Still have the first of the Hang-ups posts in the development stage, and will post in the next few days. In the meantime, here's a part of a reply I made in a group that I thought might resonate here.
When someone asks me how I determine if someone is a "partner" or a "soulmate" versus "just a friend" I have a couple standby replies. "First off", I say, "it's not that clean cut." I explain how everyone has a different internal interpretation of the concept. "For myself, a friend is someone with whom I have connections on one or more aspects, be that common interests, shared activities, or mutual sexual attraction." I continue, "a partner is a friend with whom you have a shared commitment to growth in one or more of your connections. There are romantic partners, sexual partners, gaming partners, social activity partners, business partners, and many other kinds, but in the end it's all about that mutual drive to grow the shared connections."
I'll then explain my personal concept of soulmates. "A soulmate is someone with whom you have multiple connections in various aspects. They are usually someone who'd fall into the above definition of partner, often in more than one way. Maybe you're romantic and social partners. Maybe you're business and platonic partners. Maybe you're platonic and sporting partners. There's no limitations on the combinations! And despite what some people may say, there's no need for any of those connections to be of a sexual or romantic nature. Platonic soulmates are definitely a thing!"
Finally after all of that I conclude with, "Oh yeah, and friends are as important as any other kind of relationship. For myself friendship is at the very core of all my relationships, so I'll never say 'just a friend'. There's nothing 'just' about friendship!"