Dating Friends: The Good & The Bad

One of the hardest decisions you can possibly be faced with while being single is whether to risk losing a friendship in the hopes of gaining a romantic relationship. If you think about it, most relationships blossom out of thin air, that is, you meet and you date. It is very rare the case where a friendship turns romantic once it has reached a certain level of friendship and intimate trust develops.

Most singles prefer to date someone who does not know all the skeletons inside their closets, hence that is why it becomes a bit complicated to turn a friendship romantic. That same person who you once told all your intimate secrets to in a very candor sort of way will be the same person who you will someday be arguing with. So if you don't mind having a boyfriend or girlfriend who knows exactly how to leave you defenseless during a heated argument, then the relationship has a fighting chance.

On the other hand, you can argue that dating a friend has its many benefits. One of them being that you may already know each others friends, hence no need to waste time showing off your new mate to your friends. Also you guys can bypass that period of awkwardness because you already know each other and feel very comfortable around each other. Another great benefit is that you may have a deeper insight into your mate then you may have otherwise gotten to as a new relationship. Think about it. You interacted with them while they had no motive to impress you, so to the extent that they were being themselves while you guys were friends, the greater the chance that you will not disappointed with them later down the road about the essence of their true character.

As with all things, caution is the key word when dating a friend. If you are just lonely and your friend looks like a good choice then chances are that it will be a poor choice. Just because your friend is interested in hearing about your love life does not mean that they are interested in you as a love interest. It is best to navigate this uncharted territory with extra caution. You must be certain that your friend is interested in you romantically otherwise you risk looking like a reject and also you will make things too weird to a point where your friend will have their shields up and soon after the friendship will fizzle out.

The decision to turn a friendship into a romantic relationship should be mutual. If you initiate without any clear indications of interest then brace yourself for rejection. Normally girls became friends with guys because that is exactly how they see them, as friends. Had they had any other intentions at the outset then those intentions would have manifested themselves long time ago. If you choose to risk the friendship by going the romantic route, just remember that sometimes friendship and romance are mutually exclusive and can't be mixed as well as we had hoped.