You’re right ... after the wedding, kids, etc it becomes more of a chore than anything else ...
It means loving someone even when they go light years out of their way to be hurtful and spiteful.
It means honoring them, even when they prove to be Gomer daughter of Diblai. (That’s in the book of Hosea folks.)
And protecting them even when they go light years out of the way to put themselves in danger.
That isn’t easy.