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Friends with benefits can be a lot of fun when you’re younger. In fact, you probably had a few FWB setups in college and your early 20s. Those were lawless years. You had “responsibilities” but they weren’t real responsibilities. You had a job that you could be hung over at (if not drunk), you had classes but the lecture hall sat 200 people so nobody noticed if you weren’t there, and you were surrounded by friends who were lovable train wrecks. Having friends with benefits just fit your lifestyle back then. But when you get a bit older, the chaos, spontaneity, and ambiguity of a FWB relationship just aren’t things you vibe with anymore. You can give it a shot, but you’ll probably find it isn’t worth the hassle. Here is why friends with benefits don’t work as you get older.

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People you actually date aren’t down with it

Maybe in college, if you went on a few dates with a guy and he found out you had a friend with benefits elsewhere, he would accept it—everybody was doing whatever they wanted back then. But now, most guys you casually date won’t be okay with you having a friend with benefits.

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You’ve experienced enough health scares

By this point, you’ve had enough urinary tract infections and questionable bumps down there that landed you at the doctor’s office. If you’re going to sleep with someone consistently, you want to know they aren’t sleeping with someone else and picking things up. But you can’t ask that of a FWB.

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Life has become too coupley

In your 20s, your life was a blur of beach days, boozy brunches and even boozier nights. You could keep the FWB relationship all about drinking and sex back then. But now, your days are filled with more trips to Bed Bath and Beyond and the Farmer’s market. When the friends part of your FWB relationship involves coupley activities, it’s hard not to just become a couple.