Can a Friendship Turn Romantic?

I had a conversation with a friend over the weekend who said she hates using dating apps. She prefers to get to know someone as a friend first, and then see if it turns into something romantic.

I commented how that feels exactly opposite of my experience. For me, when someone is a friend, you don't want to muck it up by adding a romantic dimension to the relationship. It's why people have labeled it the "friend zone." My friend said she finds it much easier to ask out someone she already has built trust with. And I said that I would find it much more awkward to do so.

What do you think? Have you ever experienced a friendship turned romantic? If so, how did it happen? Because sorry, I just can't get my mind around it.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

Roadsterrider · 56-60, M

I have had friendships that turned romantic, they were good relationships for me. It is easier to deal with someone I am already friendly with, chances are good that the subject would have come up, what I am looking for. A friend already knows most of my quirks, the goofy things I do and the things I do that annoy them. The women I already knew as friends were much more satisfying than dating a woman strictly as a potential life partner.

ShadowSister · 46-50, F

@Roadsterrider Was there flirting during the friendship though? That's the part I don't understand. If you have a friendship to start with but no romance, how does a couple even add romance to the equation? It feels so foreign to me.

Roadsterrider · 56-60, M

@ShadowSister Not at first, it was something that kind of grew on it's own. I don't know how many anniversary posts I have seen that say "20 years ago, I married my best friend." Then on the other side of that are those that talk about being "friend zoned" meaning no relationship possibilities. I just know that for me, the women I dated where we were friends first, were better.