That "soak in warm water" trick your friend mentioned is exactly what saved my buddy last month with a tangled batch of rosemary stems. He said it worked like magic, no snapped branches and way less cuss words involved.
Honestly, a big plastic tub with warm water and a drop of dish soap... let the whole mess soak for 20 minutes. The stems slide right apart then, just lay them flat on towels to dry. Saves so much time and broken stems.