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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

DH's best friend's new girlfriend....replacing my friend

132 replies

MrsOverTheRoad · 30/10/2017 21:24

DH's best friend has been married for twenty years and his wife is a good mate of mine.

He left her two months ago and has a new girlfriend...he met her online dating.

He seems over-obsessed with this woman and is jumping in head first. Meanwhile his wife is devestated. She's broken into two which is awful to see.

DH works with his friend and so will now and then mention this new woman casually "Oh X said he and Diana went to see that new film and it was great"

Kind of thing. Every time DH does this I get irrational annoyed though I say nothing.

I think it's awful! DH and his mate moving on like that...just accepting this new woman...like my friend is nothing.

I never want to invite this new woman around or anything...I can't imagine it!

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 31/10/2017 19:11

Even if he did 'just' leave his wife and then fall in love with someone new after 5 minutes, that is just so cold. She didn't even know there was a problem!

I don’t buy that at all. As we see on here all the time, a relationship can be dead for a long time before someone has the courage to leave.

And the wife saying she didn’t know there was a problem,. Yeah she knew. She just didn’t think he’d leave her. People can treat their partners like absolute and utter shite behind closed doors, the relationship is dead in the water, the partner keeps trying to fix it, then when they walk the other is devastated and can’t believe it., they didn’t see it coming Seldom do they say, “yup, being treating him like shite for years/ been dead in thr water , shoulda seen it coming”.

I’d be willing to bet good money this couple had many many conversations about their marriage before the husband walked.

Aderyn17 · 31/10/2017 19:53

I don't know. How many people are totally blindsided by their dp having an affair? And how many times has it turned out that the married person wasn't especially unhappy (maybe a bit bored of domestic stuff) but did it anyway? I think someone can be left and not see it coming - people get carried away by the excitement of the new. Doesn't always mean that the old was terrible. Although the leaver will re write history to say it was.

Punkatheart · 31/10/2017 22:17

Truly excellent post, Thumb - nail hit on head completely. What a fab woman you sound.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 01/11/2017 01:58

Why thank you Punk! Blush

HoHoHoHo · 01/11/2017 06:22

Isn't there a happy medium here? Being a bitch to his new gf would be completely unwarranted. However you don't have to be best mates with her. Just be nice if you come across her and don't take her partner's behaviour out on her. Women tend to get blamed for men's sexual behaviour and we all need to try and stop perpetuating this in any small way we can. It's not her fault your dh' s friend moved on quickly.

As someone said, the main friendship is between dh and his friend and he has an absolute right to continue that and support his friends relationship. If you chose not be part of this that's fine but I'd leave my partner if he continually badmouthed a good friend for having a new relationship after a break-up as i think it would show a nasty attitude towards women so try and keep your disgust to yourself.

IncyWincyGrownUp · 01/11/2017 08:56

There doesn’t need to be a happy medium.

If the bloke isn’t her friend why should she have to make an effort? Civility is fair enough, but why should she make an effort with somebody she has no interest in just to make two blokes feel less uncomfortable?

cordelia16 · 01/11/2017 10:22

Nowhere is OP saying she has been or is going to be a bitch to the new GF. She just doesn't want to hear about the new couple so soon after her friend has been devastated by the break up.

HoHoHoHo · 01/11/2017 12:58

It's not just two blokes. One of them is her husband. And I also don't see what the new gf has done to deserve a less than warm welcome.

Turquoise123 · 01/11/2017 17:33

You are behaving with dignity. Good work !

DillyDally15 · 01/11/2017 18:31

'Why his being called a dick head I’m not sure'

Jeez are people that stupid?? I could hazard a good guess- because he's not taking into account the feelings of others when he bangs on about his new GF! Fine leave a relationship you're unhappy in, fine meet someone new but have some respect for the shitstorm you've left behind!

Freddie1996 · 01/11/2017 19:07

Got it in one... happened to me. Best thing your friend can do is pick up the pieces & move on slowly. Good friends are hard to come by & OP you are one. Stay true to yourself.

FaveNumberIs2 · 01/11/2017 19:20

Yes, it’s good that you are loyal to your friend, but your husband is only doing the same, being loyal to his friend.

Unfortunately, you can’t dictate your friend’s (and her ex’s) lives, and while being a shoulder to cry on is great, you can’t let this situation put a wedge between you and your dh.

You should sit down with dh and set a few compromising grownd rules so that you can both keep your friends, because while neither of you are wrong, neither of you are totally right either.
X

purplemeggie · 01/11/2017 21:25

I was in your friend's position, 15 years ago and, like you, Lu (not her real name) was supportive and a very good friend to me. XH's best friend, let's call him Mike, was kind and friendly, but less so than Lu - his real loyalty was to XH as his best friend. That has remained the position. Over time, they accepted and became close to XH's girlfriend, whom he later married. I've stayed close to Lu and casually friendly with Mike. When I remarried, they came to our wedding. I've always been grateful to Lu for her loyalty and friendship at a difficult time and I don't hold it against her that she became friends with XH's second wife.

browneyes77 · 01/11/2017 21:42

First thing I thought when I read your OP was that if he’s met someone on an online dating site within 2 months of breaking it off with his wife, he was already on that dating site when he was married. That timescale is super short. So I get the feeling he was already looking before he left. Not saying I’m right, just the feeling I get the same as a few others.

