10 Things He Secretly Loves That You Do-And 5 He Prays You Never Do Again

There's nothing better than seeing our man happy and if we can do something to keep him that way, we're usually all over it. The old rule of "Happy wife, happy life" can apply to the men in our lives. If he's happy, then odds are that we're pretty happy, too. The knowledge of what to do, to say or to make comes in especially handy on the days when he's down and out. Making and keeping our man happy is one of the more fun aspects of being in a relationship.

But unless he's a very, very chatty guy who literally tells us everything, knowing what makes him laugh can be a challenge. Surprisingly, there are things we do unconsciously that he secretly loves-and other things that he wishes we'd stop doing.

Aside from pinning him down and rigorously questioning him till he tells us everything (paired with dire threats of whatever will scare him the most), the other things we can do to find out what he likes is observe him like a hawk and Google lists like this one for clues. So, let's take a quick peek at some things he loves and a few that he hates. It could be pretty informative and may contain useful knowledge which we will then purposefully use to our advantage on his gloomy man days.

15 He Loves It: Nicknames

One of the perks of being in a long-term relationship is the cute nicknames we give each other. Whether those are play-offs of our actual names, a previous childhood term of endearment that oddly fits the current situation or an inside joke that only we get varies from couple to couple. But sometimes he'll tolerate our pet name for him simply because we like it and he likes it when we're happy because then he's happy.

Occasionally, he'll object to the affectionate term when used in public or around his guy friends but secretly he's proud that we essentially named him. It's kinda like we put our stamp of ownership on him and to know that we like him enough to claim him with a unique verbal term touches him deeply. He'll never admit it, though.

14 He Loves It: Nervous Tics

When we're nervous or distracted, we have these little tics we do unconsciously. These can range from biting our lips or nails, chewing on our hair, doodling on our hands with a pen, chewing our gum loudly or nibbling the ends of our pencils. Whatever it may be, it usually annoys everyone else around us except for our man. For whatever reason-*cough cough* he's high on oxytocin and deeply lost in love with us *cough*-he loves our nervous tic whenever we do it.

He watches us bite our lips and wants to kiss us, he finds nibbled pencils everywhere and immediately thinks of us. He buys our favorite flavor of gum when he's out and about so we never run out when we need it. He adores us and our quirky habits, personality traits and unique body language.

13 Stop Now: Drama Queen

If asked, we will all vehemently deny that we create, enjoy or become involved in drama. Unfortunately, some of us are for real drama queens and get our fix from creating or reinvigorating drama around us. The rest of us who are a little bit more sane and down to earth do tune in occasionally, as though their local drama queen is their favorite weekly reality show.

This might explain why soap operas are so popular. Our loyal man, however, can become exhausted by all this social unrest and, depending on his personality, could become very turned off by our need for drama. A lot of the sweet, quiet good guys we all want really don't want their business thrown around town and they don't want to know everyone else's either.

12 He Loves It: Our Name

Many of us might not like our name or the nicknames people give us based on our full name but it's become such an everyday thing that our name isn't something special to us. But when our guy says our name in that tone of voice, we get all tingly and feel special. And, he in turn loves our name. He loves to say it and watch us respond. He loves to hear it and it's always on his mind.

When he's alone watching TV or out and about at work or grocery shopping, he'll perk up if he hears our name-even though we aren't there. To him, that particular sound means us which equates to happy, tingly good feelings and he loves that fact. So, the next time we're hating on our horrible name, we should bear in mind that it's something unique about us which our man adores and which makes him happy all without us even trying anything.

11 He Loves It: When Your Cooking Skills Are On Par

Okay, so he might not actually prefer all his food burnt to a smoking, blackened crisp, but he will gallantly sample every charred and underdone dish we place in front of him because he loves us. He also loves that we're teaching ourselves to cook and try new recipes to expand our repertoire for future delicious meals together.

He already has a few favorite dishes and will fall all over us when we make them (especially when they turn out better than his mother's version), and he'll be pleasantly surprised when he finds more favorites as we learn more recipes and perfect our cooking skills. But on those burnt days or underdone days, he'll sweetly tell us it's good and then tenderly offer to make a pizza run or pour us a stiff drink to combat any bacteria we may have ingested.

10 Stop Now: Five More Minutes

We've all been there. We're on the clock for a big formal event and we have to have our hair, face and clothes look just right to create the perfect stunning effect when we arrive at our destination. So, we bathe, primp, curl, shave, wax, paint, color and apply various beauty secrets before slipping into the expensive gown laid out on the bed.

While we're thus occupied, our man (who very unfairly got completely ready in less than ten minutes and looks fabulous) is anxiously pacing the floor waiting for us to be ready because by his clock, we're already late. Most of the time, it's really not our fault that we take longer to get ready than they do but, admittedly, we do take longer to get ready and some guys hate that. They love the finished product, though.

9 He Loves It: Practice Makes Perfect

Our man secretly loves it when we practice on him. Whether we're perfecting our cooking skills, working on our art skills by painting his picture repeatedly, trying to get that flick of the wrist just right so he'll melt every time or memorizing the big speech we have to deliver-he loves being involved and actively supporting us.

