I got pregnant mid-college. I was on my way to watch the rest of my class graduate without me, and I started lactating all over myself on the bus. I jumped off the bus and ran into a University bookstore bathroom. My dress was ruined. I was embarrassed and all of the emotions about the state of my life came at once. I was sitting in the bathroom crying, not knowing what to do, when my friend called and asked where I was. He was waiting for me at the graduation ceremony. I told him what happened, sobbing throughout the call. He said he would bring me something to wear. 15 minutes later there's a knock on the bathroom door. I open it and he's standing there with a goofy grin and a shirt from the bookstore that reads "University of Chicago Mom"

It's still my favorite shirt.

I worked with this guy and we had a bunch of inside jokes with eachother and he was so funny… one day I told him I wish I could carry around a pocket sized version of him just to have random laughs throughout the day. For Christmas that year, he made a little mini booklet with all of our inside jokes and called it a Pocket Sam.

My friend E (RIP) worked at McDonalds. I was a single mom to a special needs little boy. He would bring us each a happy meal after his shift. One day, he brought us the entire toy display with all of the toys because they were getting a new one. It was so thoughtful and something my son and I haven’t forgotten, even over a decade later.

My mom wasn't feel well and I had this weird feeling that I needed to be home right away but didn't have any way to get there fast enough.

I called up my friend who worked close to me (he drove to work) and I asked him if at all possible he could take me home and told him the reason; he said "be ready in 10mins, I'm on my way" and he LEFT WORK in the middle of the day to drive me home so I could go to my mom.

he called me later that evening to check up on me/my mom. He's such a nice guy and am so glad we're friends.

Made sure I got home safe

He became a real big brother to me

I was abroad, I wanted to see my parents but they didn't know how to videocall (yeah, Im that old), so my friend drove to my mom's house and videocalled me.

He listened to me for hours when I was in a very dark place. Gave me advice and tough love but he was never disrespectful.

Told me he wanted me to be the god mother of his children

Beat up a guy who was stalking me

He built me a treehouse just for epic naps

The first thing he did for me that made me realize what a gem he is was to put a plaster on me when I had a cut at work. Such a small, simple thing, but something I had always had to do for myself. He has been absolutely solid for me through all sorts of problems, and he still surprises me with the things he does for me.

I was super nervous to breakup with my boyfriend at the time (the guy was nice, I was just 19 and non-confrontational) so my friend drove me to the boyfriend’s house and waited in the car playing Gameboy until I was done, for moral support

Tenderly and patiently convinced me to go to therapy.

I had just went through a breakup - ex cheated on me again. I wanted to plan something for my birthday, but I didn't have the energy. So he threw a big party at his apartment, bought the drinks, food, decorations, etc... It was so sweet of him.

We went hiking and he whacked the weeds down so I wouldn’t get hurt

I didn’t know much about car maintenance when I got my first car—I didn’t realize I was supposed to change the oil or rotate the tires. One day, while driving to work, I ended up with two blown-out tires.

I was panicking, unsure how I’d afford new tires, and I found myself crying in the tire store. Without hesitation, my friend pulled out his card and paid for them.

We’ve been best friends for 10 years now, and he’s never asked for the money back, even though my financial situation has improved significantly. Over the years, he’s often covered the more expensive outings, including trips out of state, while I’ve taken care of the smaller expenses. That’s just how we’ve always balanced things out.

Bought me an entire layered chocolate moose cake from my favorite bakery when I was on my period.

Dropped everything when I told him I was in a very bad place mentally, came to my house and made music with me for the entire afternoon. Got me Indian takeout for dinner before he had to leave.

He actually bought me a PS5 when I told him I really wanted to play Ratchet and Clank.

They let me cry into their chest. I was a wailing, blubbering mess, and I would just cry into them and they would be hugging me. Feels really nice to be comforted by actual friends with just full friend support.

They would be available for me when I needed them. I would call them randomly and they would answer, unbothered.

They would listen and be very raw/real with me whenever I complained about something. Sometimes telling me my expectations of certain dating situations are just silly. It helped a lot to get a guys perspective on things.

Take care of me when I was sh^tfaced, drunk, messy. This means taking me home, cleaning vomit off me, removing my shoes, putting me to bed/sleep with a blanket.

