Dropped a particular friend from my life about 4-5 years ago and it was one of the best things I've done. We'd been friends a couple of years after meeting in a hobby group. Went out a few times to the pub with her and her DP (and my DH.)
But her and her partner were actually quite toxic. Often made nasty snide little underhand remarks, and kept poking at our 'tiny' house, and our jobs, and poking at DH's weight, and she kept asking really nosy intrusive questions about my family and why I had no contact with several of them. I kept saying 'I don't want to talk about it.' DH had dropped it out to her and her DP that I didn't speak to these certain few family members, (when we were talking about family rifts,) ... I told her to drop it, but she kept on and on. It was very stressful.
She would also just keep turning up at my house uninvited, and expect to be let in, and for me to drop anything I was doing to entertain her for 2 hours. If I didn't answer the door she would ring and ring and keep texting to say 'what's wrong? Why are you not answering?' She even called 999 once - and said 'I think something is terribly wrong as my friend is not answering the door or phone... I think she may have collapsed.'
Fucking ambulance turned up at my house. I said 'there is nothing wrong with me. I am SO sorry you have wasted your time!' They said 'this lady was worried because you weren't answering the door.' I said 'I was asleep. I am fine!' I was furious with her, and said 'for goodness sake Julie!' and when the paramedics left I slammed the door shut and left her standing outside. She walked off home (10 minutes walk away) and next time I saw her she acted like nothing had happened.
She and her DP turned up at the pub late most of the time - like 30-40 minutes, and when she asked me to take to the hospital in a city 50 minutes drive away (and spend 4-5 hours with her,) and I said no as I am too nervous to drive around that city, she said 'oh any excuse!' and told people she has asked me and I said I couldn't be bothered. She was a shit stirring liar, and spiteful and catty about other people too.
I'm not proud of this, but not ashamed either... I actually started to give her a wide berth for a month or 2, and then I actually ghosted her - just under 4 years ago. She kept contacting for me about 5 months, and then gave up ... And then she started to ask 2 or 3 other women from one of the 2 hobby groups we were in, to get them to ask me what was wrong. They kept asking. I just said 'we have nothing in common really, and the friendship has burnt itself out.'
I finally managed to shake her off after about a year and a quarter. But unfortunately 3 women from these 2 hobby groups actually don't really speak to me now, and walk across the street to avoid me. So I think sadly, she's turned them against me. I dropped out of both hobby groups, and I joined a couple of different ones a couple of miles away.
So I don't regret getting rid of her, but I do regret having to drop these hobby groups and losing 3 friends. She clearly turned them against me by saying I ghosted her. She obviously manipulated them, took none of the blame, and they probably said, 'oh, well, we'll see how she likes it then.' Obviously they weren't real friends of mine, or they would have asked why I gave her a wide berth and ghosted her and what the problem was. Instead, they just lapped up what she had said, and believed her, and then cut me off.
.