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AIBU?

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Friend being unkind about my daughter

330 replies

Nessa1777 · 05/07/2025 13:20

My childhood friend of 40 years has been hostile towards my 25 year old daughter. Background is that this friend has not been a reliable friend and missed out on a critical 10 years of my life (birth of kids, my wedding, my fathers death) she sees me as her “bestie” and makes it known she knows me more than anyone and has known me longer than anyone. She can go weeks without being in touch and would drop me if she met a new man. She’s now happily married. I lived down south until two years ago where my husband and I moved north to where she lives to be near my mother. My son who is 27 stayed in the south and my daughter aged 25 was meant to be living away but she ended up moving up with us.
Two years ago I had a barbecue where my friend came, she was messing with the meat and complaining there was not much meat on the bones. My daughter made a joke “well if that’s how you feel you can fuck offer home after that hotdog” laughing. This was witnessed by 4 others including me and I knew it was a joke and thought nothing more of it.
After a few days she telephoned me to ask how I thought the night had gone?
She then told me she had cried all weekend due to the comment my daughter made and how she would never speak to her mothers friend like that. I said numerous times that it would be a joke and my daughter would never be cruel and unkind, I asked my daughter about it and she confirmed it was banter. All the other witnesses saw it as banter.
Fast forward two years and she’s still bringing it up “well the last time I saw her she told me to fuck off”
She explained she was annoyed with my daughter because I am her “bestie” and she couldn’t understand why my daughter was living with us because we apparently wanted a new chapter and new life and she wanted to protect me! She went as far as to say “what’s she even doing here?? “
I am conflicted in loyalty to my daughter and my friendship. I’m concerned that 2 years on she’s still thinking about a comment made by a 23 year old.
Just some extra context, she has no other friends that I have seen, her wedding reception was very absent of friends. They appear to have come and gone in her life. She keeps saying how she knows me longest and better than anyone else

OP posts:
Newgirls · 05/07/2025 13:28

That’s a really weird thing for your daughter to have said even as a joke. Did anyone apologise to your friend? What a mess all round!

U53rn8m3ch8ng3 · 05/07/2025 13:27

Whilst I do think your daughter's comment was rude, joke or not, got say you're conflicted in loyalty? Why?! You've bit said a good thing about this so called friend.

Trickabrick · 05/07/2025 13:26

Why are you conflicted? Your loyalty should surely be to your daughter, mine certainly would be. The next time she brings it up, shut her down by saying you don’t want to hear her negativity about your daughter.

NoisyGoldMember · 05/07/2025 13:26

End the friendship. You haven’t said positive thing about her.

PonyPatter44 · 05/07/2025 13:25

I think that was quite a rude thing for your daughter to say, tbh, and I wouldn't be massively impressed if my daughter said that to one of my friends. However, my friends are adults and would not dwell on things like that and wouldn't prance around yapping about besties, like an overgrown Y8. I think you've probably outgrown each other, really.