8 Signs Your Significant Other Is Also Your BFF

“I’m marrying my best friend” is a bit of a clichéd thing for couple to say, particular at weddings, these days. It's a sentiment repeated so often that it’s started to lose all meaning. But it turns out that, cliché aside, we really should be looking for relationships with people who are our BFFs: a 2014 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Canada found that, in surveys of married couples in the U.K., “well-being effects of marriage are about twice as large for those whose spouse is also their best friend.” In other words, being married to your best friend doubles the satisfaction you experience in your marriage—not bad, right?

None of this is to say that there is anything wrong with couples who don’t consider each other their best friends—lots of people totally love each other and have great relationships, but the “Best Friend” space happens to be occupied by other people in their lives. But there is something pretty great about being close friends with your romantic partner—it’s two important life-companions in one! Here are a few of the perks you experience when you S.O. is also your BFF:

1. You feel completely comfortable with each other

When I say “comfortable,” I’m not saying that you talk about farts and pee in front of each other (you want to still want to have sex with this person, after all), although it's obviously fine if you do that too. What I mean is that you feel totally comfortable being your true self with your S.O. In fact, being with this person makes you feel like you can be the most authentic version of yourself.

2. You hang out—a lot

When you’re best friends with your S.O., you spend a lot of time together. Some of that it is date-y, romance-y, sexy time, but a lot of it is just being-together-and-finding-each-other-delightful time.

3. You laugh together

Best friends tend to find each other hilarious (even when other people don’t) and have the ridiculous, overly complicated in-jokes to prove it. Couples who are also best friends have the very same dynamic.

4. When you have news, you can’t wait to tell your S.O.

Whenever something exciting, scary, hilarious, or bad happens, you’re first thought is always “I can’t wait to tell [your person] about this.” Your experiences don’t even feel quite complete until you’ve had a chance to hash them out with your significant other.

5. You go to your S.O. for advice

When you’re trying to make a decision, the person you're in a relationship with is the first person you turn to because you trust him or her to tell you the truth, and you know that s/he always wants you to be happy. You don't just value their opinion as one among many, but it is THE opinion you can always depend on to reflect your best interests, your exact values, and the unique perspective of someone who knows you so well.

6. You talk a lot, about everything

When your S.O. is your best friend, you find yourselves discussing everything, to the point that sometimes it feels like you’re sharing the same brain. There is no subject that is against the rules—even when you’re talking about other people you think are hot.

7. You trust each other implicitly

You trust your S.O. more than any other person. You trust him or her to support you, take care of you, and even make decisions for you when you’re not able.

8. You treat each other like you actually like each other

Of course you love your partner—you love the deep, inner core of the person that makes him or her who s/he is. But you also simply like each other—you like being around each other, you like talking about stupid stuff, you like the way your S.O. looks at the world.

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