Many, many, many times throughout the day to my SO and my kids. Every phone conversation with my SO ends with it. If I said “I love you” and he didn’t say it back I’d feel pretty rotten!
My kids are very lovey dovey and they come up to me all the time and give me a hug and say “I love you” for no reason at all. And it’s so cute when my son says it because he’s only 2 1/2 and it sounds like “I yuv you.”