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This story originally appeared at Goodfullness by Anastasia.

On the popular TV show “Grey’s Anatomy,” Meredith Grey once said to Christina Yang, “Derek is the love of my life, but you’re my soulmate.”

It’s a sentiment that many of us can probably relate to – our friends, when they’re real friends, are some of the best people to have in our lives. And recently, a study has confirmed that most women prefer the company of their friends over that of their romantic partners.

The survey was conducted by the healthcare company and spa Champneys, which specifically looked into why most of their sold-out packages were for ladies only. And it seems that it has to do with the friendship element. Many of the women say they prefer the company of their friends because they’re less annoying than a significant other.

These findings, according to Champneys, challenge the notion that soulmates need to specifically be a romantic partner. Out of the 1,517 women who participated in the survey, over 50% of them said they’d prefer to spend time with their friends than their partner.

A representative for Champneys said, “These research findings back up our own sales stats, which show that all female group bookings for our spa days and weekend offerings have nearly doubled over the past 12 months. In fact, our ‘Girly Getaway’ and ‘Girls Night In’ packages for groups of six or more are amongst the most in-demand packages at Champneys Spa resorts.”

Besides being less infuriating, as one in four women said, there are also a few other reasons for the statistics.

Women who participated in the survey said that they could “talk about everything” with their best friends, which is not surprising as to why women prefer their friends, they can discuss whatever they want – and communication is key to understanding us women.

Besides that, 39% said they preferred spending time with their friends because “we laugh until we cry,” while 29% added they felt that “I can truly be myself”. A quarter of participants stated honestly, “we have much more in common”. And it doesn’t end there. The confessions continue on with 40% claiming their friends were better company since “we enjoy the same things” and another 28% said their friends “offer better advice.” A fifth of the women even said that their friends have “a better sense of humor.”

Whatever the reasons are, there’s no denying that when you’ve got a good friend, it’s like having an external piece of your soul to hang out with.

What do you think of the survey’s findings? Do you agree that your friends are better company than your significant other?

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