RELATIONSHIPS
Best friends ...Forever?
MISMATCHED FINANCES. OPPOSING IDEOLOGIES. CHANGING JOBS, LOVE LIVES, FAMILY STRUCTURES — THE LIST GOES ON … 2025 HAS BEEN A YEAR THAT TESTED OUR FRIENDSHIPS IN MANY WAYS. SO JUST HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD WITH YOUR CLOSEST RELATIONSHIPS INTACT?
In divisive times, surely we need our mates more than ever. At the moment, however, it seems that the gulf between the left and the right, the haves and the have-nots, the renters and the owners, is growing wider and wider (amplified by our terminally online culture). In some ways, it’s just a part of growing up. By your thirties and beyond, some of us will have kids, some will still be kids; some are on to second marriages, while others don’t get to second dates. That is to say, life evolves; let’s not pretend we’re bouncing around in giant girl gangs, swapping clothes and sharing secrets (although, if you are, great). But the relationships we have are precious; they only work when both sides invest in them. So, if you want to keep your ride-or-dies for 2026, here are the new rules of modern friendship.