Strong friendships between a man and woman are sometimes so difficult to understand and accept though relationships between two women or men is more readily accepted by our society. When a man and woman hold hands in public, automatically they are assumed to be lovers. Friends are friends and lovers are lovers! Very few people are physically affectionate with their friends. People find it difficult to dissociate love from sex. If two people express love and affection for each other it is assumed that they are lovers. The truth is fairly simple: two people like each other, are comfortable together and a special bond of friendship develops between them.

Sometimes friendship is taken for granted and people are willing to give it up when they fall in love, want to marry or have a long term relationship. Sexual or romantic love is assumed to be better and therefore preferred.

If the sexual element in a relationship is lost, no friendship is left and the couple moves away from each other in every respect. Instead of seeing sexual relationships as friendships which include sex, couples often see them as separate from any kind of friendship. If people could break away from this tradition they could be friends with their lovers and ex-lovers and enjoy close, happy and meaningful relationships. This would also reflect a certain amount of growth and maturity of the personality.