A good friendship can fall apart when love gets in the way, especially if the love is one-sided. The situation when a good friend falls in love with you, but you don't reciprocate the feelings, must be handled with care. Either the friendship will develop into something more between you or you should at least be able to remain good friends.
How should you deal with it if you return the feelings
If you realise that your best friend has fallen in love with you, talk to them openly and honestly about the change in your feelings. Let the other person know that you feel the same way.
Even if you've been friends for years, you shouldn't rush things. The step from a good friendship to a relationship is very important, because a lot will change for you. Talk together about how far you want to go.
Spend more time together without having other friends around. You need the opportunity to get to know each other under the new aspects and see each other in a new light.
Even if you both feel the same way and have been best friends for years, this is no guarantee that it will work out as a romantic relationship. In order not to lose your good friendship, you should promise each other that you will remain friends if the relationship fails. Since you were close as friends, it would be a shame to lose that. Even if it's difficult, it's worth the effort if you value your friendship.
How should you deal with it if you don't reciprocate the feelings
If you realise that your boyfriend or girlfriend has fallen in love with you, be open and honest and tell him/her that you feel this way. If you are not open, you will give the other person unnecessary hope and hurt them. This could ruin your good friendship forever.
It's best not to see each other for a few weeks so that your feelings can calm down a little. Your boyfriend or girlfriend can use this time to realise his or her feelings and how valuable it is to have you as a friend, even if he or she is looking for a deeper relationship.
Until your feelings are under control, you should not meet alone. Togetherness only leads to further confusion of feelings.
You should deliberately keep your conversations platonic. Avoid topics that have to do with romance and love, otherwise you will hurt your boyfriend's feelings.
In any case, try to maintain your friendship. Help your friend to get a grip on their feelings without giving them false hope. If your friend wants to talk about love, remind him/her that you don't feel that way, but at the same time emphasise how important your friendship is to you.
