Dating Your Best Friend: Advice and Guidelines

You never get tired of communication with your best friend, even after spending all day together. All their jokes make you laugh, and you feel happy next to them. You like the same series, music, books... And once you suddenly notice how beautiful their eyes are. Then, you turn attention to their arms, legs, and perfect body. How soft their lips are! Stop, wait, it's your best friend, and you have known each other for years! Therefore, when you think about whether something more is possible between you, an attempt to take a step from friendship to a romantic relationship may seem a serious and even treacherous thing. But what are the pros and cons of dating your best friend? How to date your best friend without ruining the friendship? How to proceed from childhood friends to lovers? Today, we are going to hunt down these questions and give you some helpful tips on how to date your best friend.

Do Relationships Really Affect Your Friendship?

A friendship forms a strong bond between people and allows seeing the true essence of a person. The strongest and closest romantic relationships are often formed particularly between the best friends. If relations between representatives of different sexes are built on tender feelings for each other but, at the same time, there is no friendship, such relations cannot be called true love.

According to family psychologists, the friendship between partners is a prerequisite for many years of happy relationships. After all, if you remove friendship from a love relationship, all that remains is a sexual relationship, children, domestic life, common living space, and relationships with neighbors (you can check this by registering on a woman seeking man website). To be friends means to be able to talk and hear each other, to have common views and mutual interests, to live, to enjoy successes of each other, and to overcome problems together. Accordingly, marital life is impossible without friendship. To say more, healthy romantic relationships only promote the close friendship between the lovers.

Main Things You Should Know Before You Start Dating Your Best Friend

If you have at least one best friend, you are already insanely happy. After all, this person is one of the dearest and closest people in your life. But suddenly, after a long search for love and unsuccessful affairs, you realize that it is this best friend who is the ideal person for you and start thinking, “I want to date my best friend.” But do not hurry, there are some important things you should know before building a romantic relationship with your friend.

It can completely break your friendship

Sexual relations change everything. Consequently, when you start dating the best friend, your friendly terms change too. You should realize that your friendship will differ from how it used to be. Therefore, before considering, “Am I in love with my best friend?” you should prepare yourself for the fact that in case of a break-up of your relationship, things will not go in the same way as before. So, admit that risk, before starting a romantic relationship.

Does your friend want this?

Are you sure that your friend experiences the same romantic feelings as you have? Unless you discuss this matter with them, it will be difficult for you to identify whether your best friend really likes you or just acts as a great friend should. Honesty is essential not only to a healthy friendship but also to a love relationship. Suppressing feelings can make you feel embarrassed or even offended. Obviously, if the romantic feelings of both of you are strong and mutual, you are more than welcome to start a romantic relationship.

Romantic chemistry is different from friendship chemistry

It does not matter how much time you know each other as friends, do not expect that it will be so easy to turn your friendship into a relationship. Before start dating the best friend, you should ask yourself whether you confuse the concept of your compatibility as best friends with your possible compatibility as lovers. The mere reason that you have known your friend for some time and realize their sensibilities and strong points, does not promote a happy romantic relationship. Therefore, if you understand that your life values, goals, or just attitude toward love relations do not match, maybe it is time to give up on this idea and rethink why you shouldn't date your best friend. In this case, you should begin to meet real women who will match you best.

It can take a long time

The first official date or especially sexual relationship with your best friend can be a little embarrassing. You need to get used to each other as romantic partners. Nobody knows how much time it will take your newly created couple. Therefore, prepare yourself for the fact that the adaptation to such a life change can take you both a long time.

It may not be what you expected

If you want to start dating a best friend, you, among other things, should be prepared for the fact that at first, everything may not be what you expected. Indeed, gaining the status of a couple in love, you acquire not only new rights but also new duties and responsibilities. In addition, you may begin to perceive the character traits or actions of your best friend in a different way. However, you don’t need to be afraid of this at all: having survived the first difficulties, you can fully enjoy your relationship with a loved one!

Dating Your Best Friend: the Main Steps

Moving from friendship to relationship is always difficult, especially if this friendship lasts for years. But still, nothing is impossible, and if you suddenly discover that you want to date a best friend – it's all in your hands! Moreover, you should take into account the most important steps on how to get your best friend to date you.

Be honest with yourself about why you want to date your best friend

The best friend you trust often seems a perfect partner for a romantic relationship. However, besides a sense of safety, security, and trust, there are a lot of important things to consider before thinking, “Should I date my best friend?” For example, these are mutual desire to be together, sexual attractiveness, the reliability of a person, and the absence of offensive statements about their former partners. Moreover, your level of motivation, life goals, and views must match. Of course, you can do without it, but it will be difficult.

Do not rush to immediately call out about your crazy love

If you value your friendship with a person, do not to run to them, declaring your love loudly. First of all, assess the risks. Of course, you should not keep feelings in yourself, pretending that they are absent, because it can be very painful. But it is better to consider carefully what you are going to do. You cannot predict in advance how your friend will react to the news that you have romantic feelings or sexual attraction for them. Your love confession can change the whole dynamics of your relationship.

