Whether you are in a situationship or in a friends with benefits relationship, it’s cool because it’s not a casual relationship. You are trying something different, and in some cases, it might work very well. But it always depends on the person, the challenges that arise, and also how you are going to manage everything. At the end of the day, knowing how to tackle the process and figuring out what’s ideal for you is what matters the most. It’s definitely worth it, even if there will be a multitude of challenges down the line.
What Is A Situationship?
It’s basically a sexual or romantic connection that doesn’t lack a definition. Some consider it to be more of a friendship than a relationship, but there is no decision from the partners about it. Yes, there is a spark there, but nothing is truly specific and defined for the time being. There’s a relationship-like behavior without the label, unspoken expectations, but also a lack of direction and no real communication. It just exists, but without defining exactly what that situation is and where it might actually go.
Friends With Benefits
This one is better defined, because FWB means you are friends that also have fun and there’s no romantic commitment. The definition is clear here, as you have an explicit agreement and expectations are set right off the bat. Plus, there is a foundation of friendship for everything here, yet there are no romantic expectations or anything of that nature. The problem with FWB dating is that it can be tricky since one of the two partners could develop feelings, which does turn things a little bit.
What Are The Main Differences?
For some people, situationships and a friends with benefits situation is going to sound the same. But the reality is that these are very different from one another. What you want to do is to understand differences and define everything properly. With that being said, understanding the challenges and figuring out what you want to focus on, it’s going to help a lot.
- Stability is an issue for a situationship, because you can’t really define that and figure out what it is. When it comes to the FWB thing, you know exactly what it is and it’s stable until someone falls in love.
- Emotional investment is possible in a situationship, but prohibited in a friends with benefits situation. The latter is built solely on intimacy and friendship, not any emotion.
- Clarity is also a defining factor. For example, in the friends with benefits thing, you do have clarity and you know exactly what that is and what you are expecting from it. But then you have the situationship where you don’t know what that is, where it goes and how you can approach it.
- Power and fairness is another defining thing here. A well-run FWB will be balanced most of the time and there won’t be a ton of changes. With the situationship, you have a lot of imbalance because you don’t always know where that relationship goes and what you have to do next. That can be tricky and also a tad scary at times.
Do They Overlap?
Yes, sometimes they overlap because there are similar traits. Neither one falls under the relationship label, and both can include affection and intimacy. Both can slide into emotional complications, and they can shift into something else over time. In some cases you will have a situationship turn into a friends with benefits situation, so yes, there’s definitely some type of overlap that can appear, depending on the situation at hand.
Now, situationships can be uncomfortable for some people because you don’t really know where that goes and what you need to do next. With a friends with benefits label, you know exactly where that goes and what you want. Clarity can be a defining factor, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the couple to figure out where to go next.
What you need is to take your time, understand the situation and identify the future of that relationship. Done right, that can help make things better, and in the long term that can be incredible. Assess your needs and expectations, and then be clear about the future, as that can help push the situationship or friends with benefits experience to the next level.
