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How do you end friendships?

3 replies

657904I · 06/07/2025 14:54

In the past with people I don’t want to associate with anymore, I would stop meeting up with them and naturally let the messages fade out - distance myself then stop engaging. I have never left a message ending a friendship, don’t want any drama. I haven’t needed to end friendships that often either.

However I have known a particular person my entire life, and it doesn’t feel right to end the friendship in that way simply because of our long history. It’s one sided, we have grown apart, she judges my lifestyle, is never there for me but burdens me with all her drama. I tried to distance myself and only maintain light contact when she reaches out. But she is still quite rude/disrespectful and I find it draining doing the bare minimum. After mulling it over for years, I’m at the point where I want to end the friendship. I feel constantly taken advantage of and I am now confident that it’s not a temporary thing, this is just what she’s like now. Just wondering how others may approach this.

OP posts:
SlightlyTooMuch · 06/07/2025 14:58

Just stop responding? Or, if you don’t want to, message or email and tell this person why the friendship isn’t working for you any longer, and why you won’t be contacting her again, and won’t be responding to further contact. It just sounds unnecessarily melodramatic to me. Surely if you have only been responding to her a minimal amount for years, she’s hardly unaware?

TheyreLikeUsButRichAndThin · 06/07/2025 14:58

Do you live nearby? If not, I’d do the slow fade. If you’re likely to bump into her….. hmm I’d probably still do the slow fade tbh and if you bump into her just be like ‘gosh life is so busy isn’t it, pleasantry pleasantry, yadda yadda, bye!’ Like you say, no one needs the drama of a final friendship-ending message, and ghosting bit harsh. In reality, the above is what most people would do.

I’ve done the abrupt ending before and said person screamed at me in public when she engineered to bump into me 🤣 at least it proved why I wanted to not be friends anymore and was a definite nail in the coffin! But not recommended.

Handyweatherstation · 06/07/2025 15:15

Every time they suggest meeting up just be too busy to see them. The message eventually gets through.

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