To me the mark of a good relationship is not only the ability to avoid conflict (ie maximize time spending laughing and smiling together) it is also the ability to handle conflict when it does arise with grace and ease and come out the other side unharmed.

Here's my main issue with "equal" relationships, either they are not as equal as they claim to be, or if the relationship actually is equal, there is no way for two individuals to handle a conflict. It is hard for me to think of an example of something that would be important to you, so let me use one that is important to many people. Whether or not you have kids. Let's say you've been together for a long time, you love each other, have planned on a house, getting married, two kids, the whole deal. But one day, your SO comes home realizing that he doesn't want kids anymore. It doesn't really matter the reason for my hypothetical scenario. How do you handle this situation?

There is no compromise in a situation like this. Someone wins, and someone loses. There is no way to solve this issue. Ultimately what ends up happening in situations like this is they call it a deal breaker, and that's the end of the relationship.

That's my issue with real equal relationships. There is no permanence. Which I guess is a good thing if you pride yourself on being a woman who doesn't "need" a man in your life, but not such a good thing if you want to win a contest of having "better" relationships. Being able and willing to change a relationship as often as you buy a new pair of shoes is not the mark of devotion and loyalty required for a good relationship. Good long term relationships are not frivolous or disposable.

Real equal relationships work fine when there's no real adversity, but they fail when "through good times and bad" comes to fruition. I remember once meeting someone who had broken up with her boyfriend because he wasn't supportive of a court case she was in. Through a red pill lense that means "didn't want this going on forever because he saw how miserable it made her". This broke up their relationship because they were unable to handle the hurdle of "conflicting interests".

But maybe I'm wrong. How do you handle conflict and disagreement? If you haven't had any huge differences, how do you handle small ones?