I don't see it as a manipulative thing, but more so a conservation of emotions - emotions that could very well make or break a relationship.
Love is beautiful, vibrant, intoxicating and dangerous. Everyone can remember a time when they loved so freely, hard, without prejudice and it ended up causing the deepest crater of pain.
I am like a speed governor, - yes I love hard, maybe more than my partner at times but with my love comes wisdom. The wisdom from experience of unconstrained love turned upside-down. I understand that love can cause us to make irrational decisions that may only serve to hurt us both in the end. Often times, my partners do not understand the depths of their own emotions - I only seek to conserve it in the most healthiest of ways.
It ends up protecting us both and allowing our love to grow at a sustainable pace, one never eclipsing the other totally.