Do ‘opposites attract’ relationships actually work?

[sparkydog]

I have a real soft spot for a male friend.

However, we are the most unlikely pairing ever in everything including lifestyle, income, appearance, personality (with me being the rich, older, glamorous, power woman and him being the starving artist who lives off the grid, if this were a 1990s romcom/dodgy porn film).

Do these dynamics actually ever work in reality though?

I’ve never considered it until a mutual friend took me to one side last week and asked why we male friend and I weren’t dating, given it was crystal clear to everyone that we like each other.

There has to be some common ground. Different skill sets can complement each other but vastly different interests or values can cause conflict. In my first marriage I optimistically thought that our differences would be complementary, and give each of us a wider view and bigger experience of the world and everything in it. Really he should have stayed a lovely friend, we lived separate lives.