Maria Aboubaker, 46

Hometown: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Advice: "My mama said I better be smart because my sister was the pretty one."

Marry a pretty face

Name: Monty Hobbs, 48

Hometown: Washington D.C.

Advice: From a grandfather: "Marry a woman with a pretty face. That body is going to go with kids and time, but you are going to be waking up to that face every damn day of your life."

Just do it

Brandon Scivolette, 40, of Tampa, Florida

Name: Brandon Scivolette, 40

Hometown: Tampa, Florida

Advice: "You're the captain of your own ship, do whatever you want."

The worst is worse

Danny Willis, 41, of Concord, California

Name: Danny Willis, 41

Hometown: Concord, California

Advice: "Every guy's dad told him, 'The worst she can say is no.' That's absolutely not true. She can think you're creepy and tell her friends, then that's your reputation until you fake your own death and start over."

A work in progress

Name: Marissa Geraci, 42