# Only Love Can Hurt Like This
**Only Love Can Hurt Like This** is a soulful, retro-influenced pop ballad by the British singer [Paloma Faith](https://www.edgepedia.org/paloma-faith), written by the American songwriter [Diane Warren](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-warren) and released in 2014 on RCA as a single from Faith's third album, *A Perfect Contradiction*[1](https://gptkb.org/entity/E588038/) • [2](https://americansongwriter.com/paloma-faith-and-diane-warrens-2014-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this-blows-up-on-tiktok-nearly-a-decade-later/). It became Faith's biggest UK hit, peaking at number 6 on the Official Singles Chart[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/) • [4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/paloma-faith-a-lot-of-people-in-my-position-would-have-given-up-__5897/), and found a second life nearly a decade later through TikTok[2](https://americansongwriter.com/paloma-faith-and-diane-warrens-2014-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this-blows-up-on-tiktok-nearly-a-decade-later/). The same title is also used for a 2023 romance novel by Paige Toon[5](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296521-only-love-can-hurt-like-this).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Paloma Faith, British singer[1](https://gptkb.org/entity/E588038/) |
| Songwriter | Diane Warren, who reached out to Faith while she was working on her third album[2](https://americansongwriter.com/paloma-faith-and-diane-warrens-2014-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this-blows-up-on-tiktok-nearly-a-decade-later/) |
| Album | Track 4 on *A Perfect Contradiction*[6](https://musicbrainz.org/release/d311f67a-32f8-4d92-80e0-ccd69ad452a3) |
| UK chart peak | Number 6 on the Official Singles Chart (24 May 2014); 31 weeks on the chart from 3 May 2014[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/) |
| Label / catalog | RCA, catalog number GBARL1301427[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/) |
| Later chart life | Re-entered the UK singles chart in October 2022, peaking at number 58 that run[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/) |
| Other use | Title of a 2023 Paige Toon novel, 400 pages, published by Putnam[5](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296521-only-love-can-hurt-like-this) |
## Writing and acceptance
Warren, the songwriter behind numerous pop hits, sent Faith the song while Faith was working on *A Perfect Contradiction*, her third album. Faith had been adamant about not singing a song she did not write, and turned down the chance of recording it until she actually heard it; she later admitted this in an interview with *Music Week*, which calls the track her biggest hit[2](https://americansongwriter.com/paloma-faith-and-diane-warrens-2014-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this-blows-up-on-tiktok-nearly-a-decade-later/) • [7](https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/paloma-faith-talks-her-biggest-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/069929).
## Sound and lyrics
Reviewers describe the song as a love song focused on the darker side of emotion. A single review in Renowned for Sound noted a 70s Supremes vibe, a tempo that never rises unnecessarily, and Faith holding her vocals in restraint until roughly the halfway point, where she unleashes the full force of her voice on the chorus; the track runs just under four minutes[8](https://renownedforsound.com/single-review-paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/). The chorus states its thesis plainly: love alone inflicts this particular pain, a formulation an academic analysis summarizes as recognizing love through its pain[9](https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/bitstreams/5f881a71-1935-4975-a326-27dc0c306e21/download).
A production analysis on The Mix Review found something unusual about the recording: the entire track sits about 35 cents sharp (Cents are hundredths of a semitone in tuning) of concert pitch, enough to frustrate anyone playing along on a conventionally tuned instrument. The author suggests a possible cause, that a crucial element such as the opening brass riff may be a sample slowed down to fit a new tempo, dropping its pitch[10](https://themixreview.org/reviews/only-love-can-hurt-like-this/).
## Chart performance
The single entered the UK Official Singles Chart on 3 May 2014 at number 50 and reached its peak of number 6 on 24 May 2014, spending 31 consecutive weeks in the top 100 through November 2014[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/). On the Official Singles Sales Chart it peaked at number 23; on the streaming chart, number 52; and on the video streaming chart, number 24[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/). Official Charts notes that Faith has never had a UK number 1 single or album as a lead artist, and that this number 6 peak is her highest-charting single[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/paloma-faith-a-lot-of-people-in-my-position-would-have-given-up-__5897/).
“Second chart life.” In October 2022 the song re-entered the UK singles chart, spending four weeks and peaking at number 58, after the track went viral on TikTok nearly a decade after its original release[2](https://americansongwriter.com/paloma-faith-and-diane-warrens-2014-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this-blows-up-on-tiktok-nearly-a-decade-later/) • [3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/). It has since charted intermittently in the UK again in 2024, 2025, and 2026[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/). In Australia the song has been certified multi-platinum[1](https://gptkb.org/entity/E588038/).
## Reception
Ezra magazine's review of *A Perfect Contradiction* called the song the album's stand-out, the track that completely uses Faith's voice, and noted that it was smartly released as a single; Faith also recorded an "Off the Cuff" version[11](https://ezramagazine.com/2014/08/06/album-review-a-perfect-contradiction-paloma-faith/).
## The Paige Toon novel
*Only Love Can Hurt Like This* is also the title of a contemporary romance novel by Paige Toon, first published on 25 April 2023, 400 pages in the Putnam trade paperback edition (ISBN 978-0-593-54433-4)[5](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296521-only-love-can-hurt-like-this) • [12](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-54433-4). Its heroine, Wren, an architect from Bury St. Edmunds, England, spends a summer on her father's pick-it-yourself farm in rural Indiana after her engagement collapses, and falls for Anders, an IndyCar engineer still grieving his wife, whose secret threatens their relationship[5](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296521-only-love-can-hurt-like-this) • [12](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-54433-4). On [Goodreads](https://www.edgepedia.org/goodreads) the book holds a 3.96 average from more than 47,000 ratings[5](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296521-only-love-can-hurt-like-this); Publishers Weekly called it a middling romance carried by readable, emotional prose[12](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-54433-4).
## References
1. [Only Love Can Hurt Like This, GPTKB entity page](https://gptkb.org/entity/E588038/)
2. [Paloma Faith and Diane Warren's 2014 Hit “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” Blows Up on TikTok Nearly a Decade Later, American Songwriter](https://americansongwriter.com/paloma-faith-and-diane-warrens-2014-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this-blows-up-on-tiktok-nearly-a-decade-later/)
3. [ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS – PALOMA FAITH, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/)
4. [Paloma Faith: “A lot of people in my position would have given up”, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/paloma-faith-a-lot-of-people-in-my-position-would-have-given-up-__5897/)
5. [Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296521-only-love-can-hurt-like-this)
6. [Release “A Perfect Contradiction” by Paloma Faith, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/d311f67a-32f8-4d92-80e0-ccd69ad452a3)
7. [Paloma Faith talks her biggest hit, Only Love Can Hurt Like This, Music Week](https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/paloma-faith-talks-her-biggest-hit-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/069929)
8. [Single Review: Paloma Faith – ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’, Renowned for Sound](https://renownedforsound.com/single-review-paloma-faith-only-love-can-hurt-like-this/)
9. [Accepted version, University of Adelaide digital library](https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/bitstreams/5f881a71-1935-4975-a326-27dc0c306e21/download)
10. [Only Love Can Hurt Like This, The Mix Review](https://themixreview.org/reviews/only-love-can-hurt-like-this/)
11. [‘A Perfect Contradiction’ Review, Ezra magazine](https://ezramagazine.com/2014/08/06/album-review-a-perfect-contradiction-paloma-faith/)
12. [Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-593-54433-4)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Singles as releases*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license