Anna Faris Admits Chris Pratt Wasn't Exactly Her ''Best Friend''

Actress pens an essay for Cosmopolitan about the importance of female relationships

By Kendall Fisher Sep 06, 2017 4:19 PMTags

Anna Faris is not sold on the fact that your partner should be your "best friend."

In an essay for Cosmopolitan that was adapted from her new book Unqualified, the 40-year-old actress admitted being a "guys' girl" is totally overrated, noting that having a group of close girlfriends is extremely valuable.

"In my 20s, I thought it was cool to say I was a guys' girl," she began. "I didn't realize until later how lame I sounded, bragging as though having a lot of girlfriends was a bad thing...I touted my male friends as if my association with them spoke to how cool I really was. I was selling my own gender down the river, and I wasn't even getting any fulfillment from the relationships with those dudes."

photos
Anna Faris and Chris Pratt on Marriage and Family

Faris admitted that she often hung out around guys due to her jealousy over other women and her lack of trust stemming from high school bullying.

"Growing up, I fell victim to plenty of mean girls who would sneak up on me and snap my bra strap," she recalled. "It may sound like a small thing, but when you're a quiet teenager trying to get through high school unnoticed, that kind of unwanted attention is rough. One day, I went to my locker, and the words 'f--k you, bitch' were written across it. It was humiliating and confusing. I didn't think I was worthy of that kind of hatred."

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

She continued, "That's why it took me longer than it should have to realize just how important female relationships are. It takes vulnerability of spirit to open yourself up to other women in a way that isn't competitive, and that's especially hard in Hollywood, where competition is built into almost every interaction."

Faris also admitted that she didn't necessarily consider her ex Chris Pratt—from whom she separated last month—her singular "best friend."

She explained, "I was once told that I didn't need a tight group of girlfriends because Chris should be my best friend. But I never bought that. The idea of your mate being your best friend—it's overhyped. I really believe that your partner serves one purpose and each friend serves another."

photos
Anna Faris' Best Looks

She continued, "Today, I'm lucky to have a handful of women I count as confidantes. Among them, Allison Janney, my costar on Mom, Meghan, a friend from my hometown of Edmonds, Washington, and Kate, a dear childhood friend who I probably have nothing in common with anymore—at least from an outsider's perspective—but who totally gets me because ... history.

However, you won't catch Faris ranking those women among each other.

"To be honest, I think the notion of best friends in general is messed up though," she concluded. "It puts so much pressure on any one person, when I truly believe it's okay to have intimacy with different people in different ways. And ranking your friends? It just shouldn't happen, at least not beyond grade school."

Latest News