Not feeling special

So my boyfriend and I have been together for almost a year. He's told me that he loves me and I love him too. Not that he has to, but he's never told me I'm beautiful or pretty. The only compliment he's given me is that I look nice. Lately I feel like the only time I feel special is when we have sex. I think that's part why I want it all the time. I don't know what to do or how to feel. I don't mean to, but when I see other couples and the boyfriend is sweet and you can tell he loves her and wants her to know he thinks she's beautiful, I get so sad and jealous. Whenever I tell my boyfriend he's handsome he just goes "thanks, you too". Sometimes I wonder why he even told me he loves me. I asked him about it and he was like "I don't know, I just felt like it was now or never so I just said it, that's it". I'm just so tired of feeling like this.