Q&A for How to Understand Platonic Love and Friendship

Move on. Because if not you will always be someone to fall back on for him. Find someone who feels the same way about you that you feel about them, otherwise you're going to be miserable.

Most likely, yes. You can care about someone deeply and think about them a lot without it being romantic.

You shouldn't have to feel like you can't hang out with other women just because you're married, but make sure you realize that this will never be more than a friendship. If you start to find it harder and harder to resist turning the friendship into something more, you should cut ties with that person.

Relationships only occur when all involved agree the same way. That is, one person wanting to be in a relationship is not enough, only if both people want to, can it happen. If she no longer feels she wants to be in a romantic relationship with you, then there isn't much you can do. Likewise, if she wants a platonic relationship, you are not obligated to that, either, if you don't want to. She can't make that decision by herself, because it includes you. Finally, it is often best to end a relationship completely, rather than going from romantic to platonic.

If she describes the relationship as being platonic, most likely that's how she really views it. She simply may not see a "friendly" cuddle as crossing the line, whereas, for you, it clearly does because of your romantic attraction to her. It's time to have a gentle talk about boundaries in this platonic relationship: don't be afraid to make it clear to her that cuddling, for you, suggests a greater degree of intimacy than she is apparently willing to have at this point.

Yes, as long as you intend on just being friends with him.

That's not a fact. It depends on the boy, and what type of guy he is. Not everyone is the same. If the boy respects his friend and genuinely cares for her in a platonic way, he will not be thinking about having sex with her.

Don`t break the friendship. Real friendship is bigger than physical bonds. To find the real friend is harder than finding a lower.

Let it go, or just wait. Don't pester her, but do be a good, faithful friend.

Act normal and support her in whatever she does. Never talk behind her back.

Don't try to date a woman who is still married. You don't want to be the person responsible for finalizing a split (even if she says the relationship is broken). If she gets, divorced, pursue her; otherwise, respect her and her husband enough to keep your distance.

Ask him. That's the only way to know. There's not much you can do about it if he lies or hides the way he really feels.

Before you go any further, you need to sit down together and talk about what each of you wants and what each of you want from this relationship. What you guys are doing is more than "just friends." You guys need to talk it out.

They just meant that platonic love is not romantic love. Romantic love is what people most typically think of when they think of love. We have edited the phrasing for better clarity.

You could still call it a romantic relationship, or a sensual relationship, or any other term that makes the two of you comfortable. It's your relationship and you get to choose how to define it.

Remember that the choice to have sex does not depend solely on you. If you want to but he doesn't, it doesn't happen. I have always felt that love is rare, and must be pursued relentlessly whenever it is felt, until it is either won or definitively lost. Make it abundantly clear to him how you feel: "Forget this platonic nonsense, I want you in my bed, in my life and in my heart." But don't wait around too long; if he doesn't want you back, find someone else.

He may very well like you, but it's not a great idea to flirt back since he has a girlfriend. You could ask him how he feels about you, since that's the only way to know for sure if he likes you.

If you have developed feelings for your friend, that's great! Love is rare, so never let any chance at love go by without doing something with it. But you cannot force it. You loving your friend is only half the requirement before love can exist; if your friend isn't interested, there's nothing you can do. It sucks, it can hurt really badly, but there is no forcing this.

Don't rush anything. Our heart has room for only one person. Either you're no longer in love with your husband, or you're in love with his friend (or neither). Be honest with what you feel: are you in deep love with your husband, and infatuated with his friend? Next, ask yourself what you want. Fix things and fall in love again with your husband? If not, you must first end the marriage, then give yourself time to grieve and heal, and only then pursue this new love. The risk is that you might find yourself still in love with your husband, whose role is being filled by his friend, which is fair to no one, least of all yourself.

It can be. Think about your feelings, and be sensitive of his. As long as you're both comfortable with what's going on and nobody feels like they're getting mixed messages, it's perfectly fine to cuddle.

Just let her know you care. Ask her if there's anything she wants you to do for her. If she pushes you away don't give up, but don't force your willingness to help onto her. Let her know that you'll be there for her no matter what. She's probably scared and thinks she doesn't want help when she really does.

If they're not romantically or sexually involved with each other, then yes, it's a platonic type of love. Given that your girlfriend's close friend is gay, I think you can safely assume the relationship is platonic.

Yes, that's possible, as long as you feel comfortable with it. Many people go from being lovers/romantic partners to being friends. But if you don't feel comfortable or you don't feel ready to be friends, just tell him that. Sometimes it takes a little while to adjust your feelings.

It's completely up to you. If you trust that he won't pester or annoy you with his affections, or mistake your friendship for romantic interest, then I wouldn't worry about setting up any kind of boundaries. However, if you think he might get pushy, then I would make your boundaries clear to him.

Be happy with friends for now. You're not going to change her mind by pushing the issues, and if you wait and enjoy your friendship, you may have a chance to be more later on.

Tell her that you're not going to put up with this anymore. She has to decide what she wants one way or the other. If she tells you she just wants to be friends, accept that, and don't take her back if she decides she wants to be more than that later on. If you go back on your ultimatum, she'll think she can treat you any way she likes.

You should ask her how she feels. If she's not interested in a romantic relationship, try to stay friends if you can. Remember, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

Well, if he spread the rumor, he obviously likes you. Ask him why he spread it and tell people calmly that he is not your boyfriend.

It's unclear how someone may feel in the future. However, if someone is not interested in you in a romantic way, you should respect their feelings. If you can accept being just friends with them, then try for that, but don't do it in the hope that they might develop feelings for you.

It's a perfectly fine, healthy and good thing for people to develop friendships. You want him to make new friends, because it keeps him interesting. If he's with you 24/7, he'll never have adventures to tell you about and you'll lose interest. There's often a drive or desire to have sex when you meet someone new, but he must be grown up and responsible about it. Sex with her, loses you. There is, however, not much you can do until it does - if ever - happen. I would tell him how you feel: proud that he's made a friend, but anxious, nervous and a little jealous.