Gary Chapman gives some guidance on the behaviors that loving spouses exhibit toware each other.

What Makes a Loving Family?  
 
By Gary Chapman
 
In a world where there are so few families that even fit the framework of a "traditional" family with two parents, let alone a functional, loving "traditional" family, what are the characteristics we can pursue to become a loving family? Here's one very important one.
 
Intimacy Between Husband and Wife 
 
In a loving relationship, we recognize there are normal hurdles, and we learn to discuss them openly and find ways of working through these barriers.
 
We create an atmosphere of trust where we can openly say, "I am somewhat afraid to tell you what I am thinking because I am afraid that you might condemn my thought, that you might think it foolish, and I would feel rejected. But because I want to be close to you and I want our relationship to grow, I am going to talk about it in spite of my fear." Such an honest statement helps create a climate for authentic intimacy.
 
Where do we get the courage to talk with such freedom? The answer lies in making intimacy a priority in our relationship.
 
We did not marry in order to find a convenient way to cook meals, wash dishes, do laundry, wash cars, and rear children. We married out of a deep desire to know and be known by another, to love and to be loved, to live life together, believing that together we could experience life more deeply than apart. 
 
Because we value this intimacy, we are willing to take time to negotiate roadblocks.
 
How does this lofty and sometime ethereal goal become substantial in our lives? It helps to look at the five essential components of an intimate relationship. Think about how well you do on linving out these points and how you might do better.
 
Number 1: We tell our thoughts (intellectual intimacy). 
 
Number 2: We discuss our feelings (emotional intimacy). 
 
Number 3: We spend time together and discuss time we have spent apart (social intimacy). 
 
Number 4: We open our souls to each other (spiritual intimacy). 
 
Number 5: We share our bodies (physical intimacy).
 
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Taken from Dr. Gary Chapman's Five Signs of a Loving Family.