Research shows that we need love emotionally and physically in order to stay healthy. “Love is not sentimentality or something created by our culture,” says Sue Johnson, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa and author of Hold Me Tight. “It is an emotional bond and we are hardwired to find mates and create that bond.” Only in the past 15 years have scientists really started to understand what love is all about, she adds. So it’s little wonder some of our notions about love are mistaken, especially given all the fairytale endings perpetuated by pop culture. Here are five myths about love busted (and then mended).