Philophobia & 13 Other Love Phobias You Never Knew Existed

There are actually a surprising amount of phobias that can take a toll on relationships. Below are a few love-related fears you might not know about.

The phobia of kissing seems to stem from a fear of mouth germs. But that's not always the case with people who suffer from philemaphobia. Some people with this fear don't want to be exposed to bad breath—and it's hard to blame them.

We don't really need to explain how a fear of physical intimacy can negatively affect a relationship or keep someone from getting into one in the first place.

If you can relate to the way Howie Mandel can't bring himself to hug people or have close human contact with anyone, then you might have mysophobia, the fear of germs. It's pretty difficult to get close to someone else if you can't stand the thought of being touched. That said, Mandel takes medicine to control his condition and has been happily married—for 36 years!—with children. So, there's always a way.

People with agoraphobia used to have things a lot worse. It's still a huge struggle, but there's at least the internet to find connection remotely. Agoraphobia is often associated with being afraid to leave the house, but it's actually a specific fear of crowds and inescapable situations (like a first date).

People with metrophobia don't enjoy having their lovers whisper sweet nothings in their ears. On the bright side, you won't be disappointed that your S.O. isn't scribbling sonnets for you late into the night.

A phobia of belly buttons makes it tough to enjoy getting naked with someone. Unfortunately, there are very few people in the world without belly buttons. So, unless you think you may have a chance at Karolina Kurkova, try counseling to deal with this phobia in a healthy way.

If being hugged or sitting close to another human being makes someone cringe, they probably suffer from chiratophobia. Some people have an especially intense form of this phobia and can't even watch romantic movies because they can't stand to watch people touching each other. People who suffer from this fear may also feel like their skin is burning if they watch other people display affection.

It's obvious that this could cause a pretty serious issue in a relationship with a person with a penis. You may benefit from entering into relationships with people who don't have them. Of course, one could always try penis costumes to avoid the sight of the erect penis. (Yes, penis costumes are a real thing.)

No, this isn't a made-up condition to explain why some guys are really bad at pleasing female partners. Sarmassophobia is actually a phobia that affects both genders. However, it's not that uncommon to find someone who likes to "get right to the point" when it comes to sex.

While this is a legitimate fear, most people don't have a full-on phobia when it comes to marrying the wrong person. Anuptaphobia can also mean the fear of being single. Confusing? Absolutely.

Some people actually have a real phobia of getting married—though some people who've heard about this might be quick to claim gamophobia as an excuse for not committing.

Going out to dinner is one of the best parts of dating. But if you've got cibophobia (the fear of food and/or being poisoned), dates might be a struggle, not to mention the fact that wedding receptions are basically huge dinner parties with dance floors.

Sure, some men deserve our suspicion. They might be immature or have character flaws that would make it difficult to build a relationship. But that's certainly not the same as having a phobia of men in general. Arrhenphobia makes it impossible to go on a first date with a man, share a first kiss, or start a relationship. On the flip side, there's venustraphobia—the fear of beautiful women—also a serious fear.

This is perhaps one of the saddest phobias of all. The fear of falling in love would make it impossible to experience the joy of having a life companion or to raise a family with someone. But with the necessary counseling, anything is possible. But by the way, it's pretty common for the average person to have some fear when it comes to falling in love. Barring a serious phobia, here's how to overcome the fear of falling in love.