Want To Be A Better Girlfriend To Your Guy? Step Up Your Game With These 31+ Thoughtful Actions

You’re not looking to become a different person — but a few ”how to be a good gf” tips couldn’t hurt, right?

First, pat yourself on the back.

Taking time to polish your partner skills and scoop up a few girlfriend tips means you’re caring and kind.

He’s lucky to have you.

Now, open a notes app — because we’re about to reveal the qualities of a good girlfriend, tips about what not to do, plus actions that will make him fall further in love.

Top 10 Girlfriend Tips: Being the Best Partner for Your Boyfriend

Here’s a quick list of the top ten tips on how to be a good girlfriend. These apply to all relationships because building a strong, loving relationship is about mutual respect, understanding, and effort from both parties. Read on for more ideas on how to be a better girlfriend.

1. Open Communication: Always communicate your feelings, concerns, and joys. It helps in understanding each other better and resolving potential conflicts early on.
2. Stay Trustworthy: Trust is the bedrock of any relationship. Avoid situations that can make your boyfriend doubt or mistrust you, and always be reliable.
3. Be Supportive: Be his biggest cheerleader. Support his ambitions, dreams, and passions just as you'd want him to support yours.
4. Respect Boundaries: Just like you, he needs personal space sometimes. Understand and respect his boundaries, and communicate yours as well.
5. Stay Interested: Take a genuine interest in his day, hobbies, and passions. This helps in strengthening your bond.
6. Surprise Him: Every once in a while, surprise him with little gestures like cooking his favorite meal, leaving a love note, or planning a date night.
7. Be Independent: While it's beautiful to be a part of a couple, it's essential to maintain your independence, pursue your hobbies, and spend time with your friends.
8. Avoid Petty Jealousy: Everyone has a past, and occasional jealousy is natural. However, don’t let it consume the relationship. Communicate your insecurities instead of acting on them.
9. Admit Mistakes and Apologize: No one is perfect. If you've made a mistake, own up to it and apologize sincerely.
10. Grow Together: Engage in activities that help both of you grow as individuals and as a couple. Whether it's taking a class together or reading a book, shared experiences can strengthen your bond.

What Makes a Girl a Good Girlfriend?

Being a good girlfriend requires an authentic base. Trying to be someone you’re not to please Mr. Wrong is a colossal waste of energy and emotional resources. But once you’ve got that down, work on cultivating the following:

• Respect: Being respectful to your boyfriend, his friends, and his family should be a priority. Rude and inconsiderate is never a good look. But don’t confuse respect with subjugation. Aim for a partnership of equals.
• Confidence: Secure people who proudly wear their confidence are exceptionally attractive. Arguably, self-assurance is more alluring than beauty.
• Thoughtfulness: Being a good listener is a valuable life skill. Thoughtfully remembering the little makes you stand out.
• Responsibility: Do you want a serious relationship? Is marriage on your wish list? If so, responsibility is vital. People prefer to partner with those they can trust.
• Kindness: Do you talk about people behind their backs? Are you nasty to strangers or walk around with an air of superiority? If so, reconsider your approach. Men usually aren’t enamored with catty, hypercritical women.

How to Be a Good Girlfriend: 25 Thoughtful Actions

We’ve reviewed a few general tips on how to be a good girlfriend. Now, let’s unpack the nuts and bolts by looking at 25 thoughtful actions you can do for your partner.

1. Cook His Favorite Dinner Unexpectedly

It may be a cliche. But it’s true: The way to a person’s heart is through their stomach! Whipping up your partner’s favorite meal is always a welcome treat.

2. Plan a Friends Night

Guys appreciate a woman who doesn’t get upset about their time with friends. If you want to take it to the next level, why not plan a night for him and the boys. No, you shouldn’t stay.

3. Give Him a Massage

Massages do a body good. They improve circulation and reduce physical stress. A girlfriend who knows how to give a killer rub down is worth her weight in gold.

4. Plan an Intimate Night

Has your sex life been waning lately? Spice things up with an intimate evening. Go the extra mile and get some new lingerie or maybe even a few fun adult toys.

