Confessions of a Platonic Best Pal

Years later, when I went through a sad and painful divorce, Daniel was at my side. He knew when to listen and let me cry or when to make me laugh and see things from a guy's perspective.

Many people say, "Well, you slept together," as if, once there's sex, there's always sex.

We answer: "So?" Over 30 years of friendship don't trump two years of romance? Daniel recently admitted that having been intimate with me added a depth to our friendship that he lacks with his male friends. We've been there, done that, and are still easy around each other.

And yet, even people who know Daniel, know me and know Adriana still believe male/female friendship is a myth. "Either the man is secretly in love with the woman," they say, "or he secretly wants to have sex with her." Or, to put it more crudely, "Men don't have platonic friends, they only have women they haven't screwed yet."

Is that true? Are male/female friends either lying to each other or lying to themselves? Can't male/female friends be kindred spirits with shared interests and a rich history of experiences, just like same-sex friends?