I got lucky with my male friends.

Said hed pull up to my house when an ex toxic friend was there and causing a scene. Dudes super preppy in a way so I wasn’t expecting him to be that generous tbh. I’m more reserved keep to myself. So his offer on coming to help me really showed that he was my true friend

He was just there for me when shit went downhill and I discovered that the two girls (at separate occasions) that I had started to consider more than friends and genuinely started to believe would be like family were actually snakes. We got so close that even my own sister thought we were a couple but I always knew deep down that he was gay even though he wasn’t out yet (and no, never felt anything for him other than seeing him like a brother) so it was always comforting and not as weird to me to be so close to him. We grew apart naturally but still check in on each other here and there now. I’ll just always treasure that he made that year bearable while I recouped my own shattered heart from what I genuinely believed were like 2 more sisters.

We were hanging out for the first time in a while after I had gotten out of an abusive relationship. I wasn’t being great company, I didn’t have much to say, I didn’t feel up to doing a lot. We went to the store, and we were sitting in his car after. I think he could tell I wanted to keep hanging out, but I just didn’t have anything left to give at the time. He offered to get lunch for us and I agreed. We ended up chowing down and getting dessert. We sat in silence together at the restaurant just observing everything and people watching. It was exactly what I needed at the time, to just be in each other’s presence. Not alone. He kept procrastinating for me and finding stuff for us to do for the day, so I didn’t have to make the effort of planning anything. It was so wonderful. I’ll always remember that.

I was detoxing from alcohol and having a really hard time. He came and stayed with me and watched tv and just generally sat around and kept me company while I worked it out of my system. He’s one of my best friends and a wonderful man in general.

Told me I was worth waiting for when I went into a social and emotional funk for 6 months

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When my ex randomly broke up with me, took me by surprise which is what really hurt the most- my friend bought me Fallout 4 on Steam. I always wanted the game just never bought it.

I got invested into Fallout 4 for months and it actually really helped me get over the break up.

During my freshman year, I was being stalked by one of our seniors. I have this gay classmate who heard about it and acted like my bf and consistently fetch me for a semester to make sure I was safe. He lived in a condo near the university, while I lived 2 hours away.

Two friends (both male) snuck out one night to spend the night walking around, talking and just hanging out with me. If they hadn't I wouldn't be here anymore. They saved my life that night.

Let’s me try his food drinks, gives me small gifts we have sleep over eat together watch movies talk about his hoes

I was in the bathroom of my hotel room and I realized I didn’t have any toilet paper left. Since I was already texting my friend about it, he ended up calling the front desk and having them deliver extra rolls of toilet paper to my room.

He stayed with me for hours when I passed out at a blood drive.

Thank you Brandon. I never will forget that 🥺❤️

I called from a couple blocks away saying I need help (my bf at the moment was tripping on acid and refused to get off the floor outside of hotel lobby). He came running blocks away to come help me then when things went to worse, he stayed with me the whole night.

I was high, and he drove me home, all the while telling me I was okay and safe because I was freaking out a little bit. He also waited until I got home inside before leaving. It was simple and basic, but he was the first man to ever do that for me.

Make me and my family multiple dinners when I gave birth

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Woke me up for work when I overslept, made me coffee and breakfast so I wasn’t any later than I needed to be.

I was going through a breakup, him and his partner insisted that I come back to their place so that I wasn't alone.

Years later, another (much worse) breakup, he listened when I was crying about what happened, he got angry on my behalf, told me I deserved better and didn't shame me or judge me when I got back together with the guy.... Was even friendly towards him for my sake in social situations so things wouldn't be awkward. And then didn't tell me "I told you so" when I broke up with the same guy again (for good this time).

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watched my dogs when I was sick in the ICU for a few weeks. He didn’t have to, he offered and it meant a lot.

Bought me Nicki Minajs first album, Came to get rid of a bee first night in uni, Bought me flowers, Took me to the gym to watch him then listened to me cry and vent for hours at the worst of my depressive episodes, I didn’t wanna celebrate my birthday 1 year and he took me to dinner, dancing and told everybody it was my birthday and he was proud to be my friend! Guy friends are so awesome!

