Friends with benefits: are casual relationships and friends with benefits healthy?

Friends with benefits: can casual relationships work?

Have you had friends with benefits?

And no, we're not talking about the sort of friend who'll cover for you when you want to pull a sickie!

The film 'No Strings Attached', starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, tells the story of the relationship between Emma and Adam - two friends who meet up just for sex. They're "sex friends", "bed buddies", or "friends with benefits", it all amounts to the same thing - a casual relationship.

The ground rules that govern this casual relationship are clear:

• Never buy each other presents.
• Don't have dinner just the two of you.
• Accept competition.
• Don't use the word "honey".
• Always leave before breakfast.
• And above all, never fall in love!

But what's the appeal in having sex friends? Why do women seem more accepting of the casual nature of this sort of relationship these days?

We wanted to find out more about casual sex relationships so we asked sex therapist Catherine Solano about the thorny issue of friends with benefits...

No Strings Attached by Ivan Reitman, with Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kline. In cinemas 25th February.

© Paramount

Article Plan Friends with benefits: are casual relationships healthy? ▼

• Friends with benefits
• Friends with benefits: casual sex and sex friends
• Reletionship between sex friends: satisfaction and frustration
• Sex friends: how to make casual sex relationships work
• Casual sex and a changing society
• Friends with benefits: a (selfish) lifestyle choice?