Friends are always going to be there for you; through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad times, through breakups and makeups. They are the people you go to when life is getting you down and when everything seems to be going wrong; the perfect support system. When you have good news, the first people you tell are your friends and they celebrate alongside you, happy for their friend. You love them with all your heart and all your being, and that’s why it can be hard to be the only friend in a relationship.

When you start a new relationship, all you want to do is talk about them and spend time with them. This is a natural feeling, but when all your friends are single, it can feel like you're alienating them. I know that sometimes I refrain from talking about my significant other because I don’t want to annoy my friends or hurt their feelings. The difficult part is that the people you want to talk to the most about it are the same people that you don’t want to hurt or annoy. It’s easy to get jealous when you're single and a friend isn’t. I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum, and both sides are tough.

On the one hand, you want to be supportive of your friend in the relationship, but it can be hard to do so when you begin to get jealous or annoyed. It’s easy to feel bad about yourself for not being in a relationship when a good friend is, and it’s easy to feel annoyed when all your friend is talking about is their relationship. On the other hand, being the only taken person puts you in a precarious spot. You want to share, but you also don’t want to hurt your friend’s feelings, especially if a lot of them are going through tough times in the dating department.

Being the only friend in a relationship can be difficult. It can become a balancing act. You just have to remember that your friends are there for you no matter what. If you feel like they are not being as supportive as you want them to be, then sit down and talk about it with them. This way, both sides can share how they feel and everyone can walk away feeling better. At the end of the day, your friends will be there for you and you will be there for them. Sometimes this means you refrain from talking about your relationship and sometimes it means sharing. There is no perfect answer and occasionally feelings will get hurt. As long as you don’t let it get in the way of your friendship and take the steps to work it out, everything will be okay. It’s easy to feel isolated when all your friends are single. They are talking about hookups and how much they hate dating sometimes and you’re in the middle with nothing to contribute. Just stay supportive and don’t take on an us versus them mentality. Stay supportive, and if you don’t feel the love coming from your friends, make sure you tell them. Friendship is all about balance; this is no different.