Your view of romantic relationships vs. close friendships

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Whatever your answer to the poll question, it would be nice if you could elaborate below.

I voted for Everything a good friendship is, plus more. The only people I've been majorly close to were my romantic partners.

Voted for #3. Really in my personal experience, it's sometimes #1 or #3, rarely #2.

For me, a good romantic relationship is everything a good friendship is, plus more. Certainly that's true of my current and longest-lasting relationship.

I am curious to hear from those who feel otherwise.

Everything a good friendship is, plus more. I dont believe a romantic relationship could
work long term without the added bond of friendship.

#1, definitely.

In the old days marriages were based on things other than having a close bond like political, social, & economic reasons. I do think a lot of those marriages developed into having a close bond for each other but that bond was not a major reason as to why they got married in the 1st place. Nowadays in Western culture, marriages are based on love & half of them in in divorce so I kinda wonder if marriages need something other than just a close bond to maintain them. Friends tend to come & go throughout someone's life & the same can be said of love or at least feeling love for others. I guess couples need some kinda glue to make their marriages stick together & I think there tends to need to be reasons besides having a close friendship like bond for each other.

Agreed regarding marriages, the model that many grew up watching and learning from may not be an accurate preparation for today's romantic love preference.
Arranged and marriages of convenience will likely always be part of the global culture and still have potential for healthy longevity based on compatibility.
You only live once, life can be short, I think if you have a good sense of who you are and are comfortable with it, that is a better starting point for people.

Opportunities that come by romantically could be better matched long term. I think this is where ASD can make this more difficult as many generally prefer to stay with what they know in general, which isnt always the best option.

If you start with the friendship plus more=romantic The friendship part tends to develop at a different point and in different ways perhaps, but it's still there.

To be clear I think the two ("romantic plus friendship") are a good combination in a long term relationship. They arent the only factors for the relationship, but in the context of the thread and the poll options, it's a good starting point.

I feel Romance plus Friendship is the Ideal Relationship.