Choose the appropriate time and place

Choose the time that is convenient for both of you, when you can arrange a heart-to-heart talk with your best friend. It is desirable to find time on a day off or after work. Also, you should choose a cozy and intimate place. After all, an attempt to make a declaration of love in the presence of other people is not crowned with success.

Be sincere

You should mince your words when talking about your true feelings. Surely, you know your best friend well. And if it seems to you that hitting straight from the shoulder, “I am madly in love with you” is too much, try to express your feelings sincerely but in a more delicate form. For example, you can say something like, “I realized that my feelings for you have changed. I want to be more than just a friend to you. What do you think about this?” Even if such words do not reflect the feelings raging in your soul, they show your intentions. It allows you to discuss the future without making your friend run away from you like mad.

Open your heart and listen to a friend carefully

Your friend may be slightly shocked by your love confession. Even if your feelings are mutual, moving from friendship to love relations is a serious change. Therefore, take a deep breath, open your heart, and listen to the answer of your best friend carefully. If the friend makes it clear that there is no reciprocity, and your friendship will never develop in something more, show respect for their decision. Consider whether you want to continue your friendly terms or need a little bit of a break in communication.

Intrusive attempts to persuade a person to create a romantic relationship will not bring anyone happiness or satisfaction. If your love confession will surprise or confuse your best friend, say that you are ready to talk about your relationship later if your new love has such a desire.

In case your tender feelings are mutual, and your friend holds affection for you too – it is one of the most obvious signs you should date your best friend. So, proceed to some useful tips on how to date a best friend!

Dating Your Best Friend: Main Advice

So, you fell in love with your best friend and know that they love you too. In such a delicate situation, you need as much good advice as possible to make the process of transition from friendship to romantic relationships as smooth and easy as possible. Moreover, it does not even matter how old you are, 13 or 30, our tips are good for everyone.

Do not rush things

Formally, you are still the best friends, so do not change your old habits immediately after starting a romantic relationship. When you have the first official date, just be yourself and behave naturally. After all, you fell in love with your best friend, not a stranger. Keep this in mind. If you have already broken the barrier of touch, do not hesitate to show true emotions and gender feelings to your friend. Of course, it all depends on you and on the fact of how comfortable you are with each other and whether you both enjoy physical contact.

Do not involve common friends in the development of your relationship

This advice is especially important at the initial stage of your relationship. While romantic relations are just developing, do not tell your common friends about them – these people are out of the situation and do not know many things. Later, when everything settles down, and you get used to each other, you can tell your friends about your couple. Such secrecy will save you from unpleasant scenes when mutual friends begin to give unnecessary advice or want to see how you kiss each other.

Behave like a couple

If you decide to date, behave like lovers. Invite your friend to go out on a date somewhere. But do it casually, on the way – after all, you are the best friends. At the same time, let your pastime be romantic. You should gradually get closer to each other. Remember that the major difference between friendship and romantic relationships is intimate touch, so you should gradually decrease the physical distance between you two (take your friend by hand when going somewhere, stroke the hand gently over their hip while watching a movie at the cinema – such innocent gestures will surely help you get closer).

Do not be afraid to ask what your friend likes or does not like

For example, if other people like your new perfume, it does not mean that your partner will like it too. Even if you were best friends for a while, it does not mean that you know everything about each other. Even the closest people learn something new about a loved one over many years. Therefore, feel free to ask your friends about their preferences.

Pay attention to the little things

If you do not make time for common lunch, romantic walks, and going to restaurants or cinema, then, in the end, you will become just roommates. The most important thing is to stay together, despite the ups and downs.

There is a simple but very important tip: never forget about the little things. They are of great importance! Simple things like saying, “I love you” to each other, holding hands while watching a movie, doing nice little things, and sharing the housework – all these matters in every romantic relationship. Psychologists argue that petty quarrels, like the Chinese water torture, are gradually leading to mutual fatigue. And the manifestations of tenderness and small signs of attention, on the contrary, compensate for this.

So, do not forget to make pleasant little things for each other. This becomes especially important at the birth of children. The tip you've probably heard hundreds of times is: put your marriage first. Today, in our society, children are worshiped, and parents are expected to sacrifice everything for the sake of kids. However, if you want to raise obedient and cheerful children, preserve a healthy and happy marriage. Good children will not make your marriage happy and strong. But a happy marriage will definitely help you raise good children. So first of all, take care of your marriage.

Final Thoughts

True love exists, and it doesn’t matter if it is your best friend or just a casual acquaintance – romantic feelings can come out of the blue. You should realize that the world is full of negative people and various unpleasant situations that harm us. It is not worth talking to or dating someone who treats you disrespectfully or does not match you at all.

After all, romantic relationships are essential for every human being. And it is really important to have a person who loves and supports you in difficult moments. Every relationship is difficult, it is like climbing on an arduous hill. At first, it’s easy, but the more you move, the more difficult it becomes. However, when you reach the peak together with your loved one, you feel extremely happy and joyful. Therefore, do not be afraid to create relationships with your best friend. If your feelings are mutual, everything will be fine! Good luck!