"But, the relationships that I see work - as long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being"
About this Quote
The structure matters. He starts with “the relationships that I see work,” a modest credential that reads like hard-won observation rather than advice. Then comes the conditional: “As long as…” This is a gate, not a wish. He’s implying most breakups aren’t caused by a single betrayal, but by smaller evasions that compound into an alternate reality two people politely maintain. The subtext is that intimacy isn’t created by constant harmony; it’s built by tolerating the discomfort of honest conflict without turning it into cruelty.
There’s also a quiet corrective to contemporary relationship culture, where “communication” is praised in the abstract but penalized in practice. We celebrate vulnerability as a vibe until it names something inconvenient. Ruffalo points to the real price: telling the truth when it might change the relationship’s terms, puncture someone’s self-image, or expose your own. The intent feels less like therapy-speak and more like an actor admitting what scripts can’t fix: relationships work when the dialogue finally stops being edited.
Quote Details
| Topic | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ruffalo, Mark. (2026, February 17). But, the relationships that I see work - as long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-156752/
Chicago Style
Ruffalo, Mark. "But, the relationships that I see work - as long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being." FixQuotes. February 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-156752/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"But, the relationships that I see work - as long as they're telling the truth, and saying the things that you don't ever want to have to say to another human being." FixQuotes, 17 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-the-relationships-that-i-see-work-as-long-156752/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.




