Can friendship lead to a relationship?

Most couples say they married their best friend. The experts say the best relationships start as a friendship. So, a friendship can lead to a relationship and be a very successful relationship. There is the fear that if the relationship does not last, the friendship will be lost. A few things should be done before the friendship transitions into a relationship, recognizing the signs that there has been a change in the relationship, discussing the changes, and coming up with a plan if things don’t work out romantically. 

TRANSITION SIGNS

When the friendship starts to look less like a friendship, certain things change. The body language between you two becomes more affectionate. The quick platonic hugs become close lingering warm embraces. Your heart starts to skip a beat when they touch you, and you look for any reason to have physical contact with them. You both seek each other out at group outings and events. Instead of just listening to each other’s interests, you start participating in each other’s interests and enjoying them. You two are together so much you joke about being a couple, and others say the same. The conversations about other romantic interests cease, and you mostly talk about fears, dreams, plans, and other things that make you both feel more vulnerable with each other. These transition signs mean you two have stepped your relationship up to a different level, and it is time to have a serious conversation about the future. 

RELATIONSHIP DISCUSSION

Changing the status of your friendship to a romantic relationship is a critical discussion. You want to make sure you are both on the same page and that neither one misread the signs nor saw what you wanted to see. It would help if you played back some of those vulnerable conversations to ensure you are compatible romantically and want the same things going forward. This transition can be exciting, exhilarating, and overwhelming; however, a romantic relationship will change the expectations you have for one another. As friends, having contact with each other a couple of times a week was acceptable, but one of you may expect more frequent contact as a couple. It would help if you were transparent when discussing all these things. Romance and intimacy change things in any relationship.

BREAKUP PLAN

Most couples do not like to plan for their breakup. It feels like signing a prenuptial agreement. However, when a romantic relationship is sparked from a friendship, the end of the romance could mean friendship. That is a loss most people can’t bear to experience. You should decide as best you can how to salvage the friendship if the relationship does not work. For example, if one party is not happy, you will agree to discuss it before getting worse and resentful. Decisions like this can increase the odds of keeping the friendship no matter how things play out.