I was thinking about my oddest relationships. I was trying to figure out what the “weird factor” was, based on who I dated, and under what circumstances. They weren’t a bunch of freaks, but they were freaky enough!

The biggest freak show was meeting some of my boyfriend’s friends. They weren’t strange per se, but the lot of them possessed a seemingly odd quality– staying friends with their exes. And not just acquaintances that say hi and turn around to their friends and say, “OMG what are they doing here?!”

No, these people remain close and keep in contact on a regular basis and act as though their history is just really good friends. The freaky part of this “relationship taboo” is that their current squeezes are OKAY with it. Odd? I sure think so.

With the exception of my boyfriend (his former serious girlfriend cheated on him) all of his friends remain cordial and NORMAL with their exes.

Based on my past experiences, there is no way I could be great friends with them:

A) Too awkward

B) The demise of our relationship

C) Why would I want to? I I was uninterested at all during the relationship, why would I be interested in a platonic friendship?

In When Harry Met Sally, Harry says men and women can never really be friends because the sex part is already out there.

I have to take Harry’s side on this one.

No offense to my guy friends, I don’t find them attractive on the surface. I’m friends with them because we got to know each other on that “great friend with a killer personality level.”

Maybe I’ve dated backwards.

Again, with the exception of my current boyfriend, I hardly knew anything about my previous flames prior to dating them. Although I learned a lot about my boyfriend while dating him, but I think knowing a little history helps.

Maybe the key to dating the perfect person is one who could potentially be your best friend.

“Marry your best friend and live happily ever after.” Hmm.

But honestly, can exes really be friends? Or is it something that needs to be (like red wine and cheese) ripened with age? The more history, the better?

Some believe that saying it just want to be friends really works. I’ve said it, you’ve said it, but did we really mean it?

For some reason I don’t think so.

Perhaps they really are a group of freak, or maybe I’m the freak for not having this revelation sooner.

I’ll keep you posted if, and when, it happens to me.