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submitted 2 months ago by violet08@lemmy.today to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

My male best friend and I have known each other since we were 12, and we both happen to be foreigners in the country we’re living in (I’m from Switzerland, and he’s from India). We’re super close and talk about anything and everything. My boyfriend doesn’t care about it, but he still says that my best friend is just “waiting for his turn with me.” However, he trusts me, and I’m happy, so it’s cool. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a best friend of the opposite gender. I also read a thread on another site about it, and opinions were mixed, so I’m curious what you think.

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[-] DeepThought42@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

No, it's not bad. You have a best friend and that's great. Assuming there's nothing amorous going on between you, the fact that they are the opposite gender as you shouldn't matter.

Just be careful to invest time in your relationship with your boyfriend as well. Remember that they are also your friend and even if they trust you they may tire of the situation if they perceive they are being neglected. Just saying this because I have seen relationships fall apart because of similar situations.

[-] mr_noxx@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago

This is the best comment so far.

[-] RBWells@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

No.

Guys, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think y'all are really trying to sleep with all your friends, right? You do have friends who are like sisters not people you can see as partners?

I don't have a best friend who isn't my husband but am friends with straight men who aren't my husband. My old boss comes over sometimes, we hang out, we are absolutely not into each other in 'that way'. The brother of my ex, same. Just good friends.

Also, if you've already established that your boyfriend doesn't care, why are you asking? If it's his belief that all guys are absolutely indiscriminate and would always try with any of their friends, maybe ask him if that's how he feels about all his friends who are women?

[-] village604@adultswim.fan 3 points 2 months ago

Yes, I have female friends that I have no interest in fucking. The problem is that jealousy isn't a logical emotion.

[-] Mothra@mander.xyz 3 points 2 months ago

Nothing wrong. Why would it be? sounds like your boyfriend is joking, but I would advise to keep a tab on that. Someone trying to undermine your already existing friendships is usually a big red flag.

[-] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I disagree with the other commenter. Your male friend is irrelevant, it comes down to trust, does your boyfriend trust you. I don't like the opinion of the commenter of "Just dump him", that's a very throwaway concept. (Something isn't perfect? Throw it out of your life. I don't like that line of thinking)

I think you should communicate with your boyfriend, ask him why he feels that way, and ask why he feels like he can't trust you. It's a dialogue you two need to have. It won't be a fun one, but if you both want the relationship to work you'll come out stronger. (If he tries to say things like "He's waiting for his turn", turn it around, make it about you and him. "But do you trust me"?) You then give him time to learn and adjust to it. Of course if he refused to learn or adjust, and it doesn't work, then it becomes a more serious decision.

My anecdote, I was your boyfriend for a long time. My SO, now spouse, was hanging out with someone who was clearly interested. To make it worse, I had been cheated on before so it was a massive trigger for me, and I was immediately paranoid (cheating really fucks with your trust). I grew jealous and it became very unhealthy. If my SO took the other commenter's advice, we wouldn't have the life we have now. Thank god they didn't, and instead talked to me, and gave me the ability to learn and grow. I learned to trust her, and worked on myself, and now 15 years later we're both very happy and have built a life together.

[-] ComfortableRaspberry@feddit.org 2 points 2 months ago

Having friends of a different gender is totally fine. I'm a 36 year old woman and I'm with my spouse for about 7 years now. My best friend is a guy I know from uni. His gender wasn't even a topic to begin with.

But

he still says that my best friend is just “waiting for his turn with me.”

Makes me icky. Does your boyfriend really think this is the only reason a guy (or anyone) could want your friendship?

[-] Gieselbrecht@feddit.org 2 points 2 months ago

It is not bad. It might be a problem if your boyfriend is insecure about it, but then it is a he-problem he should work on.

[-] cm0002@lemmings.world 2 points 2 months ago

It's actually the opposite, it's the fastest way to find out if the relationship your building is strong and secure or if your partner is insecure and its foundation is rickety.

The whole "You can't have guy friends because they're just trying to sleep with you" is a sexist trope anyways

[-] Wren@lemmy.today 2 points 2 months ago

I'm pansexual with friends of all genders. I would be delighted if they were all attracted to me, too.

At the same time I'd be pretty pissed off if anyone tried to reduce my close friendships to someone "just waiting their turn" like I'm a damn ride at a faire.

