Face it; there are more relationships that do not work out than do. It's not a negative thing; the fact of the matter is that many people begin dating that don't have enough in common with one another and in the long run will be better off without one another. So, after you have dated for awhile or have become intimate, is it really possible to just be friends? Most people find it difficult to be friends after they have had a relationship because it's hard to draw the line between a friendship and a relationship. A lot of people start out being friendly with a call everyone once in awhile, maybe even drinks or lunch but after awhile the calls stop coming and before you know it, its been six months or even a year since the last time you talked and you're alright with that.

The other place that people get stuck is having a friendship that goes back and forth between friendship and relationship. This is how a lot of people get hurt because one person will develop feelings again and the other person will not. It's convenient to call up the friend that you have had sexual relations with in the past when you are lonely, but it really doesn't do anyone any good in the long run if the couple truly isn't right for one another.

The truth is that you can be friends after a relationship, but you have to really want to maintain a friendship. The people that are usually able to maintain friendships are those that were friends before they started dating, because they have a history to fall back on. If your relationship started with sex or flirtation and went from there, its likely if you weren't together all that long that you didn't build enough of a friendship within the relationship to have anything to build on.

It is a lot easier to be friends and then become lovers than it is to be lovers and then become friends. If both parties are interested in getting to know one another, it isn't out of the question that you become friends after you've been lovers, so give it a shot if you really feel that it could work out. It's important to establish boundaries no matter what the situation so that you don't find yourself calling one another for a quick booty call three years from now, unless of course that is part of the agreement.