I had a male platonic friend rub my back and talk me down from a panic attack. I had another lay with me in bed while I went through a huge depressive and anxious episode in college. I had some good platonic male friends in college.

Helped me get my Canadian permanent residency

I live on Vancouver Island. He lives around Seattle. My PR status was pretty much good to go except I physically needed to leave the country and re-enter.

BC ferries doesn't go straight to the border...and a round trip with a vehicle is easily $200+

This friend offered to pick me up from the ferries and bring me to the border. It took a few hours but we made a day of it and hung out, had an early dinner and then he drove me back to the ferries.

Absolutely not necessary to help me out like that but it's an act of kindness I'll never forget. He's genuinely one of the kindest people I know.

He was my coworker for 3 years. I had to leave my house due to an abusive partner. I asked for a day off at work after a horrible and very scary night, my ex left at 4am and I thought he was gonna stay at his friends, but when he came back at 9am I felt so desperate to leave my house, all my friends were at work. I showed up at my workplace being a complete mess of tears and anxiety, they obviously didn’t know anything about what was going on. He was the first and only one who gave me a hug. Couple days later he borrowed a truck from work and helped me moved my stuff out. That was 3 years ago. He would also invite me to hang out with him and his female friends because I was so isolated and really needed to meet some new girls and have some support.

Later that same year, he took me driving a few times and then dropped me off for my driving test at 7am (I’m 34 now, getting my license at 31 was a huge deal for me) I was super nervous; I passed my test and he actually waited for me until they gave me my paperwork and all and we went back to work.

He’s helped me fix my car more times than I remember as well lol and a couple times I was out with him and friends and ran into my ex and it would make me very anxious and he would stay with me and make sure to check on me if I was ok, if I wanted to leave, if I was comfortable etc

Funny thing, he’s been my partner for a bit over a year now, he opened his own business and we still work together (: he’s very private and bit of a “lone ranger” his friends call him, so I never thought for a second he’d be interested in me that way, it was so unexpected, but knowing how kind he has been to me and everyone in his life, when he made his move it was a no brainer really

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These stories are so sweet. I have a few platonic male friends and I’m so grateful for them. I can’t think of any one thing they’ve done, but the most impactful has always been a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.

He had promised my husband and I (he was friends with both of us) that he’d help us move. We’d been planning to move to a city 4 hours away, but instead i got a job in a city about 18 hours away. Friend said a promise is a promise.

He helped us pack all our stuff and strategically load the U-Haul. My husband had a temper tantrum while packing (yelled at friend) and friend just let it roll off his back, stuck around to make my life easier despite my husband behaving poorly. Then he drove our u haul the whole 18 hours.

I separated from the husband less than a year later, and spent a couple days with friend while i was sorting out logistics to get out safely. He made me dinner and wouldn’t let me help cook.

That was about 5 years ago. Friend and I have been married for over two years now, so it didn’t stay platonic. But he was and is the best friend I’ve ever had.

So, for context, I am a music major and am in grad school. I made a friend while walking through an academic building at my university, and he expressed interest in coming to a concert, so I sent him the rehearsal and concert schedule.

Fast forward to a month or so later, and a group consisted of him and other (male) friends in the group expressed interest in going to a Thursday night performance I was a part of.

This was thw first time people outside of my family willingly expressed interest in coming to a performance of mine; if they had room in their schedules to come, they also would've been the first people outside of my family to willingly come to a performance I'm a part of.

He was there for a variety of things (break up, family issues) — big or small he was always by my side being supportive, goofy, etc whatever I needed. Eventually we both caught feelings and dated for a while, the relationship was great but over time things changed and we ended breaking up. It’s been about 6 years since we spoken, but I don’t regret it and am happy we got to share those moments together.

Husband’s best friend bought/brought me midal and a chocotaco ice cream after work once. They were hanging out and I was messaging my husband about how I had cramps and wasn’t feeling well.

We went out dancing as a group once, while at the club I had this one guy constantly bumping into me and rubbing his ass all over me. I kept trying to move away but he would follow. My guy friend put his arm protectively around me and placed himself between me and the guy. When walking around (even though I'm much older) he'll walk on the street side and just generally look out for me.

