You meet someone, you start dating to see if there might be something there.

The dating comes before love.

Therefore the relationship itself exists before love does.

It's a process that allows love to develop or not.

I would say that it is a relationship when two people become exclusive, even if they are not 'in love' yet.

"I would say that it is a relationship when two people become exclusive, even if they are not 'in love' yet."

Thats right! You defintely don't need to be in love to have a relationship. It needs to start somewhere. Love has to grow, Although the older you get this seems to get more complicated. So you have to discuss it and see if you both are feeling the same. You can never assume something is exclusive just because you feel it should be, because the other person might not be on the same page!