Something that people often don’t consider when they enter a serious relationship is the effect that it is going to have on their friendships. While in most cases, maintaining a so-called life partner requires more time and energy than a friend, letting that partner take over every single aspect of your life is generally not advisable. It is an issue that some people lose lifelong, close friendships over.

When you want your partner to be included in your life outside of the relationship, it is important to exercise judgment as to when and where they are welcome. As a wedding plus one? Great, unless one of the wedding party has some kind of vendetta against them. When you plan to go on a celebratory holiday with only your friends? It has the potential to get very awkward very quickly if it wasn’t a part of the plan from the very beginning.