Be prepared to lose what you’ve got

Whether you end up in the worst case scenario or the best case scenario, you will still lose what you had before you started dating. Even if your life as a couple is a huge success, the days where you could bitch endlessly to him about your boyfriend will inevitably be gone forever and you may even find it hard doing some of the other activities you used to share previously as friends. Accepting that this is going to happen will enable you to have more realistic expectations from your relationship and help you adjust to being her boyfriend a bit better.

Expect some awkwardness

Even if you are both very strongly attracted to each other, being a couple is likely to feel odd at the start especially when you are around your a set of mutual friends or work colleagues. Be a little bit sensitive as to how others may perceive you at this stage to avoid isolating people and making them feel as though they are intruding on a private members-only party.

Respect each other’s space

Even though you were previously friends, being a couple doesn’t necessarily mean having to now spend every waking moment together. If he wants to go off and do his own thing or see some friends without you, don’t be offended: you need to have a balanced relationship and doing things independently will give you both some breathing space and stop things between you from getting stale.

Don’t take things for granted

Even though you probably know almost everything there is to know about him, you still need to make the effort to find out even more; this time from a girlfriend’s objective. In the same way, don’t expect him to be able to read your mind or anticipate your needs like he perhaps used to when he was just a friend and had a completely different role in your life. Expect to have to learn new ways of communicating with each other and keeping the mystery and intrigue alive. Remember, you are on a whole new territory now as a couple so a whole new set of rules apply.