I think that one of the eternal dilemmas all girls have is – ‘Do guys fall in love with friends with benefits’. The answer to this dilemma will finally be revealed, so keep reading below for the big disclosure.
The thing is that most women think that men are a lot different from us when it comes to these FWB relationships and how it’s impossible for them to catch feelings for someone they’re only dating casually.
That’s far from the truth. Men are as emotional as we are, and they also don’t have the power to command their heart.
When they start catching feelings for someone, even when they’re in a casual relationship with that person, they can’t prevent their heart from falling in love with them.
Love is definitely one of the most complicated and spontaneous emotions. It just happens when you least expect it, and you can’t do anything to prevent it.
Eternal Dilemma: Do Guys Fall In Love With Friends With Benefits?
I truly believe that it’s impossible not to catch feelings for someone you’re spending a great amount of time with. So, my answer to the question from the title, ‘Do guys fall in love with friends with benefits‘, is YES.
No, no, it’s not just yes, it’s hell yeah! Men can’t choose who they’ll fall in love with, but the truth is that they’re so much better at hiding their emotions than women are.
They won’t confess their true feelings to a woman unless they’re in a real relationship with her.
That’s only because men are afraid of rejection. They just can’t handle being rejected, so they choose to hide their feelings and let the other side make the ‘love confession’ first.
They may confide in their best friend or a person they truly believe in, but they’ll never confess it directly to the woman they love.
They don’t want to go through heartbreak, and they’re aware that this scenario could lead to that.
The only way your FWB partner will confess that he started catching feelings for you is if you’ve built a deep emotional connection.
However, the truth is that developing any form of emotional bond is a very rare case in these kinds of hookups and casual relationships.
You don’t have time to do it because, usually, these casual flings aren’t some long-term relationship where partners have time to meet each other and develop any kind of emotional connection.
Also, men are very good at self-control, and we can’t say the same for women. We always do some impetuous, hasty things because when we want something, we want it right away.
Unfortunately, in most cases, we don’t even think about the possible consequences and risks of our actions.
For example, if we fall in love with our FWB partner, we will always choose to be upfront about it and admit it to him.
However, men aren’t like that. They’ll first think about all the consequences that it might have for their relationship, and they’ll wait to confess their feelings until the right moment comes.
When friends with benefits fall in love, it can be a pretty difficult situation for both partners.
The fact is that both partners will have to put in a lot of effort if they want to create a real and healthy relationship.
Leveling up from a casual relationship to a serious and committed relationship is a very huge step.
That’s why both partners need to be completely sure of their feelings before they decide they want to start a serious relationship.
Let me tell you my story…
I have to tell you my story because it’s also good evidence that guys do fall in love with their FWB partners.
Throughout all of high school, I had a guy friend who was actually my best friend. He was a person I could always open up to and confide in, and I was always sure that my secrets were safe with him.
The first time we hooked up was on our high school prom night. Well, being surrounded by couples only, plus a few cocktails… You probably know what I’m talking about.
During the next few days, we avoided each other, but then we decided to meet and talk about what happened between us.
We both agreed that we didn’t want to start a romantic relationship because we both didn’t want to get attached to each other in that way.
Let’s just say that we wanted to explore our options, but we made a deal to try to be friends with benefits.
Everything was alright, and the whole thing functioned well until he started to catch romantic feelings for me, lol. It’s a little bit funny, but it’s true, unfortunately.
My FWB partner was a brutally honest and direct type of person, and the moment he realized he had started developing some feelings for me, he was upfront and confessed it to me immediately.
Of course, he didn’t say ‘I love you’, but he did say that he started to feel some romantic feelings for me. Our relationship was so complicated from the very beginning.
We went from being friends to friends with benefits, then we went from FWB to romantic partners; from friendly hugs to occasional booty calls, which turned into cuddles and romantic lovemaking in the end.
I cared for him deeply, but I knew I didn’t love him the same way he loved me. However, I really didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and I accepted his proposal to make things exclusive.
After a while, he started introducing me to his friends as his ‘significant other’, and the first time he said ‘I love you‘ was the time I realized I had to end that relationship.
I didn’t want to hurt him, but my feelings were basically all over the place, and I just didn’t know how I actually felt about him anymore; did I love him as a friend or was it something deeper than that…
Don’t get me wrong here… Going from friends with benefits to exclusive is possible, but only when both sides have romantic feelings for each other, which definitely wasn’t the case in our situation.
I realized that I saw him as a friend only and that I didn’t share any romantic feelings for him. I really didn’t want to hurt him because he didn’t deserve it.
I shouldn’t have started a real relationship with him knowing that I didn’t love him the same way he loved me.
It was a huge mistake and I’ll never forgive myself. I lost a person I deeply cared for simply because I didn’t know how to deal with my emotions.
11 Undeniable Signs A Guy Is Getting Attached To The FWB Relationship
Now that we have determined that a man can fall in love with their FWB partner, let’s find out what some signs are that a guy has started getting attached to this kind of relationship.
He pulls away all of a sudden
I know the scenario; everything seems just fine, you’re enjoying occasional Netflix and chill time, but he starts acting cold and distant all of a sudden and you simply feel like he doesn’t want to continue with the whole thing.
You may be right, but men tend to pull away before they commit to someone, and that could be a reason for his pulling away.
Maybe he’s aware that he is catching feelings for you and breaking the rules of your FWB relationship.
