Cornina asked: “Is it realistic to believe that a man and a woman can move past the awkward barrier of good friends into passionate, romantic love?”
Dear Corina,
The answer is yes, friends can (and often do) become lovers, although as your question implies, the transition can be somewhat awkward.
Interestingly, research has found that romantic relationships do not necessarily differ from close friendships in terms of emotional connection/intimacy, shared activities, or even sex1 (hence the term “friends with benefits”). In fact, some researchers have said that the only difference between a friendship and a romantic relationship is the label. So if you’re starting from a friendship, you’re not far off.
Uncertainty is the main problem. People are often uncomfortable if they cannot predict others’ behavior and unpredictablity is common in the beginning stages of a romantic relationship.2 Norms and expectations change as you transition from friends to more than friends, and opposite-sex quasi-romantic friends often avoid talking about the status of their relationship and what they expect from each other.