This research aims to examine the way as amorous relationships are configured in a south area community of Rio de Janeiro city, Rocinha. Starting with an analysis of romantic love and the context of poverty, we search to investigate the conjugal arrangements possible and desirable, given the specific conditions of social life in that layer. We show the close relationship between love and marriage, as it is known today, it is relatively recent, and responsible for bringing large load of relationships expectations. Historical analysis about the family and marriage in poor layers of the population show a resistance to institutionalized patterns, which contributed to their marginalization. Even today, few studies refer to this segment. Among them, some testify that the poor family would be more inclined to disruption during its development cycle, than a family from middle class or high. Thus, the presence, in this population, of a family representation based on romantic ideals would indicate the existence of conflicts. However, through a research of a qualitative and exploratory character, based on semi-structured interviews, it is noticed among residents of Rocinha an enormous capacity for adaptation and values adjustment of the dominant culture absorbed in its reality. The marital life in the slum can articulate traditional and modern values in a convenient way, balancing the strong influences imposed by dominant classes and the vehicles of communication with their actual conditions and needs. These couples produce, therefore, a proper way of designing their own love relationships.