Best friends first, relationship second, makes perfect sense.
A soulmate does not mean you will walk by each other’s sides forever always. To me, it means having a quiet understanding, a peace, an ease of communication that exists whereby you accept/challenge each other in some way. That brings about personal growth and awareness of some kind. Soul mates make you a better you. Shine light on darkness frequently and are sort of like mirrors in your life. You can have a few soul mates in your lifetime and sometimes they are only meant to walk your path with you for awhile. They are the golden people. Genuine solid friendship is always at the core. Now a romantic soulmate. That’s a different matter and you are very lucky if you get to experience that in life. ~ Anne McDougle
Soulmate is the one who helps you reach divinity in self.