Gossip Girl Finale: The Dangers of Dating Your Friends

Don't sh*t where you sleep is a rather crude expression, but given the myriad complications of turning friendship into romance, a harsh warning is required. As last night's episode of Gossip Girl proves, sleeping around dating within your circle of friends can come crashing down in a disastrous heap.

Here's a guide to all the Gossip Girl hookups to help you follow along. Meanwhile, what lessons can we learn from Gossip Girl about the dangers of dating your friends? Keep reading.

• Everyone knows your business. Friends tend to gossip, even without a website devoted to it. As Dan and Serena learn, that makes it easier to get caught in the act. Even if you're not doing anything wrong, your friends could find out about a budding relationship before you're ready to take it public, making it hard to take things slow.
• You feel too familiar too fast. As Nate and Serena discover this season, when you've known someone for years, it's tempting to rush into intimacy. But when the stakes are high, it's better to let the relationship progress gradually. Sometimes, that false closeness has dire consequences: would Jenny have offered her v-card to Chuck so easily had he not been a friend first?
• Scorned lovers can maximize revenge. Betrayal among friends not only stings harder (Blair can barely stand the sound of Jenny's name), but it also makes it easier to sting back: Nate knows that texting the photo of Dan and Serena to Vanessa will make Dan suffer.
• You risk upsetting more people. When lovers quarrel, the hurt is contained. But when those lovers share a circle of friends, a quarrel can ripple through the crowd. Just ask Dan, who punches Chuck in the face after finding out about Jenny!
• It's hard to go back. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. After sleeping with a friend, chances are the friendship will never be quite the same. Plus, if you're in the same social circle, you'll always be forced to hang out.

I'm not saying moving from friendship to romance isn't possible — just something to be carefully navigated. Have you ever taken a friendship from platonic to romantic status? How did it work out?