Possible tricky situation - what would you say?

[Iliketulips]

I'm part of a group of seven long standing friends. The others know I sometimes meet one for a coffee (as hers and my DDs used to be best friends) and another I used to walk with, just us as no one else could make the time that suited us.

DH gets on really well with friend A's husband, sees him socially, and A gets on well with my friend B and they happen to have a joint hobby together. Due to this and encouraging the men to go our more, we've got into the habit of a meal out 2/3x a year and spending New Years Eve together (for approx four years).

Never told friends C, D and E as this works for us, also friends C, D and E have very antisocial DHs who wouldn't join us and F's husband often works nights so if we invited them it'd often be a girly thing more than a couples thing, which our men wouldn't be so bothered about doing.

Anyway, we sometimes see friend F and her DH, this is no secret. Happen to be seeing them on the 3rd and they're sure to ask what we did New Years Eve and E would be upset if she hadn't been invited.

How would you respond?

What?

But long-winded but I would say we went out for dinner with ab and c or whoever

I would tell the truth. I've been on the receiving end of this and felt so left out and devastated and assumed I just wasn't liked as much as the others. If I'd understood the reasons, which you've explained well, I would have felt much better about it.

If you want to lie about it then it sounds like you shouldn't be doing it.

All sounds very snidey to be honest.

If your having a meal with friend F and her DH without the others surely she will understand you see the others on their own too? Why does friend E find out about it?
Frankly this sounds way too fraught. You are not an octopus that can only socialise all together.

It's a bit crap that you are excluding those whose husbands don't fit in. What would happen if any got divorced? Drop them from the 'couply' meet ups?

Just tell the truth! Say that you met up with A and B and their husbands for a meal. When there's a group of seven friends, it's not reasonable for anyone to expect that there will never be occasions when people meet as a two or a three rather than everyone coming along.