Lifestyle

All The Single Ladies: 17 Reasons Your BFF Is The Only Bae You Need

by Erika Huber

Your best friend is your world. She’s your other half and, even if you’re dating someone, she still reigns as the queen of your heart. Your friendship is more like a committed relationship.

In fact, it’s almost a marriage.

Here are 17 signs you and your best friend have crossed over to life partner status:

1. You make plans for the future.

You have zero doubt that the two of you will be by each other’s side forever. If you could have your skeletons propped up in a mausoleum, with a bottle of wine and a TV that eternally plays Netflix and never asks if you’re still watching, you would.

You constantly map out your futures, hyping up grandiose plans that won’t actually happen — like the beach house in St. Barts, and the restaurant you’ll own together in the Hamptons.

But more realistically, you get excited over the expected things: the weddings, the babies, the home decor, the nights spent around a fire pit in the backyard, reminiscing about the old days. You can’t wait to share those moments and aspects of life together.

2. All decisions require consulting one another first; you’d be insulted otherwise.

You can’t trust yourself 100 percent when it comes to decision making. No matter how heavy the the issue, the first opinion you go looking for is from her.

Should you buy that shirt?

Should you keep talking to excessive Emoji guy?

Is it okay if you eat a fourth slice of pizza if you went for a run yesterday?

You’re not sure, but together, you’ll figure it out. She’ll let you know that the shirt is not cute enough to cost $45, Emoji guy screams clinger and go ahead and binge, you deserve it.

When a decision is made without this dual input, someone’s feelings get hurt. Just as a marriage survives on communication and compromise, so does your friendship.

3. You can never spend too many hours together.

Like every committed relationship, you can irk one another every once in a while. But “too much time together” is not in your vocabulary when you’re wrapped in Disney princess blankets, online shopping and inhaling pita chips.

The human being who still loves you when you’re sans-makeup, glasses-clad and have hummus on your face, is the human to keep around forever.

4. You say “I love you” before you get off the phone.

You really do love each other.

You say it because you’re family, and why wouldn’t you? You never want her to forget.

5. You’re considered a package deal.

If, for some reason, you show up somewhere without her, everyone’s like, “huh?”

You seem to be an inseparable pair, so when she had a final to study for and you went to the party solo, people notice the yin is without its yang.

You get a lot of “Where’s Julia?” and “Glad you still came.” But you’re dying a little without her.

6. You already know her reaction to things you're going to tell her.

You can see exactly how the situation is gonna play out when you tell her you can’t save her from a weekend at the beach with just her parents, or when you saw the new Channing Tatum movie in theaters without her.

You’re all too familiar with the irritations that will set her off.

You know how to diffuse the tantrums, the meltdowns and the melodrama like no one else can. It’s your job.

7. Your parents ask how she is every time you talk to them.

Because you two are basically married, your parents find it appropriate to ask about her daily happenings the same time they ask you about yours.

They want to know how she’s doing in school, if that date with that hot guy went anywhere, if she’s still liking her job. They always ask about her because her life coincides a lot with yours.

8. You feel an obligation to spend as much time together as possible.

Sometimes, when couples spend too much time apart, they find themselves growing apart. In any good relationship, both parties must work to keep that from happening.

You and your best friend know a certain amount of quality time must be put in on a regular basis, so no one ends up feeling alienated.

So, the weeks where school has you swamped and your job is stressing you out, you still remember to at least give her a call to catch up, have some laughs and vent until you’re out of breath.

9. Long distance is always painful.

That summer she went to Europe for a month and you were at home, working and roasting at the pool alone? Awful.

10. You love your other friends, but it sucks when she’s not there.

Fun is always maximized when both of you are present to enjoy it.

Any time you go somewhere awesome or have some crazy night without each other, you know it could’ve been even better had you been together.

11. You don’t bother saying “my friend,” before her name

She’s brought up so often in discussion that when you retell your crazy weekend tales to your coworkers, prefacing her name with a title is just a waste of breath at this point.

It’s just like when women talk about their husbands who no one’s met. Her Gary is your Amy.

12. You’re out of your element without her.

So you made sure you grabbed your phone, your wallet and the flask you successfully snuck in the bar, but you’re definitely missing your most essential accessory.

Without her, dancing idiotically to "Single Ladies" just isn’t the same. You walk taller and flip your hair harder with your bad bitch by your side.

13. It’s the two of you against the world.

When you hate everyone, when her relationship is hitting a wall and when you don’t think you can take another potential boyfriend falling through, you’re both there to give the world the finger.

14. No one else gets it.

In each other, you’ve found your forever sister soul mate.

As cheesy as that sounds, you’re eternally grateful for the mutual understanding you have of one another’s ridiculous paranoias, overly analytical tendencies and f*cked up thoughts, because no one else could handle any of that.

15. Sometimes it’s better when it’s just the two of you.

Some of your best memories are of the times you ditched the group and went off to have your own mischief-filled adventures.

Those times wouldn’t have been the same with other people involved.

16. You want to know where she is and what she’s doing.

Like, really. Where are you, what are you doing and why am I not there?

And also, are you safe? Did you make it home? And can I come over?

17. You tell each other everything.

You’re the female versions of Seinfeld and Costanza. You can’t keep things from each other.

You know how people say, “Don’t tell anyone, not even your wife?” They should tack on, “or your best friend” when confiding in you.

Your best friend is your rock, your person and maybe your greatest love affair. The men you marry better get comfortable with second place because she’ll always be your number one bae.