This seems to be one of those questions whose answer still has no common ground. In fact, the question puzzles people more than it allows them to provide it with a straightforward solution. For a reason or another, dating your best friend fringes the taboo. That, however, is an ill-founded idea. There’s nothing wrong with dating somebody you’ve known for years. But just for the sake of it if for nothing else, let’s enumerate the potential pros and cons of doing it.
Pros of dating your best friend
1. You already know pretty much everything about each other
You won’t need to spend a large portion of time to get to know what each of you is like. It’s as if you’d start on the 20th date already. This can be a downside, too, but we’ll treat the topic in the cons section. This intelligence implies a variety of other benefits. Since you’ve done great in your friendship for such a long time, the chances of a relationship between the two of you going south are decreased.
2. You got a lot of things in common
Best friends share the same interests and hobbies more often than not. This aspect facilitates communication and gives you important insights in each other’s heads. It certainly looks like a triviality. Maybe it really is, but that’s not the point. When you have something in common, it’s just easier to support a friendship and subsequently, a relationship. Most couples break up because they don’t share the same preoccupations.
3. You know what you want from life
You’ve probably discussed your objectives hundreds of times with your best friend. You know what she wants to do with her life as she knows what you want to do with yours. If your future paths are crossed anyway thanks to common objectives, that’s all-the-more fantastic. You can work together and help each other overrun all the predicaments that may loom on your way to personal and professional accomplishment.
4. You shared the most important moments in life up to now
Either it’s the graduation from college, a relationship turned sour, a burning happiness or getting the job you’ve always wanted, you’ve always been there for each other. You cried and laughed together for years. You shared the best and worst of times. Often times, the two of you are already in a relationship without even knowing it. You’ll realize that sooner or later. That’s a direct consequence of having an unbreakable friendship.
5. You accomplish your life-long dream
Often times, best friends are in love but they don’t know how to get it out in the open. Until they do. That can be the most romantic moment you’ve ever lived. It really doesn’t help to pine for something that it’s right next to you. You’re sabotaging yourself and your happiness. If your feelings are reciprocated and you are sure of it, don’t hesitate to speak up your mind and embrace the one you’ve always wanted to embrace.
The cons of dating your best friend
6. Knowing everything about each other
As mentioned in the beginning, this can be a con, too. Why? Because it deprives you of that surge of adrenaline you feel when you gradually get to know somebody. There’s a certain charm in not knowing everything about a certain someone. You might enact a relationship only to find that you’ve exhausted all the topics for conversation. That “Tell me more about you” is extremely important. Bear in mind that knowing everything about each other doesn’t mean that your relationship will fail. By no means.
7. It eliminates the element of surprise
This is closely connected to the previous con; it’s kind of unpleasant to be able to predict everything. Unpredictability and the unknown are not to be taken for granted in a relationship. They can make the difference between love and hate. The same routine all over again is the #1 killer of affection. You can eventually get bored with each other and realize you’ve wasted a good chunk of time on being a burden for somebody.
8. It puts an unbelievable pressure on your shoulders
Because you’re so open, the only thing you’re going to talk about for a while is making the relationship work. It’s like a glitch in the brain. You feel compelled to make that relationship be the best thing you’ve ever experienced. That’s not necessarily a good thing. It’s overdoing what shouldn’t be overdone; it’s simply unnatural. A relationship in which you have to discuss the steps you have to take in order to keep it floating isn’t much of a relationship. It’s more of a milestone around your neck.
9. You might ruin your friendship
When you lose a lover, you just run to your best friend for comfort. But if you fail in a relationship with your best friend, you might lose it forever. There’s no one to run to anymore. It just becomes too weird to keep on talking to each other as you used to and even being around each other. Scary, that’s true. However, these cons are not universally applicable. They can happen but they can very well not happen. It depends on how much you want to crank things up a notch. If you truly care about each other, then you’ll probably have the single most unbreakable relationship.
Concluding remarks
Don’t give any credit to people who say that dating your best friend is a mistake. They’re not living your life. This can potentially be everything you’ve ever looked for. Everything you’ve wanted can be right next to you. Once again, the cons in here have an indicative purpose, they’re not givens, so don’t sweat it. You should focus on all the pros instead, because they matter the most. Think positive, remember? With all these being said, don’t listen to naysayers. If it’s what you truly want, then no one has the right to stop you.