Aditi Rao Hydari believes she can stay “platonic friends” with an ex, but the internet isn’t convinced. While promoting her latest release Lust Stories 3, the actor told Netflix India, “I completely disagree with this (narrative that staying friends with an ex can never be completely platonic). I believe it can be platonic. I went to a co-ed boarding school..”.While some netizens called her a “red flag” and “delusional” in the comments section, we asked experts whether it is actually possible to keep a door to the past open.DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.Dr Ashish Pandey, counselling psychologist at Mano Srijan Wellness Centre, Kanpur, says that expecting partners to be completely comfortable with their significant other maintaining friendships with exes is often unrealistic, as they “ignore natural emotional boundaries”.According to him, even when intentions are genuine, ex-partners can trigger insecurity, comparison, or vulnerability in a current relationship. “What matters more than forced comfort is transparency, mutually agreed boundaries, respect for feelings, and reassurance,” he tells indianexpress.com.From a psychological lens, Dr Pandey explains that past intimacy does not simply vanish when people claim to have moved on. “The brain does not delete emotional experiences, but stores them. Shared memories leave behind neural pathways, attachment imprints, and emotional reflexes. Even if conscious feelings fade, implicit memory remains,” he elaborates, which is why familiarity with an ex can still feel emotionally charged.“Old patterns can resurface during stress, and subconscious comparisons occur. And thus, true moving on comes from processing the past, not avoiding it,” Dr Pandey stresses.Story continues below this ad Should you follow Aditi’s philosophy? (Source: Instagram/@aditiraohydari)Can you never be friends with an ex?Ambika Chawla, lead clinical psychologist at Lissun, says there are select situations when two exes can remain platonic friends.“One, when longtime friends who converted their friendship into a romantic relationship take a step backwards into friendship. And two, when neither of the partners has invested emotionally, they are easily able to transform the relationship into the spectrum of friendship,” she tells indianexpress.com.Basic ground rules to followAccording to Chawla, here are some ground rules to establish in such cases:1. Avoid comparison – You must be careful to never compare your old and new relationship/partner on any grounds. Each relationship is unique, and it deserves due diligence.Story continues below this ad2. Avoid private meetings – Any situations creating a private space with your ex must be avoided to provide unspoken security and assurance to any new partner you or your ex might have.3. Avoid discussing new relationships – For exes to have a healthy friendship, they must avoid discussing their new relationships with each other, as it may take them back in time, promoting passive comparison.4. Avoid discussing your old relationship with them – There could be unrest in any of the exes with respect to the old relationship, and they may bring up the dissatisfaction in passive-aggressive forms. This will hamper the friendship they are willing to sustain.DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.