13 cartoons that reveal the truth about love

Peruvian illustrator and architect Rocia Diestra decided to portray the real, lived reality of love – warts and all – rather than the Hollywood-peddled fantasy.

Having always expressed herself through art, she started a page, Behance, in order to collate and showcase her quirky works.

I like drawing, I always have. I started my page back in 2014 but it wasn't until this year that I decided to define my style and stuck with simple lines in black and pink.

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My characters tend to be women realizing love is... well, what it is and not the fantasy they paint it to be when you're young and watching rom-coms with your girlfriends. I draw from my own past experiences and my lovely friends' current chaotic love lives.

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Diestra admits that in the past, her forays into romance often left her putting her partners on pedestals, and making them a priority at the expense of her own enjoyment.

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When I was younger I used to put whatever guy I was dating as my priority and while I learnt a lot from my mistakes I also missed on some experiences for being so focused on the temporary love of my life. I would just like women to take love a little less seriously and know that you should always put yourself first. It's not being selfish, it's just self-love.

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My favorite illustration is 'Medias frutas' because it's about something that bothers me a lot and it's how sometimes we become so dependent on our partners. We've bought into this idea that we are halves roaming this world looking for our one perfect half but as romantic as that may sound that also implies we are not complete without the other person. And that's false.

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If you don't feel comfortable being on your own then all you'll date are other people that also feel uncomfortable being alone.

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We should all be complete persons who forge relationships with other complete persons.

All illustrations courtesy of Rocia Diestra.

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