Do you love your friends ?

[DillyHilly]

Just that really , if you have close friends, would you say you love them ?
I don't mean in actually say it ( perhaps you do ) but feel it ?
I'm not massively into having lots of friends , never have really as probably a bit of an introvert , but I could not say I've ever liked them enough to feel I could see them as someone I'd class as liking enough to love.

Just for one close friend and yes the love is the same as it is for my family.

It's literally the answer to the question posed by the OP. You didn't say you loved your friends.

No - care dearly for them but not love

Yes I love my friends and I tell them. Many have been in my life for 30 years and way before my partner.

@Geebray It is possible to both love and adore people who have been there for you since you were three years of age you know. Even if they aren't related to me by blood I love just as much as my family. Who I also happen to adore.

Like a pp said, stop policing people's language. It's not a good look.

I thought I did until reading this thread and really pondering the question. I have two very close friends who I've known for over 30 years...but having just thought very closely about it and compared how I feel about them, to how I feel about my children and grandchildren, I am now questioning whether this is 'love' or simply 'extremely fond of' 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

When I think about my children and grandchildren, I would literally lay down my life for these amazing humans.

When I think about my two close friends...I wouldn't 🤷‍♀️ I'd support them of course, and care about their wellbeing immensely...but lay down my life? No, I wouldn't. So is it love? I don't really know.

Good question though OP!

@VanLife33 I'm so sorry.

@twentysevendresses perhaps that's the difference? I would lay my life on the line for my two closest friends, at least pre dc. Now I have a ds he is the only person I would do that for.

I don't think that means I stopped loving everyone else though. Just that I love dc the most out of everyone and everything

Yes! I have some really close friends (most of whom I have had for decades) and I definitely love them. We tell each other too.

I have 3 sisters. I am close to them, but it’s more an obligation and nothing like my relationship with friends. There’s no comparison.

Friends are the family you choose (in my experience).

My best friend is like a sister to me. I love her to bits and cannot picture my life without her in it. Just like I do with my DH, DDs, DM and DB.

Yes and I tell them all the time. My best friends are like sisters, actually better than sisters. I love them with all my heart. I actually love them more than my sister. More than my parents even. Sometimes more than my husband.
They are there for me when no one else is. There to pick up the pieces. There for all the highs and the lows. I adore them and I would do anything for them

I absolutely LOVE my close friends yes, especially those I've known for years. Not quite the same feeling as my family but it's definitely love!

I didn't tell her enough 💔

Yes I love them. Five or six.

Not love, no. But I suppose the kind of attachment that comes with familiarity over many years

I do and I say it. Not just always, but if I feel like hearing it will make them feel supported or happy I'll say it

Yes, my two closest friends have been part of my life for 36 and 25 years and are like family to me. In fact I love them more than my siblings or parents and I tell them I love them regularly. They are definitely my chosen family.

I love my closest friends like family.

Some lovely friendships out there , very heartening to read about them.

I am very lucky and have quite a few friends. I only love three of them. As in bestie, would lay my life down, love them. We have been friends for decades - and have seen each other through unexpected deaths, miscarriages, affairs and general mum complaining!

How special they must feel. 😂

I have one group of friends I've known since I was 12. I like to tell them I love them when we have video calls,.primarily because I do but also because it makes them a bit awkward and then they all chime in and say they do too. Typical awkward men though.

My two other close and very old friends (known since birth and age 4 or 5) we often exchange 'I love you' too.

Others... maybe in a decade or so. It takes me a while to get there.

I do love my closest friend, she means so much to me.

I also love my oldest friend, like a sister. By that I mean we don’t have to see each other often to have a deep connection.

For my other friends, it’s fondness and appreciation.

Yes, absolutely. I have about 5 very close friends (not in the same group and a mixture of women and men) whom I love and I tell them so. Particularly after a few drinks but also at other times occasionally too.

I loved one, and was heartbroken when the friendship ended.

I have a group of 4 close friends. We do a lot together and talk a lot but I don’t think I love them.