Bumble Says 2025 Belongs to Platonic Friendship

The Short Version: Bumble surveyed thousands of the young people in its user base and has once again published its predictions for the year's dating trends. The app says 2025 will be defined by dependability, bonding, and platonic friendship, plus micro-trends and romantic gestures that are small but meaningful.

It's that time again: Bumble's yearly dating trend predictions have arrived. Last year, the app said 2024 would bring emotional vulnerability and dates free of judgment. Now 2025 is nearly here, and with it comes another year of memorable dates, thrilling hookups, and fateful meet-cutes.

Once more, Bumble polled more than 40,000 millennial and Gen Z daters, then used what they said to forecast the dating trends of the year ahead.

According to Bumble's predictions, couples in 2025 will at last put a label on their relationships as they look for stability.

The singles Bumble surveyed think 2025 could be when ultimatums take center stage. In 2024, couples may have savored deep, emotional talks, and vulnerability is always in fashion. But 2025 offers the ideal moment to finally make real choices about their love lives.

Where 2024 was about the journey, 2025 is about the destination.

Bumble's team urges daters to let what they learned this year guide their romantic choices in 2025. People have never had a better moment to speak their truth and look for partners they can count on. When times are this unpredictable, stability matters more than ever, and so does a bit of lighthearted fun.

Women Are Bonding Over Their Dating Stories

The internet may divide us, but it can unite us too. Bumble shows how much romantic potential the online world holds. Beyond the app, young women everywhere are bonding over dating experiences they have in common.

Which of us hasn't wanted to escape a terrible first date or pop the question after one drink too many? Content like this is relatable and reassuring, and it's mostly authentic.

Knowing that most people have had bad dates, just like you, is a comfort.

Forty-one percent of the singles Bumble surveyed told the app they enjoy scrolling past posts about dating and relationships. Across TikTok and similar platforms, people swap their own dating tales, proving that none of us is as one-of-a-kind as we think.

What's more, 42% of women said this kind of content makes them feel less lonely and self-conscious. When a 20-something woman blends her contour while calmly describing how she once ended up on a date with her own cousin by mistake, viewers aren't just entertained; they're comforted.

Forty-one percent of surveyed singles told Bumble they enjoy seeing dating and relationship content on social media.

Bumble also found that 1 in 3 (35%) respondents feel more hopeful about where their own love lives are headed after watching other women go through the same process. The effect is positive: this content nudges women to laugh at how wild and unpredictable dating can be rather than spiraling into negativity.

Think of it as the online version of sitting in a diner with the “Sex and the City” ladies, gasping at one another's dating adventures. Women can pick up lessons from one another's missteps and pin down the qualities they want in a partner.

Bumble's conclusion: these stories, along with an increasingly unpredictable world, have pushed women in particular toward stable, long-term relationships.

Emotional and financial stability have never been sexier.

Ninety-five percent of the adults Bumble surveyed said real-world issues shape their dating lives. People are pickier about whom they date and are spelling out their values from the start. Moodiness and unpredictability are out; steadiness and dependability are in.

Among the women who answered Bumble's survey, 59% are drawn to men who are emotionally available, clear about their intentions, and steady in their values.

In 2025, TikTok won't be the only place people talk candidly about real-world issues, values, and dating. An encouraging 1 in 4 (27%) women surveyed told Bumble they make a point of having those same frank talks with their dates.

Enter the Male Best Friend

Men matter just as much as women in the dating world, and in 2024 they had to deal with some comedic stereotypes. From Finance Bros and himbos to “babygirls” and golden retriever boyfriends, men got sorted into these brand-new categories purely on vibes.

Bumble expects these stereotypes to get even more specific in the coming year.

Today's men get sorted into stereotypes ranging from finance bros to himbos.

These “male casting” categories are mostly a joke, but that hasn't kept the men Bumble surveyed from taking offense. Twenty-seven percent said being lumped into stereotypical categories made them uncomfortable. With fresh tropes appearing almost weekly, some men are reportedly worried they'll be mischaracterized.

According to Bumble, more than half of the women surveyed (53%) think couples should talk about what these tropes actually say about men and masculinity. A Finance Bro boyfriend may bristle when people liken him to a materialistic robot, after all, and calling a himbo dumb probably wouldn't go over well.

Then there are what Bumble dubbed the “guys that get it”: men who show they're trustworthy enough for women to be platonic friends with. These guys would likely be the first to note that male tropes aren't so different from the divas, bimbos, shrews, and ‘moms’ of the world.

Can men and women really be just friends? 2025 might finally deliver an answer.

Bumble says 2025 might be the moment for the guys that get it, a.k.a. male best friends, to shine. And because 33% of respondents said male stereotypes grew more popular over the past year, open dialogue between men and women on these subjects could help.

Women appear willing to build long-lasting friendships with men. Of the women surveyed, thirty-one percent said they've told their male friends about their dating lives, and 54% said they count on male friends for honest insight into how men think.

Platonic friendships between men and women can even help keep women safe while dating. Among Bumble's respondents, 22% have had male friends vet their dates.

Bridging the gap between men and women encourages bonding, and it might help some men leave internet tropes behind for good.

Small, Meaningful Gestures Are In

Love will always be in style, and so will declarations of it. What hasn't held up over time are sweeping grand gestures, particularly the kind that fall under “love bombing.” An elaborate proposal is one thing; showering an ex's doorstep with package after package of love notes and rose petals is simply alarming. And not everyone thinks PDA-filled grocery runs are “romantic.”

In 2025, think about skipping the elaborate eight-course meal and packing a romantic park picnic instead.

With 52% of surveyed women telling Bumble they see themselves as romantics, romance clearly isn't going anywhere. Everyone, whether they're women, men, or non-binary, wants a partner who shows they care. Bumble predicts grand gestures may give way in 2025 to modest acts of love that still mean a lot.

These days, romance can show up in a goofy meme, a flirty voice note, or, as Bumble posits, an inside joke only the two of you get. Eighty-six percent of singles surveyed agree that when real thought and consideration go into a small gesture, it can loom as large as the canyon itself.

Bumble links these small gestures to niche interests, which it expects will be the way into people's hearts in 2025. TikTok is home to small communities built around niche interests, including Knit Tok, Book Tok, Meditation Tok, Clean Tok, and the ASMR community.

Bumble added 30 new Interest Badges so people’s profiles can further stand out from the crowd. 

Bumble noticed. After 46% of surveyed singles said people with unique interests attract them, the app quickly rolled out 30 new Interest Badges, helping profiles stand out even more.

Fandoms and clubs have long been great spots to meet like-minded people. Fifty percent of women surveyed told Bumble that having a niche passion in common with a significant other helps them feel even freer to be who they are. So stop hiding that love of crocheting, fanfiction, or high fantasy novels under a bushel!

Sharing what you love with your significant other is about as intimate as it gets.

If a romantic evening binging the latest sci-fi series is your version of micro-mance, go for it. Nothing's more romantic than an invitation into someone's niche interest. Among the Gen Z singles in Bumble's survey, nearly half see a shared niche interest as a form of intimacy. There's a reason they're called “passions”!

For many people, a niche interest works as a safe space. Anyone invited into that space should count themselves lucky: being let in shows their partner has faith in them and values having them around.

2025 isn't only about stability and plain truths; expect unbridled passion, too. If Bumble's forecast holds, we can look forward to 12 months of wholesome bonding, surprise friendships, and romantic gestures that are small but sweet.