5. Let Him Pick the Movie

Do you always pick the movie? Does your guy dutifully sit through rom-coms and period pieces? Give the guy a break and let him pick the movie next time.

6. Text Him Something Special

Being a good girlfriend doesn’t always need to involve a huge effort. Sometimes, sending the perfect text message at the right time is more impactful than elaborate plans.

7. Dress Up for Him

Sometimes, we don't pay much attention to how we look and dress when we've been in a relationship for a while.

For the most part, it's fine. But dressing up for him every once in a blue moon is a nice thing to do.

8. Tell Him How Lucky You Are

Relationships fall into routines. We do and say the same things, week in and week out. So remember to flatter your man and tell him how lucky you are to be in his life. Guys love praise.

9. Turn Off Your Phone

Is your phone an appendage at this point? They’ve become such a ubiquitous part of life we’ve become oblivious to our own “check rates.” But part of being in a healthy relationship is turning off devices and tuning in to your partner.

10. Close the Door on the Past

Living in the past is pointless. It’s over. There’s nothing you can do about it. So don’t drone on and on about previous boyfriends or skeletons in your history closet. Shut the door and move forward with your current relationship.

It will make you a better girlfriend — and a better person.

We’re not advocating for toxic positivity — but letting go can be akin to a miracle.

11. Spend a Starry Night Together

Few things are more romantic than a night under the stars. Power down your devices and make undivided time for each other.

Pick the perfect spot, grab a bottle of something good, and don’t forget a blanket to wrap around. Talk or don’t — the choice is yours.

12. Give Him a Coupon Book

Coupon books are fun whether you’re 25 or 95! You can buy a set here or make your own. But don’t go back on your promise. If he presents a coupon, be prepared to deliver within 24 hours.

Pro Tip: Add an expiry date — because every good relationship has limits!

13. Let Him Sleep In

Sleeping in is a rare and decadent luxury. So orchestrating a day where he can hit snooze indefinitely can help you rack up significant-other points. Throw in breakfast in bed with a laptop queued to his favorite movie.

14. Get Him a Gift Certificate

Retail therapy is a universal cure-all. If your man is navigating a patch of rough waters, give him a pick-me-up with a gift card. Get one for his morning coffee run or favorite store. The price and place are secondary; it’s the gesture that’s memorable and endearing.

15. Let Him Have the Last Piece

You’re at opposite ends of the table. Between you sits the last piece. Sprouts of tongue water shoot anticipatory pleasure signals to your brain. You crave it so badly — but there’s just one left.

As excruciating as it may be, good girlfriends let their partners have it in these situations. Or split the difference and offer to share.

16. Get Tickets for His Favorite Thing

It may not be your thing, but he loves what he loves — and part of being a good partner is occasionally suffering the tortures of a Korn cover band, comic book convention, or a traveling costume fair that reeks of damp hay and drumsticks.

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17. Bake for Him

Baking can be meditative, the result is something yummy, and there's even a scent-satisfaction cherry on top. How can you go wrong!? So if you're brainstorming nice things to do for your boyfriend, consider making a tray of cookies, muffins, or smores!

18. Mow the Lawn

Is mowing the lawn more of a chore than a pleasure for your man? Surprise him by doing it yourself or hiring a landscaper for the week. Choosing the former is a great workout.

19. Buy a Special Bottle

Every once in a while, budget permitting, it's fun to splurge on a bottle of something nice. It adds a special spark to the night and lets him know he ranks high in your life.

20. Upgrade His Coffee

It's such a small thing, but occasionally splurging for a better bag of coffee can be a welcome treat. It also shows that you pay attention to life's mundane things and always look for ways to make his life brighter.

21. Let Him Off the Hook

Are your parents visiting the week your boyfriend has a hectic work schedule? Instead of forcing him to meet up, suggest that he duck out of family obligations. He'll be eternally thankful and realize he's got a keeper in you.

22. Tidy Up

Experts agree that living in a clean, organized space decreases stress and augments serenity. So consider tidying up your boyfriend's place. However, if he's particular about where things go, skip this.

It's also not a great move if the relationship is young. People can be prickly about other folks going through their things.

23. Clean Out His Fridge

You open his fridge, and a tidal wave of stink slaps you in the face. He probably notices the stench too but is too lazy to fix the issue.

