It isn’t: if you’re romantically interested in someone, seeing that person going out with someone else, or hearing about how happy/unhappy s/he is with the significant other, is extremely painful, and usually vastly more so than the benefit of a friendship.
It depends. At university I remember having a crush on a guy. He started dating one of my friends. I was a bit jealous at first, but I got over it, we became good friends and the crush faded over time. By the time we shared a house in second year I was no longer romantically interested at all.
I guess It’s possible that I’m unusual or that this sort of thing doesn’t happen to men as much as women.
ETA: Thinking about this, I don’t think I’ve successfully ended up being close friends with a guy that I’ve turned down, though I remain friendly acquaintances with a lot of them.
It depends. At university I remember having a crush on a guy. He started dating one of my friends. I was a bit jealous at first, but I got over it, we became good friends and the crush faded over time. By the time we shared a house in second year I was no longer romantically interested at all.
I guess It’s possible that I’m unusual or that this sort of thing doesn’t happen to men as much as women.
ETA: Thinking about this, I don’t think I’ve successfully ended up being close friends with a guy that I’ve turned down, though I remain friendly acquaintances with a lot of them.