I moved in with my ‘platonic soul mate’ after divorce — you don’t need men

If a good man is hard to find, stop looking.

Best friends Marissa Baker, 30, and Patty Kulak, 27, say they’re “platonic sou lmates,” insisting they “don’t need a man to be happy.”

The pair, from Naples, Florida, met at Baker’s birthday party on New Year’s Day 2021 — when she noticed that Kulak seemed down in the dumps. Kulak instantly opened up to Baker, revealing that she and her husband had recently decided to split.

Kulak longed for a strong support system to manage the difficult time, and Baker vowed to be that person.

“She welcomed me with open arms,” Kulak said. “This girl, who only really knew my husband, was the most supportive person I could have ever imagined.”

A few months later, Baker found herself going through her own divorce, and she leaned on Kulak.

“Marissa checked in with me every day for six months,” Kulak said, “and then that six-month mark hit and she asked if I was OK and I said yes and she said, ‘Well, I am not.’ I asked what was wrong, and she goes, ‘I am getting divorced for the second time. Can I move in?’ I said yes — we have been inseparable ever since,” Kulak recounted of her “no-brainer” decision.

Marissa Baker (foreground) and Patty Kulak bonded as they both ended their marriages and decided to move in together. SWNS

By the end of the month, they were roommates — and quickly bonded over their passion for “positivity and personal development.”

“We learned very quickly how similar we are,” Baker gushed. “We want to sit on our balcony, drink tea and watch the sunset and we want to be in bed no later than 8:30 p.m. because we are going to wake up at 4 a.m. and go work out the next day.”

“We have built such a good connection over something that can be considered so ugly,” she added.

According to Baker, the women feel “like wives” — and more respected in their current relationship than they ever did with their ex-husbands.

Baker and Kulak insist they “aren’t attracted to each other.” Marissa Baker / SWNS

“It is wild. Our whole relationship has been very simple,” said Baker — who needs only to say the word and Kulak “is like, ‘Boom, got it,’” she elaborated. “That is why we jokingly call each other platonic life partners, because whatever the universe does, we just help each other figure it out and it is so fun.”

Despite their cosmic connection, Baker insists their relationship is based purely on an emotional connection. “If I could pick a husband, I would I want Patty in a male form,” she joked, but they “aren’t attracted to each other.”

She conceded, however, that their tight bond may have set a “really high bar” for romantic pursuits.

One thing that Baker has noted for her future relationships is that she loves how direct Kulak is. “I never have to guess what she is thinking. I will know, she will tell me, she has no problem saying what she is happy about and doesn’t like,” Baker said.

“I truly believe I am in a safe relationship with Patty,” she continued. “I am never going to be manipulated, I never have to fear that she is thinking something about me that I don’t know.”

The divorcées are now reflecting back on the past year and a half, grateful for the time to work on themselves, together, as they explore this new chapter in life.

Baker and Kulak may be onto something, as studies show that unmarried and childless women are happier. SWNS

“The communication and acceptance, it’s a lovely environment,” Baker said.

These besties might have cracked the code, according to research. Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioral science at the London School of Economics, found that unmarried and childless women are the happiest subgroup in the population.

“We do have some good longitudinal data following the same people over time, but I am going to do a massive disservice to that science and just say: If you’re a man, you should probably get married; if you’re a woman, don’t bother,” he said.

So, Kulak and Baker’s hypothesis is true: “You don’t need a man to be happy.”