My boyfriend said “Remember, I love who you are”, what does it exactly mean?

We’ve had some problems late and we almost broke up, then we reconciled and that’s what he said.

“Remember, I love who you are and I am sorry for what I have done.”

I was confused he didn’t say “I love you”, that’s what we usually told each other.
My boyfriend said “Remember, I love who you are”, what does it exactly mean?
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