How to start dating a guy friend

Dating a friend is widely recognized to be a pursuit fraught with potential complications. I learned this lesson the hard way when I started dating a friend in high school. Not only were we good friends, but our families were also extremely close and had been for years. When we broke up nine months later, all the usual post-breakup awkwardness and bitterness were multiplied tenfold by the fact that we were forced to hang out whenever our families got together, which was often. On the flip side, when we rekindled the flame after college, our friendship and the friendship between our families became one of the best parts about our more-than-friendship. We had a shared history, our siblings adored each other and we even went on a few joint-family vacations.

So why is it that the friends-to-lovers paradigm bears such perennial relevance? And does it work IRL? They found that, on average, the couples had known each other four months before dating. Plus, 40 per cent of them were friends beforehand.

The first kiss my boyfriend and I shared as friends-who-now-know-they-like-each-other was nothing short of terrifying. I pulled him into what I thought would be a sweeping, spark-filled smooch and he just stood there, hardly moving. The rest of the date was even more catastrophic. We nervously drank too much and watched Sweet Home Alabama on his bed without looking at each other.

Unfortunately, he only sees you as a friend. Tough situation. It happens to guys and it happens to girls and oftentimes, it can cause more heartbreak than an actual breakup.