Research suggests that men with platonic female best friends may experience greater emotional closeness, openness and less competitiveness than men whose closest friends are other men. A 2026 study by Fox and colleagues found that 89% of participants had a best friend of the same gender, meaning only 11% reported a best friend of a different gender. Roger Goode, the team and listeners chat about whether or not they would be comfortable if their partner had a best friend of the opposite sex and if men and women could genuinely be just friends, with absolutely no romantic feelings involved.