BellaOnline Forums Relationships Marriage Can a man and a woman be "just friends...?"

I'm more open with my girlfriends when it comes to sex and periods, definitely. I don't want to discuss that with my guy friends (except my hubby, who is remarkably comfortable talking about girly stuff!) -- my guy friends wouldn't be able to relate, and would be uncomfortable. There wouldn't really be any point in talking about the girly stuff with them. I do share my emotions and feelings, though, and they're comfortable and equally open.

Does spousal jealousy come into play when there is a male/female friendship? My husband is not and never was a jealous type of person and he sees nothing wrong with both of us having friends of the opposite sex.

I think, though, if one person is not happy in the marriage then a friendship with a member of the opposite sex could become a bit dangerous. Even if you're not attracted, if you're lonely, upset, depressed and someone offers comfort, there is the possibility of a problem.

You are right.

I am a pretty open person and don't have a problem with that. That is just my personal comfort zone. Different friends I tend to be more open about things than others, depends on personality, not their sex.

I admit I can be jealous when there are other females around. I trust my husband... it's just my own issue. I've always been like that.. even before I knew him.

With us, we have a lot of friends who are couples so it works out well. Then he has his friends which are mostly male, and I have my friends which are mostly female. Most of the friends we have of the opposite sex are couples and we hang out with them as couples. And that works just fine for us. I think friends from the past (before we knew eachother) male or female will always be around and there's no reason to be jealous. But to become friends with a new person of the opposite sex, to both of us is just a little out of the ordinary. I think we would both feel a bit of jealousy if we started hanging out with a new person of the opposite sex. So we both respect how we feel about it and stick with the good friends we already have, and new friends we tend to make friends with couples.

If you mean no sex and lust by friends, with respect to all of opinions, I tell mine as.
Every thing is possible but when two different genders hadn�t any sex attraction to each other, so for which reason they continue their relationship?
Maybe just friendship was the reason and they have common interests, beside high level of education and culture. I accept that for decent people, who follow society dignity, never try for sex but who can guarantee no image of lust happens between them, at least for male?
For family members, this�s normal to be friend, I think.
In my private life, I trust my wife always but she said that: �maybe you think so but I don�t consider it about you�.
She thinks, no man is trustable and I guess she is right! lol
I think my opinion isn�t so far from most of you.
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First of all, I'm happy to find this forum!

Absolutely, people of opposite genders can be just friends. There's some sexual tension (the light and fun kind) with some of my guy friends, and none at all with others. But even if there's some sexual tension, mature adults can acknowledge it and just enjoy good conversation, mutual interests, emotional support.

I don't think men are more prone to cheat or lust-driven than women, at least not this woman. But as a woman, I have found some guys for whom "being friends" means waiting around hoping they'll get lucky. Good riddance.

And yes, sometimes I get jealous (or my husband does) but if it's not justified we just deal with it with humor or 'fess up sheepishly.

I feel it is possible for men and women to be just friends, but it depends on how much time you spend with each other. My husband and i have been married 11 years this march and we began as "just friends". If you are married you have a commitment to your spouse to be there emotionally and physically. I don't feel you can be faithful in body and mind if your mind is constantly comparing your mate to your buddy.

I have had plenty of guys as friends my whole life and didn't date any of the really close ones until my husband. In my husband's case, we became close and it naturally progressed into something else. That doesn't always happen, and was the exception to the rule in my case!

I have a very hard time being around men, i really can't get that close to them but i don't see why there should be a problem for some women it would help i guess if your not sexually attracted to him