When you are constantly interacting with someone of the opposite sex, it’s common to develop real feelings for that person without meaning to.

This is how several people end up becoming romantic with each other in environments that require constant interaction, such as the workplace, for instance.

Lots of people meet their romantic partners at work.

The person who sits in a cubicle or office across from you is someone you see for multiple hours several days a week.

This is a coworker you see and speak to more than many of your friends and family members.

He has seen you on good and bad days.

Good days where you are telling him about an awesome concert you just attended over the weekend to bad days where you are telling him about an argument you just had with a sibling over the care of an aging parent.

This coworker gets to share in the emotional ups and downs of your life.

Additionally, you get to share some of the good and bad aspects of the job with him, such as promotions or mean bosses.

Over time, unbeknownst to you, there are feelings beginning to percolate in your subconscious.

You are beginning to look forward to seeing him when you go to work.

He becomes a pillar in your life.

Whenever you need help with an assignment you have been assigned at work, he is there to give you a professional helping hand.

Whenever you go on a bad date with a guy you randomly matched with from a dating app or a bad blind date with someone a friend connected you with, your coworker is someone you get to confide in about how the date went.

Not to mention, he is a fantastic jester.

He makes you laugh with ease, which often helps you get over a bad weekend where you had to deal with hearing the couple who lives in the next-door apartment argue or a roommate who kept you up because they hosted a loud party that they never asked permission from you to host.

Over time, your coworker who sits in the office or cubicle across from you becomes your emotional anchor to such an extent that you lose track of time whenever you are chatting with him.

This is evident when your boss comes walking across the hallway snooping around, clearly wondering why your workspace is empty.

After a knowing glance with your coworker, you hurry back to your workspace.

Given how often you see each other and how much you share, it’s almost inevitable in a lot of cases that people develop real feelings for each other without meaning to.

Whether it be a coworker, classmate, rideshare cohort, business partner, social media collaborator, neighbor, etc., the consistent interaction lays the groundwork for deeper feelings to develop.

It wasn’t expected.

In the beginning, the relationship was strictly about what brought them together in the first place.

But, with time, it can develop into something beyond what originally brought you together.