The only characters who are genuinely in love with other people are Jay Gatsby and George Wilson. Jay Gatsby has been infatuated and in love with Daisy Buchanan since the moment he met, her five years ago, as a young man. Although Gatsby objectifies Daisy by viewing her as the epitome of wealth and prestige, he believes he genuinely loves her and is unwilling to abandon his dream of marrying her. He is even willing to take the blame for Myrtle Wilson's death and waits outside of Tom's home to make sure Daisy is okay. Similarly, George Wilson genuinely loves his wife, Myrtle, and is devastated when he discovers that she has been cheating on him.

Outside of Gatsby's love for Daisy and George's love for Myrtle, the main characters are primarily in love with wealth, social status, and satisfying their sexual desires. Daisy is only concerned with material items and is portrayed as an extremely shallow woman. Similarly, Myrtle Wilson is in love with Tom's wealth and views him as her ticket to enjoying a life of luxury. Tom is definitely not in love with Daisy or Myrtle. One could argue that Tom is in love with himself and is obsessed with satisfying his physical desires. Overall, the main characters, with the exception of Gatsby and George, do not experience genuine love and are depicted as selfish, materialistic individuals.

The love of money is the most prevalent in the novel. It shows how shallow and immoral the rich can be. Physical attraction isn't love, but it's used in the book. Gatsby's obsessive love for Daisy is shown throughout, especially when he buys a house across from hers. For the most part, the love shown in the novel is unhealthy and sick. Some have an illusion of what love is, while others show their "love" in an abusive way or by having affairs with others outside of marriage. Does Gatsby really love Daisy, or is he in love with what she represents? I don't know that any of the characters, except maybe for Nick Carraway, have any idea of what love is.