Plus, some of our goof-ups as we go along can be hilarious and make for some long-lasting teasing ammunition. We might slightly regret that later on but having someone to practice on makes it easier, more fun and helps the process to pass even more quickly than it normally would-which is good when the task being learned is something we aren't wild about in the first place. In the end, he gets the benefit of watching us transform before his eyes.

8 He Loves It: Whatcha Think, Sweetie?

One of the biggest things we do that our guy loves is when we ask his opinion on something. Admittedly, this is partly to do with his ego, but it genuinely makes him feel wanted, needed, valued and appreciated when we actively seek out his opinion and advice on something.

It can be as simple and fleeting as, "Does this need more salt?" or "Does this look good on me?" Other times, it's a more substantial discussion on something very important to us and he'll know this and be touched that we picked him for advice on such a topic. He'll give us sound advice because he loves us and wants us to succeed at whatever we put our minds to. Guys really like it when we take their advice, too.

7 Stop Now: Hovercraft

When we're living together or are married, we have to do very un-fun things like housecleaning and chores. Most of us women naturally have a very set idea of how neat and clean the house has to be. Some of us are more specific than others and need the chores to be done just right.

While this is good on the surface, it usually creates tension in our relationships because our guy (who is probably one of the more common messy personality types) will have a different idea of what neat and clean means. It's usually wrong but if we tell him that or get frustrated and redo his work, he hates that. He genuinely wants to clean the house and make us happy, but he feels inadequate when we criticize his efforts or redo them so he eventually just stops.

6 He Loves It: Such A Laugh

Guys joke a lot and think they're hilarious. They joke with everyone around them, too-friends, family, co-workers, the check-out people at stores and especially with us. Sometimes the jokes are at our expense and other times they're just something funny he randomly thought about.

But whenever, wherever he jokes, he always looks at us because he wants us to laugh. He loves our laugh and one of his hobbies is to make us laugh more often when we're together. So, one of the quickest ways to make him happy is to laugh at his jokes. It doesn't have to be every joke and certainly not the ones that make us uncomfortable but when it's an innocent or genuinely funny joke, we should let him know and laugh out loud when he can see and hear us.

5 He Loves It: Treat Him Special

Everyone loves getting special treatment and our man is no exception. Some of the little ways we unconsciously treat him are when we pick up his favorite candy bar while we're shopping, leave him plenty of hot water for his shower or text him randomly to see how he's doing at work.

These little unconscious gestures of affection further bond him to us and tell him we'll always be there to take care of him and that we're thinking of him more often than we'd ever admit. And when we step it up with loving notes in his hand-packed lunch, make his favorite meal for dinner or wear that dress he loves, then he knows he's spoiled and won't get better treatment elsewhere, even if he isn't looking for anything better.

4 Stop Now: Backseat Driver

Guys have a natural driving ability and the eyesight for distances, physical endurance for long drives and auto know-how for emergencies that make them essential for keeping around to be our personal chauffeurs. We do have a little annoying habit we do which they really don't like. We give them driving advice and turn ourselves into the dreaded and annoying backseat driver.

Most of us do this unconsciously and with fairly good intentions but some of us have underlying control issues and feel that he should be doing it our way since our way is safer, better and, well, our way. One of the best things we can do in these situations is trust that he knows what he's doing, won't purposely crash and then sit back and try to relax.

3 He Loves It: Quality Time

When we're dating and in love, there is nothing better than spending time with our man. It doesn't matter what we're doing together-shopping, dishes, folding laundry, visiting relatives or driving around town because we're lost and he didn't want to stop for directions. The fact that we together make it a wonderful adventure.

We're breathing the same air, laughing and can reach out and touch each other if we want to. It's amazing and helps connect us. One of the ways he knows that we love to spend time with him and enjoy his company is when we call him up with date ideas or suggest plans together (even really simple ones). We may or may not be doing this on purpose but it still communicates how much we value and appreciate having him in our lives.

2 He Loves It: A Little Space

Finally, one last big way we show our man that we care and which he appreciates and loves about us is when we recognize that he needs his own space or some quiet time to himself and allow him to have that.

Everyone needs time to decompress, relax and process events. Some can do it around other people (this is why cuddling is so popular since we can support without pressure or talking), and other people need literal space and time on their own before they're ready to face us or the world refreshed.

Realizing this and respecting it is a sign of maturity and allowing our man this time shows him that we care deeply enough to leave him alone. He knows we'll still be there when he's done processing and that gives him a sense of security he might not have in other areas of his life.

1 Stop Now: I Dunno, You Decide

Finally, one last thing that we unconsciously do which our man might hate is our indecisiveness. This can stem from legitimate issues and our childhood upbringing (which he should know about and understand) but often it's just something we do without realizing it.

He'll ask what we want to eat or where we want to go or what movie we want to watch, and we'll say something like, "I don't know"; "Whatever you want"; or "You decide." This can work but not if we follow up the revelation of his decision by saying, "Not this movie"; "Oh, I don't want to eat that"; or "Why are we here?" It doesn't clear up the situation and ultimately ends up annoying our guy. We're better off making a quick decision on our own or just rolling with what he decides.