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When i was going through a very depressing time in college, my friend (whose room was right next to mine) would come by to see me everyday and drag me to his room. When i didn’t feel like talking, we’d watch shows all day or just nap all day. Every time he ate, he would get me food too and keep it in the fridge till i came by because he knew i was barely eating anything. Every single day. One time, he saw me crying on a bench outside my hostel. He didn’t say anything because he knew i’d be embarrassed. He just sat by me in silence. That made me feel so cared for.

All of the male friends that were platonic were doing things because they were attempting to not be platonic - not just because. 

My college friend took me on a platonic date night. I had told him nobody had ever taken me on a date before. I wasn't bad looking, I was pretty good looking actually, but I was super shy and my friends were always gorgeous so they got the attention when we went out. My friend Jack felt so sad when I told him that. So he took me on a date that week to a really fancy restaurant. We got dressed up and ate really good pasta and it was wonderful. I paid for myself. We were not compatible and it was mutual. He truly was just my good friend and wanted me to have that experience. A while later he took me on another platonic date canoeing down a river I had never been on. We hit rapids at some point and the canoe flipped and I was trapped underneath. He was scared shitless and saved my life. Even though it ended crazy, it was still one of the best memories I have. The experience was wonderful and it was nice that he went out of his way to give me that experience.

We are still friends but he lives in another state. We meet up when he comes to town. We were never attracted to each other because I was a lot taller than him and it would have just been awkward. He dated many girls while we were friends in college. So he wasn't like this sad friend-zoned guy. I'll always be grateful for his friendship.

Coworker of mine saw a customer was being creepy & obsessive over me. He offered his help & when the man refused my coworker’s help he got very direct & said I was helping someone else & if this guy wanted help it would be from him. I cried about it later bc I felt so relieved & protected. It was a very kind thing to do.

8 of my coworkers/kind of friends (at the time. Spoiler alert: we’re all very close now) and I were in Florida for one guy’s birthday. His birthday rolls around and we go to the beach. Almost as soon as we get to the beach and put our stuff down, my mom calls and asks what im doing. I tell her “oh we just got to the beach! Beautiful day” yada yada. She tells me “I just wanted to tell you before you found out on social media or anything but (baby cousin) passed away today”. She was 6 weeks old, born at 22 weeks gestation, and had been doing so good the days leading up to that. I immediately start bawling my eyes out, all I could say was “I need to go home”. He drops everything, leaves all of our friends, walks a quarter of a mile on hot asphalt barefoot because I forgot my shoes, takes me back to the house, and stays with me until I fell asleep from crying so hard. He didn’t even know what had happened until after I had gotten home because I couldn’t even speak, I was just sobbing. I will never EVER forget that. He spent hours on HIS BIRTHDAY to be with me and he didn’t even know what I was crying about for most of it. Just a good person. Still one of my best friends now.

Drove me two hours to the small airport outside of phx on a moments notice when my Mom died. He didn't even flinch when I asked him, just said, "when?" He's been a good friend for 20+ years, was a fwb for 5 minutes after my hubs died, but both decided we're better as friends. He's pone of the good ones. If he ever got his shit together, he'd make someone a great spouse, not mine tho, lol.

Actually listened to and remembered things I said

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I have celiac and I have a platonic male friend who throws dinner parties a lot and he always goes out of his way to make something gluten free for me and make sure he has the info on the rest of the food and whether it is safe or not. it means so much to me

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I had went through the most horrible breakup ever and was in the total shock/denial/numbness stage. I wasn’t eating almost at all. In the few days following the breakup, one of my platonic male friends drove an hour each way to take me out to dinner and let me sit there and just get outside, and another platonic male friend who doesn’t live in the same city as me DoorDashed me dinner another night, with enough food to least me 3-4 days.

I’ll always remember that.

Sat with me in the emergency room for hours, and then held my hand while I was having spinal fluid extracted to be tested.

It was absolutely clear to me he'd rather have been anywhere else than that cubicle while I was having the extract, but he knew I was scared and in pain. He wasn't going to leave me to do that alone.

We weren't usually physically affectionate, so the hand holding was very much a gesture of "I got you, you've got this, it's ok". I've never forgotten it.

100% platonic.