Up First from NPR Best Friends and Life Partners
36 snips
Dec 14, 2025 
Raina Cohen, an NPR producer and author of "The Other Significant Others," dives into the world of platonic life partnerships. She discusses how deep friendships can serve as central life relationships, often misunderstood in a marriage-centric society. Raina shares compelling stories, including a five-decade friendship that resulted in shared family life and caregiving. She highlights historical roots of devoted friendships and why cultural recognition of these bonds is essential, advocating for valuing commitment over traditional marital forms.
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Bought A House With Her Best Friend
- Ayesha Rascoe bought a house with her best friend and now they live together with five kids under one roof.
- They share daily routines like school drop-offs, pickups, homework, and dinner to manage blended family life.
Friendships Are Misunderstood By Social Norms
- Raina Cohen found many people treat devoted friendships as misunderstood and undervalued by social norms.
- She argues competing assumptions (spouse-as-everything, incompleteness without romance) hide friendship's central role.
Close Relationships Multiply Support
- Adding close relationships multiplies support rather than subtracting from existing bonds.
- Cohen likens it to a multiplier effect, not a zero-sum loss of love.
