Single women and married men are more likely to be friends with the opposite sex than others.

      Belief in friendship between men and women largely depends on whether a person has a wedding ring on their finger. Sociologists from the SuperJob service found that among men, the highest level of trust in such relationships is demonstrated by those who are married — 60% of them are convinced that friendship without romantic undertones is possible. Their single counterparts are slightly more skeptical (57%).

      For women, the picture is mirrored: the highest percentage of optimists is among those who have not yet worn a veil. Single girls believe in platonic friendship with the opposite sex much more often than married women (74% versus 61%). At the same time, they also lead in the number of real male friends: 73% of unmarried respondents reported that they have male acquaintances with whom they share only friendly ties. Among women who have a spouse, this figure is 66%.

      Interestingly, the presence of a stamp in the passport works differently for men. Although married men are more willing to believe in the very concept of such friendship, in practice, single men more often make friends among women (66% versus 61% among those who are married).

      Russians earning over 150,000 rubles a month are more loyal to the idea of cross-gender friendship and are themselves eager to establish such connections. Young people under 35, on the contrary, demonstrate a paradox: they believe in friendship between the sexes less often than the older generation, but it is among young people that close friends of the opposite sex are most common.