All you need is love. Some forgotten pop band sung that and even though the band’s name has been scattered to history, the concept still rings true in Sunset Valley.
Start the Spark
You cannot immediately engage another Sim in a love affair. You must establish a Friendship first via positive socials with the proper commodities.
So, first turn a Stranger into an Acquaintance and then start boosting that Acquaintance into a Friend-related LTR through positive, friendly socials.
Now, established Friendships have the potential to tip into amorous relationships by using socials with the amorous commodity in order to elicit love-related STCs, such as Flirty, Seductive, or Hot.
Sounds technical, doesn’t it? Well, think about it this way: You wouldn’t try just any old line if you really wanted to advance a relationship, would you?
No, you’d try to steer the conversation toward romance through specific approaches. In The Sims 3, these approaches are the socials with the amorous commodity.
Can this friendship be turned into a love affair? With the right amorous socials, it can. Even if they have seen each other eat waffles on the couch in their underwear.
The LTR that determines the difference between a friendship and a love affair is Romantic Interest. To achieve this LTR, you need to have the relationship at least above zero (in the green zone on the bar) and then use the Confess Attraction social or attempt a Kiss social.
Rejection
Not every pass will succeed. You need to judge the current LTR appropriately before making your move via an amorous social, such as Confess Attraction or Kiss.
Know a little something about the other Sim first. (Whether or not they are married is a good start.) If you try to Kiss or Confess Attraction to a Sim who is not receptive of your amorous social, you get the Awkward STC which is the first rejection of romance.
You can recover from this by redirecting the conversation and hopefully having the conversation on a more positive STC, such as Amusing or Friendly. Keep up the rejected passes and you risk moving into Odd or Creepy territory thanks to the creepy commodity.
Leaving encounters in STCs with the awkward or creepy commodity will take big hits on your LTR due to the negative decay. It will take real time and effort to reverse course on this.
Building a Romance
You professed attraction to another Sim and they didn’t turn you down—excellent. Now you have the Romantic Interest LTR, which opens up a whole new trajectory for your relationship. How can you build this romance into something more than a little bit of mutual attraction?
Here is where you need to use the list of STCs—particularly the amorous ones. You want the other Sim to find you Flirty, Seductive, and eventually Hot. To keep boosting the relationship and STC, use sequential amorous socials. A simple Compliment Appearance is a good way to get things started, but soon you can move on to Kisses and Amorous Hugs. Keep it up and get that other Sim Hot!
You’re in Love (Now What?)
You’ve loved up on another Sim and now you have a definite love affair going—where do you go from here? Well, you can add some structure to the relationship by using the Propose Going Steady social when the STC is Hot. If the other Sim accepts (and if they are Hot, they will) then you are now Partners.
Partners is not the top of the mountain, though. From here, you can move to Fiancee. To get engaged, use the Propose Marriage social when you are Partners. This social will be accepted and then you can start planning
the eventual wedding if so desired. To get married, either throw a wedding party and then use the Get Married social at the party or just use the Have Private Marriage social on your partner to enjoy a small ceremony.
The End of the Affair
Not all marriages/partnerships end well. Some of them devolve into bitter endings, either through the natural dissolution of love or the unfortunate actions of one of the Sims in the relationship. How you break up a relationship depends on the current status of the LTR itself.
If you are married, you must sink the relationship via negative STCs. Be insulting. Be rude. Be mean. Soon, you will have access to the Divorce social, which ends the marriage. If you are in a Partnership or engaged, you can sink the relationship and then use the Break Up social.
Depending on the relationship, a break up can leave a lot of damage in its wake. A Sim who must move out as a result of being divorced is removed from the household and leaves all belongings and children behind.
Moving Out
Sims will move for a number of reasons, such as just wanting to buy a new house. However, when it comes time for a Sim to leave the house under unfortunate circumstances, you can banish a Sim with the Move Out
interaction with the computer or telephone, or use the Ask to Move Out social when the relationship has cratered.
When you ask to move, the Move box appears in the center of the screen and all action pauses. On the left side of the Move box, you see current household, the people in it, and the household value. This household is marked as the active household. The list of Sims in that household appears in the box, too.
To boot a Sim, select them from the list of Sims in a household and press the right arrow button to move them to the right side of the Move box. You have a few options now for terminating the current household arrangement. If you want to mercilessly kick them out, just check the Kick Out option and approve it. The other Sim is sent out the front door. They catch a cab and that’s that.
It’s time to say goodbye.
However, you can actually choose to either follow the Sim leaving the household or at least set them up with another life.
If you choose House or Empty Lot, you select a lot or available house for the departing Sim to live on (as long as it is within their household budget—a departing Sim is given some of the household’s money).
You can now send that Sim on their way or make the new lot the active household. The Sim(s) in your current
household are left behind to act on their own and you follow the departing Sim as he or she enters the next phase of life.
Jealousy and Betrayal
Sims who are married, engaged, or in partnerships do not have to remain loyal to their commitments. They can flirt with other Sims, or take it a step further and actually cheat on their partners.
Any social or interaction with the amorous commodity performed with or on a Sim other than the partner is considered cheating.
Cheating requires a little set-up, as you do actually need to raise the LTR with another Sim into at least Friend and then use the Kiss or Confess Attraction social. Once the second Romantic Interest has been initiated, then you are indeed playing a dangerous game.
As long as the Sim being cheated on is not aware of the activity, there is no LTR hit between the cheater and the cheatee. However, should indiscretions be uncovered, jealousy in triggered. The severity of the indiscretion affects the amount of jealousy and what that jealously does to the LTR.
Flirting: A Flirty social will result in a slight relationship hit. This can later be smoothed over.
Hugs and Kisses : If a hug or kiss is discovered, then the relationship takes a bigger hit. The cheatee is saddled with the Betrayed moodlet.
Make Out or WooHoo: Now you just get what you deserve. If such indiscretions are revealed or stumbled upon, the relationship is ripped apart. The LTR takes a huge hit and the cheatee gets the Betrayed moodlet. This level of cheating can spoil an engagement.
Betrayal ripples beyond the cheater and cheatee, too. Other Sims can react to an affair in a number of different ways. Cheating can damage the LTR with other Sims:
If Sim A and Sim B are married, but Sims A is caught cheating with Sim C, the LTR of Sim A to any Sim that both Sims A and Sim C know will take a hit.
If a child or toddler witnesses the cheating, the LTR takes a hit.
If a family member or friend discovers the cheating, they scold the cheater and then the LTR takes a hit.
If a Sim witnesses cheating, then that Sim can Accuse of Cheating or report the affair back to the cheatee.