Everything you should know about the friend zone

The friend zone is where you go when someone you love doesnt love you back, but offers to be your friend.

It's where many romantic dreams go to die, and in the words of Eniola Abumere in his "Ask a Guy" vlog, "the boulevard of broken dreams."

No one likes to be friend-zoned. It is basically a rejection of your advances and usually has the same effect every form of rejection has on people - disappointment.

To actually be friend-zoned, you must have expressed a desire for romance and the other person turns you down.

If you have just been friends with a member of the opposite sex without ever asking him/her to be your boo, then you can't say you have been friend-zoned. That's not how it works.

Contrary to popular opinion, being friend-zoned is however not all that bad, considering that the rejection could have been more embarrassing or more hurtful.

Your crush could have told you off rudely, they could have laughed off the request condescendingly or they could have responded in some type of way that would make you regret opening up to them about the way you feel towards them.

ALSO READ:5 early mistakes to avoid in a relationship

While you might have wanted something more, at least you get the chance to remain friends with your crush. And frankly, the chance remains that you could get them to change their minds over time. Afterall, a 'no' could change to a 'yes' with time.

However, after a while of gentle pestering and the person does not budge, you might need to accept the fact that you have become permanently friend-zoned - you, my friend, have become the zonal coordinator, the zonal chariman.

Apparently, women do more of friend-zoning than guys and this is because guys do the asking more than women.

However, it needs to be said that sometimes, the true love of your life could be close to you, relegated to the friend zone while you struggle with relationship after relationship, trying to strike gold with other people when you have a gem just sitting there waiting to be discovered.

Instead of looking for reasons to throw a guy/babe to the friendzone, maybe you should try giving them a chance. You might be surprised at what could happen!