I once considered myself a Hopeless Romantic, but then as you go through life you start to suffer the slings and arrows that having a heart that open brings. And over time you try to hang on to that ideal, and stay open to what versions of love and romance can be. And then... you find yourself much further down the line, slightly disillusioned but still romantic in your bones - your very brittle and damaged bones - and thus, you are a Hardened Romantic.