Friendships with other couples
Enrich your relationship by making new friends

By Pierre Coda

When we enter into a long-term committed relationship, in our efforts to be romantic towards each other, we forget the value of friendships with other couples.

I encourage couples to seek solid friendships with other couples for the following reasons:

• Other couples better understand what it is like to be in a romantic relationship.
• You can learn from other couples.  Being with other couples puts your relationship in perspective.  It makes you appreciate that the challenges that you face in your relationship are similar to those faced by others.
• It allows you to interact with members of the opposite gender along with your spouse so that there is never a concern about infidelity (I am a big supporter of healthy friendships with members of the opposite gender even after marriage; they enrich your relationship)

How to find couples as friends?

While it may seem easy, it is not.  The reason is that you want to find couples that are similar to you in more than one way so that you can really bond with them.  Some obvious places to start are:

• Reconnect with old friends who stopped socializing with you when they got married but you were single.
• Start socializing with your married friends as couples.
• Organize family events with other married people in the family.
• Join an online group to find other couples with similar hobbies or specific goals.

How to make the best of relationships with other couples?

• While having a large group is good, but try to pick two or three couples with whom you really connect and then make your relationship (Revive relationship with an old flame) even stronger with them, by inviting them more frequently to informal meals or to watch a movie together or go on a hike.
• Share with them your story as a couple and encourage them to share their secrets for happiness and the challenges that they face.  Help each other out by sharing what has worked for you and what hasn't.
• Help them out when needed.  For instance, watch their kids if they want to get out of a town for a romantic weekend or go blow the snow if someone is traveling.  

Related articles: Making a relationship stronger through intimacy    Depressed housewives  How to turn a friend into a lover?   

How to make a man notice you?

What do you think?  Share your thoughts with us