When Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend Is Friends With Your Best Friend

If you’re dating someone who is friends with your best friend it can be both a good and bad thing. It’s great that you all get along and can hang out, but it can be hard to navigate while respecting everyone’s boundaries. Follow these tips for keeping everyone happy and staying sane: 

Keep boundaries. It’s great that you’re all close to each other, but keep your relationship with your partner separate from your friendship with your friend. You can all hang out together but make sure to keep some distinction between your relationships with each of them.

·        Have time together and alone with each of them. Make sure to have both group hangout time all together and alone time with both your partner and your friend. Just because you all know and love each other it doesn’t mean that you need to all be together all the time. It helps keep boundaries between each relationship if you spend alone time with each person.

·        Use their connection for the positive. It’s a great resource that your best friend is friends with your partner. Use their knowledge in a positive way by finding out more about them and what they like.

·        Try not to get jealous of your bond. If they’ve been friends for a long time it can be hard not to feel left out sometimes, but try to rise above it. Getting jealous of their friendship is a natural feeling but it’s only going to make you feel bad. Try to focus on the positive fact that they are friends.

·        Don’t try to keep them from hanging out. Just because you’re dating him/her now it doesn’t mean that they have to stop hanging out together. Trying to keep them apart will strain your relationship with both of them.

·        Accept that it might sometimes get weird. Be realistic and accept that the three of you are navigating a great, but sometimes complicated set of relationships. There’s bound to be a bit of awkwardness, jealousy, etc. and that’s only natural. Accept that everyone will need time to adjust.

·        Don’t drag them into the middle of your fights. This applies to problems you have with your boyfriend/girlfriend as well as any arguments you have with your best friend. Don’t try to get the other one in the middle or to take sides. It’s going to be awkward for everyone. Find someone else to vent to.

·        Don’t weird your friend out with intimate details. Try to keep the private details of your relationship with your partner separate from your friend. They don’t want to know intimate details about their friend just because you’ve started dating them. It’s sure to make everyone feel weird