According to everyone that knows, a bromance is essentially a very close friendship between two men.
When men are in a bromance, they tend to share everything with each other. Nothing is off-limits, which allows them to be themselves. There are typically few boundaries in these relationships.
This is similar to a regular friendship, but they are often much more transparent and may be more likely to share emotions.
Bromance – Good for Your Mental Health?
Recently, a study was done and included 30 men—all of whom were straight, athletic, in their second year of college, and had dated someone romantically.
The study showed that each and every one of the men interviewed had one or more bromantic friends.
One of the main reasons that these men said they enjoy their bromances so much is that they feel like they can be themselves. Since there are no limits, they are comfortable sharing secrets, feelings, and anything else they might otherwise keep to themselves.
One guy featured in the study said,
“Tim knows I love listening to Taylor Swift and Beyonce, but I keep that quiet [around my girlfriend] because she would judge me. I feel like I have to be more manly around her.”
That would be a hard secret to share!
So Many Secrets
This is the case for many of the men who were surveyed. Most of them said that their friends were less judgmental than their romantic partners were.
This means that guys with bromantic friends are able to confide in their friends more often than they are in their girlfriends. The comfort level is much higher and makes it easier for guys to speak their minds.
Going along with this, a bromantic relationship leaves much more space to talk about emotions. Sensitive topics are easier for men to talk about with their guy friends than their girlfriends.
As one participant mentioned, guys feel like they need to be manly around their girlfriends. Talking about more emotional topics can be hard to do while maintaining a manly attitude.
When these men were surveyed, they seemed to show some favoritism toward their bromance. They seemed to be more interested in maintaining their friendships rather than their romantic relationships.
Caught in the Middle
They also tended to speak more negatively about their girlfriends.
This may be another reason that men in a bromance seem to put their close friends above their girlfriends.
There is some speculation that the idea of a bromance could influence the path a romantic relationship takes as well. For example, if a guy is very close to his friend, they may become roommates.
This would delay a romantic couple’s future plans, such as living together, becoming engaged, or getting married. It wouldn’t completely risk those plans, but they could end up put off until later.
A bromance may get in the way of a romantic relationship, especially if it delays a couple’s plans. Plus, it could lead to a guy hiding things from his girlfriend but sharing them with his friends.
Bro!
One of the participants mentioned that,
“Lovers are temporary. A bromance can last a lifetime.”
This goes to show how important bromances are and how they could be valued above romantic relationships.
A bromance can be very fulfilling for the two guys involved, which makes it easy for them to continue working on that friendship. They can usually resolve their conflicts easily and find reasons to make it work.
Romantic relationships aren’t always quite as simple. They often take a lot of work, and it can help to have someone to vent to and talk about them with – which is one reason why bromances may be beneficial, and yet still be entirely frustrating to the girlfriends left pushed to the side.
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