Our goal was to detect and describe a common "core" structure of romantic love and to also discover and explain variations due to cultural or gender differences between three national cultures: the United States, Russia, and Lithuania. Our sample consisted of 262 American males, 362 American females, 166 Russian males, 130 females, 102 Lithuanian males, and 135 Lithuanian females-a total of 1,157 people. Our analysis was derived from (a) a 14-item questionnaire; (b) freelist responses to the question "What do you associate with romantic love?" and (c) interview and focus group data. The questionnaire was devised by employing well-known quotations about romantic love that cover a range of feelings and perceptions of love. Our results showed that there is no overall consensus but there was cross-cultural consensus on five variables: intrusive thinking, happiness; passion; altruism; and improve well-being of partner. In the freelist portion, we also found some significant similarities-particularly the desire to be together was ranked first across all three cultures. However key cultural differences were found. Friendship and comfort love were critical features