If they are close as your family, you may feel familial love for them. People who we are related to or who we spend a lot of time with tend to be quite close. This might not be “love” but a shared connection that could blossom into friendship love if it was continued over time. Depending on the type of friendship you have you may be physical with each other (hugs, cheek kisses, etc.) but most instances are fully clothed or on areas of the body which do not have a sexual connection.įriendly love can also be the love experienced with camaraderie or a connection through people at work. It’s a love that means you care for someone, they are important to you, and you are connected to them emotionally but you do not have romantic feelings for them. We often say that we “love” our friends but it’s meant in an entirely different way than we would love a romantic partner. There could be many reasons why, but it will never progress into romantic love. The addition of physical intimacy to platonic feelings does not mean love, it simply means that you continue to have a friendship but scratch a physical itch with that friend rather than using a romantic partner. With sexuality being a very open subject these days many people are comfortable having “friends with benefits” situations which can blur this line. Platonic love does not have sexual feelings. While they may not necessarily be sexual, there is a sexual element to them and a physical intimacy that is not usually present in any other type of love. Romantic love is the feelings you would have for a partner or spouse.
The biggest difference between types of love is that of romantic love vs. Talk To A Licensed Therapist With BetterHelp Source: