Balancing Relationships: What Happens When Your Friends and Romantic Partners Do Not Get Along?

ABSTRACT Research has extensively examined how social network opinions (approval or disapproval from friends) affect romantic relationships. Friends are not the only ones to have opinions, yet there has been less exploration into whether one's friendship is influenced by opinions of the romantic partner. Balance theory suggests that individuals seek congruent attitudes within triads. Thus, this research (total N = 439) proposes that just as friend opinions (of romantic partner) impact romantic relationships, partner opinions (of friend) influence friendships. In Study 1, participants reported perceptions of a chosen friend's opinion of their partner and the partner's opinion of this friend. In Study 2, we manipulated opinion source and type using vignettes, assessing the hypothetical quality of relationships. Consistent with past research, friend disapproval was associated with lower romantic relationship quality. Uniquely, we found that perceived partner opinions—but not hypothetical ones—predicted friendship outcomes. Whereas friends' opinions did not appear to impact the friendship, partner opinion predicted romantic relationship satisfaction—revealing a potential social opinion backlash effect, whereby partners voicing disapproval of friends not only harm the friendship but also the romantic relationship. Findings suggest a bidirectional influence within networks for partners and friends, with expressing disapproval carrying added costs for romantic partners.