Reimagining Love with Dr. Alexandra Solomon The Other Significant Others: How to Reimagine Your Friendships with Rhaina Cohen (Re-Release)
Feb 17, 2026
Raina Cohen, award-winning producer and author of The Other Significant Others, explores centering friendship in adult life. She recounts living with friends, defines platonic partnerships, and questions assumptions like marriage and homeownership. Conversations cover why deep friendships are misread as romantic, how social shifts enable chosen family, and practical ways to treat friendships as serious relationships.
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Meeting Em Sparked The Inquiry
- Raina recounts meeting Em and quickly becoming deeply integrated into daily life, seeing each other four to five times a week.
- Their bond felt like partnership beyond the label 'best friend' and sparked Raina's search for a name and models.
Seek Communities Where Platonic Bonds Thrive
- Look for communities where committed friendships are more likely, like asexual or celibate groups and senior centers.
- Use media (articles, outreach) and community contacts to find others living platonic partnerships.
Redistribute Emotional Labor
- Reina: we weaken friendships by expecting too little and undermine romances by expecting too much.
- Distributing emotional roles across friendships reduces risk and enriches romantic relationships.
