Well in older versions some were not possible. I guess I have not been paying much attention to adjustments to such customizations then since I have only played each patch without going back to older stuff changes.The game has always been build to support a complete Sandbox playstyle... hence allowing you to skip characters in a romantical fashion... you need to get to know some of them in order to unlock abilities or services but they are not mandatory and also can be skipped after learning what they can teach you before actually dateing them in any way.