"Between men and women there is no friendship possible."

Oscar Wilde claimed "Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship." This is a wide generalisation and, as one could suspect, a comment meant to enthral his audience but perhaps Wilde was right on the mark in regard to friendship between former lovers.

Past experience has taught me that any break up is traumatic and damaging to at least one of the parties involved. What was once a connection that brings two people together can prevent any friendship from forming. Many have said that they have remained friends with old flames, but I wonder how truthful that really is. Can you remain friends with the person you have spilled your darkest secrets with? Your darkest thoughts?

CNN's Ami Angelowicz argues friendships can be maintained with exes in six simple steps. Can the human heart or mind really be diluted to six simple steps? I'm inclined to say no. Not for no reason have songs been written about the loss of a lover and the friendship that accompanies it.

I'm not saying that losing a friendship when you lose a lover is always a bad thing - in most cases it is a very good thing. I've always doubted the view held that you can get over a love and transform a relationship into a platonic one. Love is all those things listed in Wilde's declaration of relations between men and women - friendship could not compete with such memories creating complications and heart ache for all involved.

So perhaps Oscar should amend his exclamation of the relationships between men and women and say "Between old lovers there is no friendship possible."