“Math/Mathematics is like love—a simple idea, but it can get complicated” is a math saying that has been printed on many images. “Math is like love—a simple idea but it can get complicated. - R. Drabek” was posted on the newsgroup soc.men on August 22, 1996. “Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated” was posted on several websites in 2007.
 
It’s not known who “R. Drabek” is. Possibly, this is a typo for Czech theatrologist and English-speaking translator Pavel Drábek.
 
     
Google Groups: soc.men
What’s this LBJF stuff??
Genevieve Carolan
8/22/96
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Math is like love—a simple idea but it can get complicated.
          - R. Drabek
         
Google Groups: alt.quotations
Geometry or Math Quote Wanted
Håvard Fosseng
9/9/96
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@A: R. Drabek
@Q: Math is like love—a simple idea but it can get complicated.
 
Google Books
Speaking of Science
Edited by Jon Fripp, Michael Fripp and Deborah Fripp  
Eagle Rock, VA: LLH Technology Pub.
2000
Pg. 45:
Math is like love— a simple idea but it can get complicated. — R. Drabek
     
18 April 2006, Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), “A big plus in the competitors’ lives ; Math means so much to these busy high schoolers that they waited a month for the state tournament” by Norman Draper, pg. 1B:
Math team T-shirts sported such slogans as “I Actually Like Math,” “Math is like love, a simple idea but it can get complicated” and “You can’t join Math League; it’s social suicide.”
 
OnlineMathLearning.com
April 5, 2007
Mathematics is ...
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“Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.”
       
Math Pages Blog
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Funny quotes
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“Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.”
   
Musings
DEC 17, 2007
Mathematics is like LOVE !
Math is like LOVE. You know why. It is also a simple idea but it can get complicated.
 
Top 100
SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2009
Top 10’s Funny Mathematics Quotes
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“Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.”
 
Facebook
Math-U-See
December 19, 2011 ·
Math quote: Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
 
Math and Multimedia
February 23, 2013
50 Mathematics Quotes by Mathematicians, Philosophers, and Enthusiasts
Posted by Guillermo Bautista
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18. Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
 
Google Books
The Little Green Math Book: 3
0 Powerful Principles for Building Math and Numeracy Skills
By Brandon Royal
Calgary, Alberta: Maven Publishing
2015
Pg. 13:
Math is like love. It starts out simple, then it gets complicated. —Anonymous
   
StackExchange—Mathematics
Who is “R. Drabek”?
The book “Algebra für Einsteiger” bei Bewersdorff (I think the English edition is called “Galois Theory for Beginners”) starts with a nice quotation:
 
Math is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
 
This is attributed to “R. Drabek” who is not mentioned in the rest of the book. If I google this name, I only find the above quotation again. (I know there’s a mathematician called Pavel Drábek, but I guess these two aren’t the same.)
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asked Dec 30 ‘15 at 10:20
Frunobulax
 
Google Books
ACT Mathematics Workbook 2018 - 2019:
A Comprehensive Review and Step-By-Step Guide to Preparing for the ACT Math
By Reza Nazari and Ava Ross  
Published by the authors
2018
Pg. 217:
Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
 
Frank SMS
15 Hilarious Quotes About Math
FrankSMS.com July 16, 2018  
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8. Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated
~ Unknown
Ho, boy! Can it get complicated! It’s why your social media pages allow you to choose that as an option. Too bad it isn’t an option on your algebra test.
 
Prodigy
60+ Brilliant Math Quotes Every Teacher Needs to Read
July 17, 2019 Jordan Nisbet Inspiration
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Mathematics is like love; a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
— Anonymous