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10 Cuter Gender-Neutral Alternatives To 'Partner'
10 Cuter Gender-Neutral Alternatives To 'Partner'

For when you want to be really sure no one thinks you're running a business together.
October 10 2015 9:00 AM EST
November 08 2024 5:46 AM EST
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10 Cuter Gender-Neutral Alternatives To 'Partner'
When you’re dating someone whose gender falls outside the binary, “partner” tends to be the default way to tell the world you’re together. But for those who are sick of explaining that no, they don’t work with you, fear not! There are plenty of alternatives. Online resources like Gender Queeries provide dozens of options, but here are the 10 gender-neutral alternatives that are, in my humble opinion, the cutest. (Note: You should always check with your partner about which options they think are cutest.)
1) Other Half
Good for: The person you’ve been seeing for the past five or more years. They finish your sentences and know all your annoying quirks. You’re at the stage where you pee with the door open.
2) Bothfriend
Good for: The bigender babe who’s captured your heart. You’re haven’t moved in together yet, but ze’s helped you put together IKEA furniture while you cooked paella for two.
3) Paramour
Good for: That cutie who sweeps you off your feet and knows romance isn’t dead. Forget sexting—they still write romantic love letters to you by hand. Your ideal date includes a bottle of wine, fancy cheese, and feeding grapes to each other under the shade of a mature oak tree.
4) Zefriend
Good for: The gender non-binary babe who loves casual dates at the arcade, and late nights marathons of 90s flicks on Netflix. Ze isn’t quite ready to call hirself the love of your life yet, but you’re definitely past the seeing other people stage.
5) Steady
Good for: The gender fluid cutie who can rock a convincing James Dean or Natalie Wood look depending on the day. This 1950s throwback packs a heavy dose of charm.
6) Significant Other
Good for: People who value directness. Significant other can sound as formal as partner, but there is absolutely no mistaking it for the person who helps you run a business.
7) Cuddle Buddy
Good for: The kind of date who loves cuddling on the couch with you and your cat, ordering take-out, and watching Steven Universe. If you don’t have to change out of pajamas, all the better.
8) Sweetheart
Good for: The cutesy honeymoon phase. You’re at the stage as a couple where gazing longingly into each other’s eyes when you first wake up in the morning has not yet been replaced by a quick dash to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Bad breath is no match for you love.
9) Spouse
Good for: Relatively traditional couples, who have either literally or metaphorically put a ring on it. Ze is going to be there in the retirement home with you, playing chess and reminding you to clean your dentures.
10) Soulmate
Good for: The lifelong lover who’s as romantic as you are. You have a joint checking account, file taxes together, and think both shopping for a new blender and going to Shakespeare in the Park are equally excellent dates.