Eminem wrote the verses and chose Rihanna to sing the chorus, resulting in a collaboration influenced by their past experiences in difficult relationships.

Backed by guitar, piano and violin, the track is a midtempo hip-hop ballad with a pop refrain, sung by Rihanna, and describes two lovers who refuse to separate despite being in an abusive relationship.

The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, stars Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox as lovers in a violent relationship and shows Eminem and Rihanna in front of a burning house.

Reporters suggested that the song and its accompanying video were influenced by Eminem's and Rihanna's abusive relationships with their respective ex-lovers, Kim Scott and Chris Brown.

The development of "Love the Way You Lie" began with the backing track and hook melody, which was created by British hip hop producer Alex da Kid.

[16] Rihanna described "Love the Way You Lie" as unique, realistic and deep, saying that it "broke down the cycle of domestic violence" because few people had insight on the topic.

[33] Eminem admits to lying about promises he makes and says late in the song,[31] "If she ever tries to fuckin' leave again, I'ma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire",[34] a reference to Rihanna's lyrics.

[31] Ironically, Eminem writes about Chris Brown's 2009 abuse, rapping "Spewing venom in your words when you spit 'em, You push, pull each other's hair, scratch, claw, bit 'em".

On May 27, 2010, Eminem revealed the title of "Love the Way You Lie" as part of the track list of his seventh studio album Recovery,[35] which came out on June 21.

[39] New York Times writer Jon Caramanica considered it "one of the album's most engaging songs" and praised Eminem's ability to assess issues from the perspectives of both sexes.

Club compared the single with "Kim" and "'97 Bonnie & Clyde"; they found he is more tempered in "Love the Way You Lie" when discussing a "mutually destructive relationship" and that Rihanna's involvement creates an eerie mood.

Michael Menachem of Billboard complimented her "exquisitely melodic and surprisingly hopeful" vocal performance and "Eminem's dark, introspective" rapping.

[25] Kyle Anderson, writing for MTV, remarked that the song showcases Rihanna's emotional vocals and Eminem's "most intense rhymes about his tumultuous relationships".

[43] He regarded "Love the Way You Lie" as an honest, "well-constructed pop song with a killer hook" and likened the "slow-burning" music to that of "Someone like You", a 2011 single by the British singer Adele.

Anderson noted a dark theme,[43] while Nick Levine of Digital Spy, Allie Townsend of Time magazine and Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press suggested the previous relationships of both artists influenced the song.

[27] According to him, the song would not have been effective if it had featured only Eminem's point of view and feelings of regret; he wrote that Rihanna's representing the opposite side of the relationship shows "proper storytelling" and "sends a message" because of her breakup with Brown.

[50] She disagreed with the critical praise, arguing that women accept abusive relationships for deeper reasons than sexual and emotional pleasure, such as family and financial issues and helplessness.

[51] Jay Smooth, a New York radio personality, responded that "while Eminem explores the psyche of the abuser with an almost disturbing amount of depth and detail," Rihanna's perspective is downplayed and not explained fully.

[51] To Sady Doyle, although "Love the Way You Lie" is one of Eminem's most affecting tracks and finds him remorseful, it does not make up for his past misogynistic actions and hateful songs.

"[31] Marjorie Gilberg, executive director of the anti-teenage violence group Break the Cycle, commented that "Love the Way You Lie" can teach listeners about the dangers of abusive relationships if interpreted correctly.

Claire Suddath of Time placed it at number five on her top 10 list and wrote, "That this song didn't come across sounding clichéd or tasteless is a testament to both artists' skill.

[62] In the Billboard issue for August 21, 2010, Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems recognized the single with the BDS Certified Award for 50,000 radio spins.

[65] "Love the Way You Lie" was the first number-one hit (for 10 years) on the Rap Songs chart with Eminem as the lead artist since his 2000 single "The Real Slim Shady".

[81] Despite having planned to shoot a feature film and stop directing pop videos, Kahn chose to work on "Love the Way You Lie" because, according to him, the song discusses an important topic.

[97] Stephanie Nilva—the executive director of trauma resource center Day One—told MTV News that it mainly raises "the topic of dating violence among young people".

[100] Mariel Concepcion of Billboard suggested the video was inspired by the lyric,[91] "Just gonna stand there and watch me burn, but that's alright because I like the way it hurts.

On June 15, 2010, he and Rihanna performed the song at Los Angeles' Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, accompanied by the drummer Travis Barker and D12's Mr.

[126] Piet Levy of USA Today named the show a "tragic stunner",[125] while Katie Hasty of HitFix added that it displayed competition between the sexes.

[137] In 2010, the Russian guitarist Alex Feather Akimov released "Love The Way You Lie (Heavy Remix)", a recording that was recognized by Billboard.biz (Web Trends).

[148] While the Chicago Sun-Times considered the track an unnecessary sequel,[149] the BBC reviewer James Skinner wrote, "'Love the Way You Lie (Part II)' even bests the original, Eminem's verse exuding the kind of volatile, simmering menace that got everyone so excited about him in the first place.