I know what your reaction probably was when you first saw the title of this article. It probably went along the lines of "I'd never date one of my friends that's sooooo weird", but let's be honest-we've all had a small crush on at least one of our friends even if it was a little kindergarten crush.
The problem with having crushes on your friends is that you don't want it to happen, but you still feel those little butterflies in your stomach. Butwhy don't we want it to happen? We already know these people like the back of our hand and know that they like you for you. In my personal opinion-you should try it at least once and not fight the feelings. Like Selena Gomez once said "the heart wants what it wants".
One thing I've come to notice is that the relationships where two people started as friends seem to run smoother and last longer than those who started off as strangers to one another. Obviously all relationships are different so that statement doesn't apply to every pair out there, but from my personal experience I've seen many friendships bud into relationships.
Here's 10 reasons why dating your friend isn't weird:
1. You're already comfortable with each other. Friends are some of the people you're most open and comfortable around. Getting to know a new person and being comfortable around them is often very difficult. When you date a friend this factor is already completed and there's no awkwardness involved.
2. Conversation isn't hard to maintain. Communication within a relationship is a very important factor. Knowing somebody for a long amount of time makes it even easier to talk to them which leads to a healthy relationship built on trust and communication.
3. You already know each other's weird habits. Let's be honest. Everybody has some habit that another person could consider weird. Luckily with friends, they already know your weird habits and still like you.
4. You know all of their pet peeves. In new relationships with a person that hasn't been in your life too long you probably don't know everything that may push their buttons. With your friends, you probably already know your limits and what the other person likes or dislikes.
5. There's no weird "getting to know each other" stage. We all know what stage this is. It's the stage of going on dates and having small talk conversations that can sometimes lead to awkward pauses and silence. Although it may be a LITTLE awkward when you first start dating a friend (due to the fact that you're merging your friendship into a relationship) being able to have open conversations with no awkwardness involved will help your relationship grow and exceed to a closeness you didn't think was possible.
6. You don't feel inclined to act a certain way to impress them. I know most of us say when you start dating a new person you should be yourself, but does anybody actually act like themselves on the first date? Most likely not. You're probably super formal and super careful of everything you do or say. Friends have seen you at your best and they've seen you at your worst. There's nobody else to be except yourself around them 24/7.
7. You can talk to each other like friends...Since you know that's how it all started. You feel like you can talk about anything and everything with that person-even though they probably know almost everything already.
8. They know how weird you can be. Your friend has probably seen you in your weirdness prime. You know it's 100 percent okay to act however you want and they'll probably jump in and act just as weird.
9. You both probably share similar friend circles so you don't have to worry about your friends liking/disliking them. Introducing a significant other to your friend group can be extremely intimidating. You want them to like each other so everybody is open to hanging out in a large group setting. Your friend groups are probably familiar with each other which eliminates the awkward first impression.
(Side note: never let anybody else's opinion on another person change your opinion)
10) Past relationships won't come as a shock because you've most likely heard about them. There's probably very few things that you haven't discussed with your friend (unless they're a very distant friend). You most likely won't hear about anything super shocking that could ruin a relationship since you already know this other person pretty well.
