From my dating experiences all over the years, I have established a list of rules I must follow as I navigate the dating world. Now that I am about to settle down, I decided to share my insights with all of you. The reasoning behind it is to hopefully help those of you out there who may be struggling with these issues. Today, what I want to discuss with you is dating friends of friends.

Since almost the very beginning of my dating life, I have set the following rules: Don’t date friends of friends, and don’t set up friends with friends. I believe this rule is a very important one and can prevent a lot of unpleasantness. While I have worked hard to avoid this sort of situation, I am sad to admit I have been there.

There was this one time in which one of my friends wanted to set me up with a friend of hers. While I objected at first, as I wanted to follow my rule, she swore that he is different. So, I gave it a shot. Unfourtenetley, it wasn’t the case. After a few months of dating, he had disappeared. He ghosted me, ignored me, and walked away from our relationship. Because we had a lot of mutual friends, I ran into him not short after, and believe me when I tell you it was extremely awkward.

Setting up friends with friends is a sure recipe for disaster. We are making ourselves responsible for whatever happens; if they don’t like each other, it’s on you for making them sit through a horrific date. However, if they end up dating, and later broken up, you might find yourself stuck between two different teams, Maybe even having to choose between the two.

I love my friends. However, as I want to maintain my friendships with them, I try to separate myself from their romantic lives. It’s a shame to lose friends because of a fleeting romance. Don’t mix business and pleasure.