In romance, we feel the need to zoom in and expound on our partner's foibles in intimate detail; in friendship, we tend to do the opposite, avoiding confrontation through fear, lethargy or both.

This quote suggests that when we are in a romantic relationship, we tend to pay more attention to our partner’s flaws. We take time to think about the details of their mistakes and talk to them about it. In contrast, when we are in a friendship, we may be less likely to bring up our friend’s mistakes. We may avoid talking about the mistakes out of fear of confrontation or out of feeling too tired to bring up the issue.