Why does Paul Eastwick say people should not fear the friend zone?

Paul Eastwick says that unless a friendship keeps reopening the pain of unrequited love, the friend zone is useful. Among heterosexual men and women, having more friends of the other gender predicts a higher chance of starting a relationship in the following months and years, because friends introduce you to friends of friends. He met his own college girlfriend through a classmate named Crystal who kept pulling him into new groups.

• Eastwick recommends an open casting approach that does not rule people out on paper over background, interests or even some values.
• Small college classes, he says, help because they put you among people unlike yourself.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-11-02). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode