Absolutely, and I do. I also do some pastoral work, so talking through issues and the like is part of my day to day life. Entering into someone else's mind like we can in fiction, however, is another story.
For the record, my approach for this is to widely digest information from a range of sources. I already watch a fair selection of chick-flicks, having a wife and two daughters, as well as Hallmark, Lifetime, and might-as-well-be-Hallmark Netflix movies. I talk with people, as well as observe families. I also have some pastoral counseling training, so I have broad strokes understandings of people and relationships. I also read quite a bit from various perspectives, so I pick up insights there as well. All of this information I synthesize, and use it to create characters. In doing this, I can often predict what a character may feel in a given situation, even if their experiences are vastly different from mine. However, I only have so many ways to refine this, so I always look for more data in this area. And, the majority of works which feature romantic relationships either have as their culmination a romance scene or a marriage scene, so I think I have a good feel on how those may play out. But, longer relationships are a but harder to find, and as such, I am not sure I can accurately represent a female perspective. So, I know that many have a crisis between years 4 and 10 where the rose colored glasses come off, he gets fatter, and the same strong feelings aren't there all the time anymore. I am curious to see more works which deal with that phase, and the phases which come after it, so I can test my understanding.
