Will your best friend sabotage your future marriage? Most individuals considering marriage in Georgia would respond: "Of course not." However, although your best friend may have only the best of wishes for you and your future spouse, your relationship with your best friend, especially if he or she is of the opposite sex, may indeed pose a risk to your future marriage.
Consider this: Would you be comfortable with your future spouse meeting with a friend, of the opposite sex, on a regular basis to discuss personal things going on in his or her life, including issues concerning your relationship? Probably not. In fact, it is very likely that upon marriage, you would prefer your spouse to only have those sorts of conversations with you. With this being said, although friendships are vital to a happy well rounded life, if you have a close relationship to an individual of the opposite sex, it is important to maintain strong boundaries around that relationship to ensure that it doesn't interfere with the relationship between you and your future spouse. Failing to do so may cause unnecessary contention in your relationship, as your spouse may come to feel threatened by the relationship. However, if appropriate boundaries are in place these friendships can enhance your relationship with your spouse.
If you are wondering whether or not a close friendship with someone of the opposite-sex may pose a threat to your marriage, ask yourself some of the questions below. If your answer is yes to any of the questions below, it may be necessary to deeply consider the potential negative impact your friendship may have on your marriage. Although not all friendships with those of the opposite sex are potentially dangerous to your marriage, it is absolutely necessary to openly discuss such friendships with your spouse and respect your spouse's feelings concerning such relationships. As with other issues that most newlyweds commonly face, communication is the key to ensuring that a seemingly insignificant issue, or even an innocent friendship, does not cause problems within your marriage.
- Is your spouse unaware of your opposite-sex friendship?
- Do you ever compare your spouse to your friend?
- Have you ever had romantic fantasies about or feelings toward your friend?
- Do you and your friend ever complain about your marriages to each other?
- Would you feel uncomfortable if your spouse had the same quality of friendship with someone of the opposite-sex?
- Are you physically or emotionally attracted to your friend?
- Would you behave differently around your friend if your spouse were present?