[-] Qwel@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

This sounds like there is a total of 3 people involved, and 3 of them are ok with the situation. I don't see how this could be bad, unless you worry about Jesus' consent

Of course things can always go bad, but I would really doubt that breaking up with any of them preemptively will make things better when bs inevitably happens

[-] zxqwas@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Waiting for turn: could be true, could be false. Neither would surprise me.

There is no universally correct answer if it's wrong or not. By the sound of it it's fine in your case.

[-] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 1 points 2 months ago

It's always great to have good friends, regardless of details like gender. The more love in the world, the better. If you and your best friend have known each other since age 12, it sounds like he's had plenty of time to tell you if he has romantic feelings for you. If he hasn't, it sounds to me like he's happy with the kind of relationship you have now.

[-] sveltecider@piefed.ca 1 points 2 months ago

Not bad at all. You know there’s nothing more going on.

[-] zzffyfajzkzhnsweqm@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago
  1. It is ok to have best friends of either genders.
  2. What your boyfriend is describing is very common. Cheating is very common.

I have beautiful and nice female coworkers, my wife have beautiful and nice male clients. We both spend a lot of time with those people. The possibility of getting in love is high. That is we talk about some facts:

  1. People do fall in love. Even people in happy relationships fall in love with other people. This is common. (Early stages of falling in love happened to me and to my wife before)
  2. Relationships have its ups and downs.
  3. The more time you spend with someone (friends, coworkers, neighbors,...) the more likely is to develop feelings for that person. Those feelings might be temporary. Those feeling can only happen in one of the friends.

So it is not hard to see how having a low point in a relationship might lead to growing romantic feelings to our close friends.

My parents were best friends. While neither were in a relationship at the time, my father developed feelings for my mom. Just recently my mom got aware that my father has been hiding his feeling for a year before he made a move. He did not want to destroy the relationship they had. He waited until he was sure the feeling became mutual.

This story describes nothing wrong. Just a way how people grow together and how beautiful relationships are often born.

Because of this reality me and my wife developed few rules:

  1. We do not discuss unsolved relationship issues with anyone but ourselves.
  2. We spend a lot of time working on our relationship.
  3. If we start developing feelings for someone we talk about it. This stops the enchantment and some feelings are already gone. We decide on a strategy for those feelings to not grow further. Usually temporary mental distancing from that person is enough. And certainly we do not share those feelings with a person in question.

Openness, transparency and also having a strategy helps us maintain relationship with no jealousy and total trust.

[-] darkmarx@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I'm going to be that person, and disagree with the common opinion here. Of course, my take is my own, so take everything below with the finest grain of salt.

I think it's perfectly fine to have friends of the opposite gender. And by opposite gender, I mean the gender you're attracted to. However, I do think it's an issue to have a best friend of the opposite gender. A best friend is the person you confide in, you can lean on when everything else is rough, who will be there no matter what. If that person is the opposite gender, and isn't your SO, then it's an affair; not necessarily a physical affair, but an emotional one at the very least.

The "waiting his turn" comment sounds like a little bit of immaturity mixed with jealousy. I don't mean immaturity as a negative; more like someone who has room to grow. Based on that comment though, it sounds like they aren't comfortable with the situation, even if they say they are.

I'm not saying you should break up. I'm not saying your SO thinks the same way I do. People are nuanced and I only have the very limited information you gave. Based purly on that, it sounds like your SO's thoughts lean the way mine do.

What it comes down to is what you and your SO think. If you're not on the same wavelength, then there will always be a wedge between you two. You can still make a relationship work, it's just going to be harder. On the flip side, if you're both, deep down, truly fine with it, then there is nothing to worry about, and you should go live your best lives.

Whatever happens, this random internet stranger wishes you both the best.

[-] YeahIgotskills2@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Completely agree. I think ideally your significant other should be regarded as your 'best' friend. You can, of course, have other friends. However, if my wife was confiding in another man, to speak plainly, I'd find that hurtful.

[-] JackDark@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

There's nothing wrong with it, but you may run into issues with jealous partners. IMO, it's good to find that out early so you can dump them. Honestly, it sounds like your boyfriend is a bit jealous or close-minded himself, but it sounds like he isn't causing issues, which is good. If you were to hang out one-on-one with your best friend, would your boyfriend mind?

[-] Spacehooks@reddthat.com -1 points 2 months ago

Is there a reason your BF is not your best friend now?

Do you meet each other's expectations?

What is your best friend offering you that your boyfriend is not. You may want to start there when thinking about where this relationship is going.

this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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