Show him your domestic side and handle it. Besides, once it’s done, you won’t have to deal with the foulness anymore either!

24. Get Him Sports Tickets

Is your guy a super fan? One surefire way to earn good girlfriend points is to score tickets for a game. If seats for professional games are out of your budget range, look into local teams. Going to a “minor league” game can be a ton of fun!

25. Talk Him Up

Everyone appreciates an ego boost. So when you’re in a group, talk up your man! But don’t go overboard. After all, nobody likes a braggart.

26. Don’t Emasculate Him

It may sound old-fashioned, but one of the worst things you can do to a male partner is emasculate him — in public and private. 

Right or wrong, most men are attached to the idea of “being a man” in the traditional sense. That doesn’t mean they can’t be feminist allies. But even the most progressive guys feel some sort of way about being emasculated by their partners.

27. Don’t Be Overbearing

Most men don’t appreciate when their partners are overbearing and try to control every minute aspect of their lives. For that matter, neither do most women. Think about it: Do you like when someone you’re dating feels it’s their place to dictate what you do and say?

Moreover, try not to be too needy — especially in the early days. There’s no need to talk to him every hour. You don’t need to send texts morning, noon, and night. If you want him to fall deeply in love with you, play a little hard to get.

28. Don’t Make Financial Demands

You’re dating; you’re not married. So don’t make financial demands on the guy you’re seeing if you want to be a “good girlfriend.”

We’re not suggesting you must pay for everything or go Dutch on every date. In a way, that’s also a huge red flag. But don’t expect him to give you money for rent or to pay your bills.

29. Pick Your Battles Wisely

Perfect relationships are like unicorns: They don’t exist.

If you’ve been dating someone for more than six months, you’re bound to get into at least one major argument. Moreover, people have bad days and may take it out on their partners. Occasional spats are perfectly normal.

Also, remember that you, too, have your moments. (We all do.) So before you blow up over something minuscule, take a deep breath and consider whether it’s really a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

30. Don’t Be Possessive or Jealous

This is another tip that requires a nuanced touch because a touch of jealousy can be okay at times. In specific circumstances, showing a pinch of envy can convey that you care.

But full-blown jealousy is never a good look for anyone, and it turns most people off, especially if you’re just dating. The same thing goes for possessiveness. It’s an unattractive quality, and most folks consider it a turnoff.

31. Treat Him to His Favorite Meals

It may sound like a cliche from your grandmother’s time, but it’s true: One way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! So find out his favorite foods and make them for him.

Making him a meal occasionally is lovely, and it becomes a welcome treat that he’ll look forward to. It also signals that you care, which every guy (and gal) is looking for in a mate.

How Do I Stop Being a Difficult Girlfriend?

The road to good partnerships is paved with authenticity. Pretending to be someone different never works in the long run. But honing your skills and polishing some rough edges is not the same as acting phony.

To that end, let’s look at what to avoid if your end goal is cementing the relationship.

• Stop Fighting: Sure, fighting can sometimes lead to mind-blowing sex. But non-stop arguing and nagging is about as appealing as sour milk. Plus, it’s exhausting, and nobody cherishes an energy-zapping relationship.
• Stop Accusing: Most guys hate when girlfriends accuse them of cheating. We’re not suggesting you look the other way when it comes to infidelity. Don’t settle for less than monogamy if that’s what you want! At the same time, don’t point your finger at your partner if you don’t have proof.
• Stop Judging: People are who they are, and it’s unkind to nit-pick at other folks’ faults. It’s also unattractive. Insecure people act like the resident dump truck; confident women are kind. So stop talking trash and judging others behind their backs.
• Stop Smothering: It’s great having a partner with whom you can spend time — but clingy is bad. If you’re wondering how to be the best girlfriend, start by having your own life.
• Stop Flirting: Do you like it when your partner flirts with other people? Exactly! So refrain from doing the same. Few relationships pass the jealousy test.

Relationships should be rewarding, and the good ones don’t require you to re-chisel your contours. However, adding a few good habits never hurt anyone. Be genuine, thoughtful, and independent-minded. The rest will take care of itself if it’s right.