A Lot Less Like Love

Considering a friends-with-benefits situation? Simran Ahuja gives you the low-down on the good, the bad and the ugly

- Simran Ahuja

Aisha Daniels*, a 34-year- old copywriter, was friends with a colleague from her previous workplace. He had always shown an interest in her and dropped several hints too, which she ignored. Daniels wasn’t looking to get romantically involved with anyone and her friend was in a deadend relationship himself. “One night, when we were hanging out at his place, he made a bold move. I thought why not, and went with the flow. There was an initial awkwardness, which soon dissolved. We hung out as friends most of the time, and hooked up whenever we felt like it,” she says.

If you’ve never heard of the term ‘friends with benefits’, Urban Dictionary breaks it down for you— Two close friends who think it would be fun to have sex with each other again and again. Until one falls in love and gets their heart broken when the other doesn’t want a relationship. Ouch. Doesn’t sound ideal. So why go down this road? Daniels says, “Simple. It’s convenient. You skip all the drama and get straight to the fun part. And there’s the comfort of knowing the person well.” She admits that things got sticky when she and her friend went through phases where one wanted more than the other. “We even stopped talking for a while. But our friendship was strong enough to ride through the precariousness of a no-strings-attached situation,” she says.

While Daniels got lucky, not everyone is met with the same fate. Friends with benefits (FWB) can be a rocky boat to board. Take note of these dos and don’ts for smooth sailing.

PICK SOMEONE YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH