This is a question that has plagued everyone’s mind once or twice in their adult life “Can you be just friends with a member of the opposite sex?” Some may say yes, that if both establish parameters early on that you can maintain a healthy friendship without any emotional attachment, others say no. What I want to do is give some solid reasons as to why it is just physically impossible to be just friends with the opposite sex:
1. One of you will most likely catch feelings
Ø Many people don’t want to face the harsh reality that in a relationship with two members of the opposite sex, one of you will eventually, more than likely catch feelings for the other. You can’t spend that much time with that other person and not develop a small crush.
2. Everyone is going to ask you if you are dating
Ø Aside from the attraction issue, other people are going to make a friendship like this a little bit awkward and difficult. When you are just friends with a guy, you are going to run into people who are going to ask you if you two are dating, and then you’ll say no and they’ll look at you like they don’t believe you and it is going to get really annoying, very fast.
3. Significant others will get jealous
Ø This one is a given. When your best friend is a guy you are going to run into some problems when you start dating someone. Your significant other is definitely going to be slightly jealous about your best friend being a guy, it is just bound to happen. If your guy best friend starts dating another girl, she will get jealous of his friendship with you. That can cause some tension in both your friendship and in your relationship.
4. Everyone you know will pressure you to date
Ø Not only will people ask if you two are dating, friends and family members will start pressuring you to date. You will hear things like “you two should date” or “You will make such a cute couple” or “why don’t you just go ahead and date already?” and that it is going to get very old as well.
5. Random Hookups Can Happen
Ø If you two spend a lot of time together, there will be chances of some hooking up to happen, even if you didn’t mean for it to happen. Once that happens, it is going to be very difficult for things to go back to normal, even if it meant nothing to you. Not saying that this happens in every guy/girl friendship but don’t rule it out.
6. The Jealousy will be Inevitable
Ø It is inevitable that there will be jealousy in a guy/girl friendship, just as there is jealousy in the friendship with your girl best friend. Except in this particular instance, it’s more complicated. If your guy best friend gets a new GF and stops spending as much time with you, and you get annoyed at him for that, his new girl will most likely say something like “I told you she likes you”, and that will cause more drama and more tension.
7. Science says its Practically Impossible
Ø Although science isn’t always right, even researchers say that it is almost impossible for a guy and a girl to be just friends without any emotional attachment.