The love factor in the field of second language acquisition has gained considerable traction since the turn of the century. This article is the first to take a variationist perspective to investigate how multilingual coupledom affects sociolinguistic development in the second language (L2). Participants were 76 users of L2 German living in Austria, all of whom were in a romantic relationship with an Austrian partner. We analyzed the effects of multilingual coupledom on self-reported changes in learners’ use of, attitudes toward, and proficiency in standard German, the Austrian dialect variety, and first language(s), and whether (psycho-)social variables moderate this relationship. Individual differences in psychological and social variables (e.g., adaptability, Open-mindedness, length of residence, orientation toward the Austrian dialect) predicted reported changes in the sociolinguistic repertoire. Qualitative analysis revealed a blended operation of socioaffective and exposure-related factors, which helped explain why, how, and for whom multilingual coupledom affects (socio-)linguistic development.
