Friends can often turn into the best partners, whether it's because they share similar interests, can finish each other's sentences, or just enjoy a good belly laugh together.
Establishing a romantic relationship based on mutual admiration and trust can help make it easier to deal with the inevitable challenges you will face. Because when you're in love with your best friend, it makes it a lot easier to deal with their dirty socks on the floor.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have also found that the longer people in a relationship take to get to know one another, the more likely they are to find things that are appealing about their partners, other than physical attractiveness.
Below, see 10 famous couples who were friends way before they took their relationship to the next level.
Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett were drama school classmates who fell in love.
Award-winning actors, Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett have been married for over 20 years. But before they embarked on their love story, Vance and Bassett spent years as friends.
The actors met when the two were students at Yale Drama School in the '80s. Things never got romantic at the time because Vance had a girlfriend who Bassett described as "beautiful" in an interview with People magazine earlier this year.
The couple reconnected years later in Hollywood, eventually married in 1997, and are now the parents of twins, 12-year-olds Bronwyn and Slater. In 2007, Vance and Bassett co-wrote the book, "Friends: A Love Story," which follows their relationship through the years.
Former Disney kids Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears found romance in the spotlight.
Before they became a pop music power couple, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake worked together on "The Mickey Mouse Club" from 1993 to 1995. The two developed a friendship as they grew up on screen in front of their fans.
After the show ended, the friendship developed into a romance and the pair started dating in 1999 before splitting in 2002.
Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan started as pen pals.
To say that Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan took their time getting into a relationship would be an understatement. The Mumford and Sons front-man and "The Great Gatsby" actress' friendship began in their tweens. The two attended the same Christian summer camp and kept in touch by writing letters.
They lost touch after a while but reconnected as adults at a party in Nashville in 2011. At that point, it didn't take long before their friendship turned into a romance. Mumford and Mulligan tied the knot in 2012 and have two kids together.
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