Is one of your friendships blossoming into a ‘romantic friendship?’
Is this leaving you with uncomfortable feelings of fear and confusion? Or maybe you’re excited?
Either way, you probably have a lot of questions.
For example, are romantic friendships really feasible? Are they widely accepted by society? What are the potential complications?
I’ll answer all of these questions and more for you in the guide below.
But first, let me tell you a quick story that could help your romantic friendship blossom into a full-on love story.
You may not believe it, but I was hopeless at finding loving relationships throughout my early years as an adult.
Every guy I fell for would get bored of me and leave within a few weeks.
I’m sure you can imagine how painful this pattern can turn out to be, especially as I had no idea what I was doing wrong. I thought I’d make a lovely girlfriend!
I managed to turn things around though, and it started when I began learning about an aspect of male psychology called ‘The Hero’s Instinct’.
It turns out this primal trigger plays a huge role in creating feelings of attraction within men.
When a woman sparks this part of his brain, it releases powerful and positive emotions. He’ll experience feelings of power, meaning, purpose and joy all at once!
Needless to say, he’ll soon become drawn to the woman who can keep releasing these feelings inside him.
I know this because I learned how to do this - and now men treat with a lot more respect, love, care and desire. It’s great!
You can learn more about my discovery of the ‘Hero’s Instinct’ by reading my personal essay.
But for now, let’s dive deeper into what happens when two people develop a ‘romantic friendship’.
Table of Contents
The term ‘romantic friendship’ was coined in the early 20th century to describe a type of relationship between friends that was previously overlooked. In modern times, however, this type of relationship became rare and unspoken as a result of societal stereotypes attached to its meaning.
In fact, I often hear people question the notion of romantic friendships; many ponder on the difference between a friendship relation formed between two friends and a plain relationship with no strings attached. In other words, at what point do friends know that a love bond is being formed - to the point they can start to express themselves in terms of material passions, such as sending love notes and the likes?
This question has left me curious over the years as such, it is important that we find out together and gain a better understanding of what it truly is.
Quite commonly, this term is used to describe a close and intensely emotional but non-sexual relationship between two parties. No doubt, the transition from friendship to romance goes through various stages; however, as opposed to being just friends, those in a romantic friendship are known to exhibit a degree of physical closeness with each other, which includes hugging, cuddling, and holding hands while completely refraining from sexual relations.
More so, for a relationship to be established, both parties must be in agreement and share common values. Do you have a hunch that one of your friends has romantic feelings for you? Here are signs to look out for:
One of the indicators of a great partnership is when your best friend takes an active interest in the things you like and upholds everything you are passionate about. Mere friends or acquaintances would most likely just ask how a hobby is going or how you are faring from afar.
But a romantic friend would make efforts to watch your favorite game with you and even keep track of the teams you love. Also, a romantic friend might enroll in your gym or take cooking classes with you, just so you can both spend more time together.
Does your friend constantly encourage you to be the best version of yourself? Are they interested in your overall growth and development? Do they spur you on to victory and push you to your potential? What’s more, are they willing to lend a helping hand when you are in need?
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If that friend will never let you go through challenges or hurdles alone, chances are they care enough to help and want to be there for you. Alternatively, if they are selfish and do not come through when you need them, most likely, not much romance is involved.
One of the strongest determinants of a romantic friendship that would stand the test of time is your ability to resolve conflicts and disagreements amicably. Conflicts are normal, but frequent conflicts are a red flag. It is completely human for you both to be on different pages but these encounters must be limited.
All in all, you should be able to treat each other with respect, as remarkable romantic alliances are built on the basis of mutual respect, compromise (where both parties find a middle ground rather than want to be right all the time) and boundaries.
The best way to find out if there is romance shared with a friend is to communicate with one another. This is a straightforward and direct way that would save you the stress of looking for signs. However, with this, the signs you would be looking for may already be glaring via their actions as such. So, you may not have to speak, simply watch.
If they prioritize your friendship and make sure you are never left questioning or second-guessing your position in their life, then there are high chances that romance is on the way.
A major faction of the human population would agree with me that as soon as the word intimacy is mentioned, the first thing that drifts to mind is sex. If this applies to you then you are not alone. The truth is, that's it's absolutely normal to think this way. For many other people, intimacy simply means ‘sex’ but by definition, ‘it is a form of closeness established when two parties share a bond’.
This bond may or may not be platonic but must include some level of emotional attachment. Basically, all relationships in life are emotionally bound only that the emotional degrees in each vary. When friends are intimate, the relationship is mostly built on the basis of trust (and probably love). This openness often metamorphoses into other benefits which include:
Successful love friendships usually first begin with platonic relations. Platonic friends are the crux of great romantic friendships because being platonic friends gives the chance for both partners to study themselves and find common ground.
However, romantic friendships are amazing if they are shared with someone you truly connect with, so establishing a relationship first would be the right way to find out if you both are a match.
Let's imagine you are stuck in the friendzone and would want to get past it. There are easy but proven secrets of turning a relationship from just friends into something so authentic, with love at the forefront, so that you both have each other’s interests at heart. Here is how :
The primary reason most human relationships last for years isn't that the partners involved are perfect or easy to live with. Relationships last because both parties are patient enough and willing to accommodate each other’s flaws and shortcomings. Take time to learn about each other’s habits and tastes(their likes and dislikes) before an attempt to take things further.
Studies show that the more time a person spends with their partner, the easier it is to reinforce a lasting bond. Discover places of common interests, make out time to dine and hang out together. Over time, you would realize that you both share a mutual feeling of comfort which would slowly but surely, evolve into a blossoming romantic friendship.
Being able to stay connected with that person is one good way of establishing a bond that may take things to the next level. Life happens, and there is the tendency to get engrossed with work or other activities, thus causing you both to drift apart.
This, however, should not be the case. Make it a habit to reach out to each other often, and do not go AWOL on your friend. Even on days when you get so carried away and you end up too busy to reach out by a call, a thoughtful text message or kind email may suffice.
A true relationship radiates beyond the rosy details of life. Beyond the amazing personality of everyone, lies an insecure side that may be hidden. Both parties in a romantic friendship should be able to open up and get past awkward moments together. More than anything they must be expressive and candid enough to do away with pretense and the competition to prove themselves better than the other.
Everyone deserves a loving partner, and for some, a romantic relationship is the gateway to this happiness. I hope this article was able to give you a better understanding of what this entails and how to identify it.
Comment below and hit share if these points were useful to you.
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