If that’s the case, then it’s perfectly normal that he’s distancing himself because he needs time. His feelings are currently mixed and he needs to be alone to process them in peace.
Give him time. If you have some romantic feelings for him, too, then this quiet time will benefit you both for sure. He’ll probably reach out soon and ask you to talk about your current situation.
He starts avoiding you
He’ll definitely avoid you if he has realized that he’s starting to catch romantic feelings for you.
He doesn’t want to continue with this series of one-night stands, but he also doesn’t know whether starting a serious relationship with you is a good idea.
The truth is that if he’s avoiding you, it’s only because he doesn’t want to hurt you.
I have to give you the same relationship advice again: be patient and let him have some alone time to process his feelings, and he’ll reach out to you when he realizes that it’s high time to have “the talk”.
He suddenly invites you on a date
You never were on a real date because you weren’t dating in the first place.
Now, after he has been avoiding you for some time, he suddenly reaches out to you as if nothing happened and asks you to go out with him.
I know this can be very confusing to you, but you have to know that the whole thing is confusing for him right now, too.
He probably doesn’t know how to tell it directly to you, so he wants to show you through a romantic date that he’s ready to take your relationship to a more serious level.
He surprises you with a gift
We all know that gifts and romantic gestures shouldn’t be included in an FWB relationship. The main rule for FWB relationships is to keep things casual.
If your man starts surprising you with different gifts, it’s an obvious sign he wants to have a more serious relationship with you.
If you aren’t up for that, you must be direct with him and tell him that he’s crossing the line and breaking the rules of your relationship.
He has introduced you to his friends
If the guy you’re casually seeing decides to meet you with his friends, then it’s a clear sign that he wants to have a real relationship with you.
Friends represent a huge part of our lives, and we simply don’t introduce people we are casually dating to them.
I really think that a man will introduce you to his buddies only if he wants to be in a serious, committed relationship with you.
He’s inquiring about your love life
If you’re just casually dating, he’ll never ask you about your love life because he simply doesn’t care if you’re dating anyone else.
However, if he starts asking you about your dating life, then it’s an obvious sign he has some feelings for you.
You’ll see how he’ll also get jealous if you mention that you’re seeing another man.
This is because he has realized that he started catching romantic feelings for you, and now he isn’t okay with sharing you with another man.
He also makes it clear that he’s single
If he’s falling for you, he’ll emphasize that you’re the only woman he’s currently seeing. He’ll also stop flirting with other girls because that is how he’ll try to prove that he wants to commit to you only.
Every time another woman approaches him in front of you, he’ll gently refuse her and back off.
He was probably seeing other women before, but now, when he wants to have a real relationship with you, he doesn’t want to text, see, or date any other woman because he’s focused on you.
Now you’re doing “couples stuff”
Before, it was only booty calls and Netflix and chill dates, right? But now, he wants to hang out more, get to know you better, and do things that real couples do.
Well, it’s clear that he isn’t okay with all of these hookups anymore, and that he wants to be in a real relationship with you.
He isn’t okay with the friends with benefits relationship anymore because he’s obviously falling in love with you.
It’s important to connect on a deeper emotional level if you want to have a healthy relationship, and that’s why he’s doing these ‘couple things’ and trying to get to know you better.
He gets jealous every time you mention another man
I already mentioned that your FWB partner will get jealous every time you start talking about your dating life because he simply doesn’t want you to date anyone else except him anymore.
He’ll get jealous even on some small things, like, for example, if you mention that you’ve met someone new on Tinder and that you’re texting with that guy.
It’s a very clear sign that your guy has some romantic feelings for you and wants to turn this entire friends-with-benefits situation into something more serious.
You feel like he’s trying to say something to you through his body language
If your man isn’t okay with the whole friends-with-benefits situation anymore, you’ll see major changes in his body language.
Maybe he isn’t ready to tell it directly to you yet, but he’ll definitely try to show his feelings through body language.
If you pay close attention to the way he looks at you or his facial expressions when he speaks with you, you’ll be able to figure out the thoughts that are running through his head and how he truly feels about you.
He simply admits that he isn’t okay with the FWB situation anymore
After he realizes that he has fallen in love with you, he won’t be able to continue with the whole FWB situation because it’ll simply be too difficult for him.
He’ll probably try to hide his emotions at the beginning, but that’s only because he wants to be sure of what he feels before he says it to you.
Of course, he’ll also try to figure out whether you feel the same about him.
He doesn’t want to make any hasty decisions that he may regret later or that may lead to losing you for good.
It’ll take time, but he’ll definitely confess his feelings to you once he realizes that he can’t fight them anymore.
Final Words
Do guys fall in love with friends with benefits? My definite answer is – YES! It’s possible for men to fall for their FWB partner just as it is for us women.
Simply, men don’t have control over their hearts and emotions (as women don’t either), and when they start catching feelings for another person, there isn’t much they can do about it.
If you have recognized any of these behavior patterns from above with your man, then things are pretty clear. Your FWB partner is in love with you.
FWB relationships are very sensitive and difficult relationships that most ‘couples’ fail to maintain.
The truth is that sooner or later, one partner starts catching feelings for the other and things get too complicated.
That’s why before embarking on this journey, you must be aware of all the consequences that this little ‘trip’ of yours may have. I wish you great luck because you’ll definitely need it in this kind of relationship.