7 Things you must know about other couples' love: we're all curious about what goes on in our friends' relationships. But Cosmo discovered that a twosome's public image is often deceptive. Once you read this, you won't ever suffer from grass-is-greener syndrome again.(LOVE AND LUST)

You see another couple and you can't help it: You wonder things, like what their sex life is like, how they act at home, and if they're really that in love. Part of you is just plain curious, but another part of you is dying to know how your union stacks up to theirs.

"It's human nature to compare yourselves to other couples or use them as a benchmark," says Cooper Lawrence, host of the national radio program The Cooper Lawrence Show. "You can learn valuable lessons from the way friends conduct their relationships. But problems arise when assumptions you make, good or bad, are off. This erroneous info then affects how you view and approach your own bond."

That's why it's essential to understand what really goes on behind other people's closed doors. This knowledge can give you a better perspective about your own love life and even help you realize just how good you have it. Here, what you need to know about most couples.

THEY'RE OFTEN TRYING TO LIVE UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS

In every social circle, there's that couple. You know, one of those dynamic duos who seem so in sync, so interesting, so crazy in love with each other. And unless you're too jealous to say so, you've probably let them know just how fabulous you think they are.

End result: "The couple may try extra hard to be that amazing because they like who they become around you or because they don't want to let you down," says psychologist Robert Phillips, PhD, director of the Center for Coping. Experts call it social motivation--the knowledge of how others perceive us influences our ...