The Greatest Love Story We Rarely Talk About

When we talk about love, we almost always talk about romantic love.

The first kiss.The wedding.The soulmate.The happily ever after.

But somewhere along the way, we've overlooked another love story—one that quietly carries many of us through every season of life.

The love between women.

Not romantic love.

Friendship.

The kind that begins in childhood, grows through adolescence, evolves in college, and somehow manages to weave itself into every chapter that follows.

It's the friend who knows your coffee order by heart.

The one who finishes your sentence.

The one who can tell you're not okay before you've said a word.

The kind of love that doesn't often get movies made about it.

But maybe it should.

Through Every Season

As we grow older, healthy female friendships become something almost impossible to replace.

They're the women who answer the phone before you've even figured out what you're going to say.

They're the ones who sit beside you after the most painful breakup of your life—not trying to fix it, simply refusing to let you sit in the pain alone.

They're the women who show up after the devastating cancer diagnosis.

Who squeeze your hand in the waiting room.

Who hug you without asking whether you're okay because they already know you're not.

They're the ones standing beside you while your parents enter hospice.

They bring food.

They fold laundry.

They sit in silence.

They remember anniversaries of losses that everyone else has forgotten.

And somehow, they always know exactly when to text.

They celebrate your promotions as if they were their own.

They cry at your children's graduations.

They know the names of your dogs, your favorite restaurants, your dreams, your fears, and the version of you that existed long before the world expected you to have it all together.

They Understand the Things We Don't Always Say Out Loud

There are conversations women often reserve for one another.

The changes in our bodies.

Wondering if we're doing enough.

Whether we're showing up as the kind of mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, or friends we hoped we'd be.

Navigating careers.

Parenting.

Marriage.

Divorce.

Addictions.

Aging.

Perimenopause.

Empty nests.

The beautiful and messy work of simply being human.

These conversations don't usually happen in boardrooms.

They happen over coffee.

On kitchen counters.

Walking neighborhood trails.

Curled up on couches.

Or over one too many glasses of wine, where one word, one look, or one inside joke sends everyone into the kind of laughter that leaves your stomach hurting.

Laughter isn't just comical.

It's literal medicine.

Connection calms the nervous system.

Feeling seen, understood, and accepted changes our biology.

Research consistently shows that meaningful friendships are associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety, greater resilience during stress, improved physical health, and even longer lives. Humans are wired for connection, and for many women, friendships become one of life's greatest protective factors.

Before There Were Therapists...

Sometimes I wonder if the roots of therapy began long before the profession itself.

Long before there were graduate programs, diagnoses, treatment plans, or clinical theories, women gathered.

In living rooms.

On front porches.

Around kitchen tables.

They listened.

They witnessed.

They comforted.

They cried together.

They laughed until they couldn't breathe.

They held babies while someone showered.

They made food after funerals.

They stayed long after everyone else had gone home.

No, it wasn't therapy.

There were no ethical guidelines or clinical boundaries.

But there was something deeply healing happening.

Presence.

Attunement.

Validation.

Co-regulation.

Perhaps that's why so many therapy offices don't resemble hospitals.

They resemble living rooms.

Soft lighting.

Comfortable chairs.

Warm blankets.

Because healing has always happened best when people feel emotionally safe.

And, let's be honest, nice rugs and pretty plants have never hurt the cause.

The Truest Love Story

Don't get me wrong.

Romantic relationships matter.

Healthy marriages matter.

Family matters.

But somewhere along the way, I think we've underestimated female friendships.

Sadly, I've been guilty of this too.

I easily I tend to pull inward, and isolate when things feel heavy, convincing myself I can carry it alone.

So this is as much a reminder to me as it is to anyone else:

Text your friends when things get too heavy.

Invite someone to coffee.

Tell her how much she means to you.

Laugh until your stomach hurts.

Celebrate her victories.

Hold her hand through her losses.

Show up.

Because one day you'll realize that some of the greatest love stories of your life weren't romantic at all.

They were written by the women who walked beside you through every season.

And perhaps that's one of the greatest gifts of all.

A Personal Note

I am incredibly fortunate to have a handful of friends who have walked beside me for years. We've shared our deepest secrets, our biggest heartbreaks, our parenting mishaps, our professional dreams and victories, our worries, our celebrations, and the moments that have forever changed us. They've celebrated my children as they've grown, loved my animals as if they were their own, witnessed career milestones, encouraged impossible dreams, and held space for both my greatest joys and my deepest grief.

They know every version of me.

The confident one.

The uncertain one.

The anxious mom.

The therapist.

The woman still figuring it all out.

In so many ways, they've been my confessionals, my sounding boards, my teachers, my guides, my biggest cheerleaders, my reality checks, and my healers in the ways only true friends can be. They've laughed at my corny jokes, tolerated all of my ridiculous ideas, and even supported me when I decided that learning to ride a motorcycle in midlife sounded like a perfectly reasonable hobby.

They know who they are.

They are incredible mothers, business owners, leaders, creatives, athletes, adventurers, world travelers, healers—and amateur comics.

And if we're lucky, every one of us gets to experience this kind of love at least once.

Because while soulmates may come in many forms, some of the truest ones simply call us a girlfriend.

Forged in female friendships.

with gratitude,

Mandy