What's your love language - and does it actually mean anything?

Despite only being on their second date, this couple had already discussed love languages I'm "words of affirmation", and so is my husband. This is supposedly our shared love language. But, while we do like receiving compliments, they make us both feel a bit awkward. Despite this, our result was confidently defined when we took the original Love Languages Quiz online, a personality test published 1992. Does the theory really know more about us than our own lived experience of a 10-year marriage? The five love languages are: Quality Time, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Receiving Gifts, and Physical Touch - and they feel more ubiquitous than ever. Contestants on dating shows ask each other their love languages; "My love language is…" is a common prompt on dating apps. According to the Love Languages website, my husband and I are just two out of more than 150 million people to have taken this particular quiz. Even though we scored much lower on some of the other languages, they speak more directly to us. For example I love spending "quality time" with my husband, and feel much more loved a compliment. But where did the idea of these five neat categories come from? And are they relevant for modern dating and relationships? This video can not be played How do you show your partner you love them? Unlike other relationship theories - such as attachment theory - the concept of love languages doesn't have scientific origins. Chapman said the theory came to him after observing couples during counselling sessions he held in his parish. Counselling psychologist Dr Sarah Emmerson told the BBC that love languages are still mentioned regularly in her sessions. "There's almost no-one out there who hasn't taken that quiz," she said. "[Couples] quite frequently bring that in and say, 'So my partner is Physical Touch and I'm Acts of Service, so this doesn't work'. "Research has proven that there isn't a lot of validity to the idea that there are only five ways in which people show love, and that everybody fits neatly into these categories. But people still gravitate towards it, and we have to wonder why that might be." Fan edits have tried to guess the love languages of Nick and Charlie in Heartstopper For some, talking about love languages can simply be a useful introduction to thinking about how they communicate their needs to their partner.