Not everyone wants to be the one to ruin a friendship. But how do you know if you’ve fallen in love with your best friend or not? We can help.
It’s hard to admit when your feelings for a good friend have crossed the line of friendliness. But do you really fall in love with your best friend or is it a momentary mistake in your emotions? Being able to distinguish can be difficult.
And you don’t want to risk losing a friendship over something that could really be nothing, right? It’s hard enough to experience these feelings, and it can be harder to know what to do with them once they’re confirmed.
Sometimes you feel closer, but that’s not the same as being romantic.
Everyone has moments with friends when you communicate a lot more than usual. You get into a deep conversation and just see more of them. This moment of rapprochement may increase your feelings for them, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re suddenly romantically interested in them.
It just means that your friendship is stronger. It’s easy to mistake these feelings for more than they really are. That’s why knowing the real signs can help you avoid disaster.
How to tell if you’re in love with your best friend.
Getting close to a friend of the same sex that you are romantically interested in can be a little confusing. You never know what’s going on in your head or in your heart. But taking a step back and looking at the signs in the distance can give you the clarity you need. Here’s how to find out if your friend might mean a lot more to you than you previously thought.
1 You start thinking about dating them. You will find that you dream of making something like a couple with them. Going on dates, snuggling up on the couch, and even exercising will keep popping up in your head. This is a pretty clear sign that deeper feelings are coming into play.
2 You are shy of them. As best friends, you’ve probably seen pretty much everything of each other. If you really have romantic feelings for them, you may start to hide information or be shy when they talk to you. This is the main sign that you have begun to develop feelings.
3 You hide information about the people you think are attractive around them. You’ve probably talked about people you like before. They’re your best friend, after all. And it actually helps you know if you’ve fallen in love with your best friend.
When you stop telling them about people you find attractive, it’s because you don’t want them to think about you with other people. Even if you don’t realize it, you’re protecting your chances of getting romantically involved with them.
4 You get upset when they talk about people they like. This is probably one of the clearest signs that you have real feelings for them. If you don’t, it won’t bother you at all. You’d even be happy for them. Getting upset when they talk about liking someone is a sure sign that you have deeper feelings for them.
5 You want to spend the same time with them. Normally, you wouldn’t care about hanging out in a group or alone. But if you have feelings for them, you’ll want to spend more time alone. You’ll want to have time with just the two of you more often than not.
6 You are jealous of your other friends. Basically, if they spend more and more time with people who aren’t you, you’ll get upset. And this is understandable. If you have real feelings for someone, you often want them all to belong to you.
7 You want to know everything they do. You’re just curious about their lives. You want to know what they do in their free time and who they are with. It’s more in the sense that you just want to be aware of their lives.
8 You’re more interested in how they spend their free time. Basically, you’re worried about them getting close to someone else. You may not realize that this is the case, but it is essentially what is happening. The more you wonder what they do when they’re not with you, the more you like them.
9 You imagine kissing them. You’re not going to shoot with one friend. Sure, you might have thought about it once or twice before, but now you’re imagining it. More importantly, you like it. You like to think about becoming intimate with them. This is a huge sign that you are interested romantically.
10 You should try not to think about them. In fact, they are always on the mind, no matter what. You just can’t help but think about them and shouldn’t actively turn off those thoughts.
11 You flirted with them by accident. Flirting is a natural thing. As much as you can do it on purpose, you can do it by accident. When you start flirting and then catch yourself, you have feelings for them.
12 You realize that your feelings have evolved. When you just feel that your emotions towards them are different from what they were before, it can be a sign that you are falling in love with your best friend. Sometimes you just know.
How to fight the fall for your best friend.
Now that you know how you feel, what do you do about it? Here are some tips on what you should do after you realize that they mean more to you than you thought.
1 Measure how they feel. Pay attention to your actions. Do they sit closer and touch you more? Do you feel like they’re flirting back? Before you take any steps, find out how they feel.
2 Decide if you want to tell them. Not everyone wants to risk a friendship. If you feel confident enough in them that you want to try it, admit it. Tell them they like you. At worst, they don’t feel the same, and your friendship is a little awkward for a while.
3 Let’s see if it’s a short-term crush. Give yourself some time. If you had feelings for your best friend for a couple of months, they might have stayed there. Less, and it may just be a short-term hobby that isn’t worth pursuing.
4 Talk to other friends. Get their thoughts and opinions on this issue. Ask if they think it’s worth it. In fact, they can better understand how your friend feels about you than you think. Just talk and see if they can imagine the two of you together, or if it’s not worth the risk.
5 Think seriously about the consequences of any decision. There are risks. No matter how you look at it, you can lose something great. Think long and hard about what might happen with every decision you can make, and then go ahead with the one you most want to live with.
Falling for your best friend may be the best thing in the world, but it can also be a nightmare if you get your feelings wrong. With these signs, you will be able to know for sure to make the right decision.