Better half of support for Buddy (8)

I believe the answer is:

helpmate

'better half' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'support for buddy' is the wordplay.
'support' becomes 'help' (helping is a kind of supporting**).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'buddy' becomes 'mate' (I've seen this before).
'help'+'mate'='HELPMATE'

'of' acts as a link.

(Another definition for helpmate that I've seen is " Partner".)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.

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