💍 Romance & Marriage Guide: Win Every Bachelor's Heart

How Friendship Points Work

Every heart is 250 friendship points. Talking to a villager once per day is +20 - a free baseline worth over 7,000 points a year if you are consistent. Gifts are the lever: a loved gift is +80, a liked gift +45, neutral +20, disliked -20, hated -40. You may give two gifts per villager per week (the week resets Sunday), and hitting both earns a +10 bonus the following Sunday. Quality multiplies liked and loved gifts: silver x1.1, gold x1.25, iridium x1.5.

Birthdays multiply the whole gift by 8 - a loved birthday gift is +640, and +960 with an iridium-quality item, nearly four hearts from a single slot. The Feast of the Winter Star secret-gift is x5. 1.6 added Stardrop Tea, which gives a flat 250 points (one full heart) to anyone and ignores the weekly gift limit entirely.

Neglect decays: -2/day for normal villagers (stopping at 10 hearts), -10/day after a bouquet (stopping at 10), and -20/day forever for a spouse. Reading the book Friendship 101 adds +10% to all friendship gains.

Winning Hearts Cheaply: Gift Lists and Birthdays

Cheapest universal likes (45 points from almost everyone): any flower, any gem, any cooked dish, and most artisan goods (except Oil and Void Mayonnaise). A flower patch plus a Preserves Jar basically funds your social life.

Candidate-specific loved gifts (80 points) that are cheap, growable or craftable, with birthdays as of 1.6:

| Candidate | Birthday | Easy loved gifts |
|---|---|---|
| Abigail | Fall 13 | Amethyst, Pumpkin, Chocolate Cake |
| Alex | Summer 13 | Complete Breakfast, Salmon Dinner |
| Elliott | Fall 5 | Crab Cakes, Tom Kha Soup, Pomegranate |
| Emily | Spring 27 | Cloth, Wool, any gem except Diamond |
| Haley | Spring 14 | Fruit Salad, Pink Cake, Sunflower |
| Harvey | Winter 14 | Coffee, Pickles, Truffle Oil, Wine |
| Leah | Winter 23 | Goat Cheese, Wine, Salad, Stir Fry, Truffle |
| Maru | Summer 10 | Pepper Poppers, Rhubarb Pie, Cauliflower, Battery Pack |
| Penny | Fall 2 | Poppyseed Muffin, Red Plate, Roots Platter, Emerald |
| Sam | Summer 17 | Maple Bar, Pizza |
| Sebastian | Winter 10 | Pumpkin Soup, Sashimi, Frozen Tear |
| Shane | Spring 20 | Beer, Pepper Poppers, Pizza |

Check the calendar outside Pierre's door every season start and stockpile each target's gift before their day arrives.

From Bouquet to Proposal

At 8 hearts, every romance candidate freezes - the next morning Pierre mails you about bouquets (200g at his store). Giving one unlocks hearts 9-10 and changes their Social tab status to girlfriend or boyfriend. You can date several candidates at once without penalty until you actually propose, though dating all six of one gender triggers an awkward group heart event and a week of cold shoulders.

To propose you need the Mermaid's Pendant, sold for 5,000g by the Old Mariner, who appears only on rainy days at the beach tidal pools - repair the 300-wood bridge to reach him, and in winter you will need a Rain Totem. He refuses to sell unless your farmhouse has at least the first upgrade, you are at 10 hearts with someone eligible, and you are not already married. After the pendant is accepted, the wedding happens three days later at 6am (delayed past festival days), the weather icon becomes a heart, and the calendar shows a pendant on the day.

Married Life and Spouse Perks

A spouse moves into their own themed room beside your bedroom and their meter expands to 14 hearts. A happy spouse will randomly water your crops (spring through fall), feed the animals, fill the pet bowl, repair broken fences, and occasionally cook breakfast or leave gifts - keep the kitchen path unblocked or dinner is canceled. All friendship gains and losses with a spouse are reduced by 34%, but decay never stops (20/day), so keep the daily talks going.

Two concrete paydays: at 12.5 hearts (3,125 points) your spouse gives you a Stardrop - one of the easiest in the game - and the first kiss of each day removes exhaustion. The twice-a-week gift limit is lifted after marriage (once per day instead), though gift effects are halved.

Children and Divorce

Children require the second farmhouse upgrade (which adds the nursery). Periodically, a spouse will ask about having or adopting a child - same-gender couples adopt. Two children maximum per couple.

Divorce is a book inside the Mayor's Manor: it costs 50,000g, and you can cancel free of charge until Lewis' house closes at 10pm the same day. Afterward the ex moves home, friendship resets to zero, their Social entry gains an (ex), they will not accept gifts, and interactions stay bitter. Two shrine options in the Witch's Hut undo the damage: the Dark Shrine of Memory (30,000g) erases an ex's memory so you can date and remarry them - note heart events can only ever be seen once per save - and another shrine turns children into doves for a Prismatic Shard if you want a clean slate.

Common Romance Mistakes

• Missing birthdays. One iridium loved gift on a birthday is 960 points; the same gift any other day is 120.
• Giving fish. With few exceptions (Willy loves Catfish; Elliott loves Lobster), fish are universally disliked or hated.
• Rummaging garbage cans in town: -25 with any villager within 7 tiles. Linus is the sole exception and actually approves.
• Gift-stuffing one candidate before 8 hearts - the meter is capped there until a bouquet; spread early gifts across the whole town instead.
• Hitting villagers with a slingshot (-30 per hit) or blocking your spouse's path to the kitchen.
• Worrying about jealousy too much: a spouse only minds gifts to other candidates of their own gender whom you are also dating (20-40% chance, -30 points).

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