Is it wise to date your friend?

A friend of mine approached me and told me that he's in love with his female friend. He manned up and told her about his feelings towards her, but the issue here is, as much as the girl will love to date him (cos he's a really cool guy), she's scared that if anything ugly happens in future, it will not only ruin their relationship, but it will also ruin their long-term friendship. I can relate to her fear. Not everybody can actually go from being in a relationship with someone to breaking up with them and then go back to being just friends. Their emotions may not handle it. But there's a theory that, the best relationships/ marriages are those between friends. Here, the guy/lady already knows basically everything about you. Your in and out, ups nd downs, your happy moment/ mood swings. Everything. So there's nothing more to learn or hide from you. I cherish those relationships, they are mostly unique. I know of a couple that were very good friends before they even started dating/ got married. Prior to them dating each other, they were involved in different relationships. Later on, the guy asked the girl out, she refused for the same reason as above. When she finally gave it a shot, they didn't regret it cos now dey are happily married. But what has an upside also has a downside. The downside here is that, what if you people later find out that you both aint compactable, that you guyz are better off as friends than lovers. Or something really bad happens that will later ruin both the relationship and the friendship, which will fill you both with bitterness and regrets if not hatred for each other. So as much as I love people dating their friends, you both should also open your eyes to know if she/he is really the one. If not, ejoo, biko, stick to being friends for life rather than enemies for life. So what's your take on this issue my friends. Is it wise to date your friend?