I totally understand you wanting to feel loyal to your friend and keep this woman at arms length for a while until the relationship is more established. When you’ve built up a friendship with someone for that amount of time, when they hurt, you hurt for them. It’s called empathy.

If your DH wants to support his friend that’s fine and totally his prerogative to do that as it’s his best mate. That’s what best mates do. But I would maybe have a chat with your DH just to make him aware of your feelings as I don’t think it’s completely fair to expect you to just ‘accept’ the new GF like he has when he knows you’ve built that close bond and friendship with the EW.

Absolutely be polite to her if you see her, but I think you’re r right to ask him not to tell you too much about their relationship at this point. Not to mention it could put you in an awkward position with your friend if she starts being inquisitive about the new woman (sometimes natural curiosity and hurt make you want to know what this woman has that you don’t ). The less you know at this point the better, as you may find yourself in the middle.

So you could put it that way to your DH? Just tell him that it puts you in an awkward position at the moment with your friend, so you’d rather not know too much about the relationship at this moment in time.

KichenDancefloor · 02/11/2017 07:18

A bit of conclusion jumping...

Your friend’s husband left her two months ago.
Therefore they are still married (presumably)
Therefore in the eyes of your friend and the law he is committing adultery.

YANBU to not want to know the ins and outs of this.

Bluntness100 · 02/11/2017 07:26

That timescale is super short

It’s really not, you can meet someone in a couple of days on line dating, it is fairly immediate. However I’d assume as he was clearly unhappy in his marriage that he’s thrown his self head first into this new relationship on the rebound and it possibly won’t last, who knows.

Therefore in the eyes of your friend and the law he is committing adultery

Eh, sure technically, what are you saying, no seperated couple should have a relationship until the divorce is finalised? Good luck with that. Hmm

NotSureIfiAmWell · 02/11/2017 07:30

This is the situation I'm in. STBX left me for OW 4 months ago. Relationship had been dead for years between us BUT l had tried to make it work over the years and he brushed me off. He had checked out of our marriage years ago which is why for him announcing his relationship on FB and plans to move in together doesn't seem quick. For me and our boys it is upsetting.

Laceup · 02/11/2017 09:23

What your feeling sounds normal to me..this is probably a fling that will fizzle out

Cantspell2 · 02/11/2017 09:31

I don't see what the big fuss is about as at no time has the ops husband asked her to host the friend and new girlfriend nor have they been invited out by the new couple. So they have zero impact on the ops life. All her husband has done is mention a few things in conversation that his friend and his new partner have done. No invites to join them or plans being made for any joint interaction at all.

KichenDancefloor · 02/11/2017 09:43

Yes, technically, if they are still married then the new gf is actually the OW and can be named in divorce proceedings.

Therefore, I think the wife has a right to be upset. The OP is also being a good and loyal friend in supporting her.

Separated can mean anything from a carefully thought through, mutually agreed legal separation, to ‘bye love, I’m off!’ The latter seems to be the case here.
I’m surprised by how readily people on this thread and IRL can accept that a partner has a right to move on without giving much thought to their responsibilities and devastation they leave behind.

OP - I’d want a friend just like you!

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/11/2017 09:53

When you say 'technically', you mean 'legally' or with some other kind of formal mandate and that's not accurate, is it? Posters are always using the term as some kind of 'back up' to bolster what they're saying when it really isn't.

The wife has every right to be upset and there's no time limit on that. OP is supporting her friend and her husband is supporting his friend. That's kind of what friendship is and credit to them both.

Sallystyle · 02/11/2017 10:36

IME, if a man leaves and dates someone else in a short space of time that woman was around before the split.

I don't believe for one minute that he left his wife and then met this woman. He has every right to leave his wife for someone else of course, but in my experience men who leave usually have another woman on the scene. Sexist? Maybe, but it's pretty well known that this is usually the case and you see the scenario played out all the time.

OP YANBU to feel how you feel. I wouldn't want to know about their relationship either. I would certainly not have them over. Simply because I know how much that would hurt my friend.

Holldstock1 · 06/11/2017 17:59

OP, my hubby & I were in this situation not long before we got married. My friend who I'd known for years had been with my DH's friend (who DH had been besties with for quite a few years) - in fact they were engaged for 9/10 years and introduced me & my DH.

DH & I met, got engaged and then married in a very short time - just over a year - when its the right one its the right one. Anyway shortly after we got engaged my friend and her OP (my DH's friend) split. It wasn't that nice. I think it had been a long time coming as they seemed to be very different and not have alot in common - but either way that's not really my business. But the split was painful for my friend - she was the one betrayed.

DH and I cared about both of them and we did say at the time to both, that we wanted to remain friends with each of them, that what was said by one would stay confidential and we would support both. We really meant that.

I don't feel that anyone should stay in a relationship or marriage that isn't working. Each person deserves to be happy and to be with someone special. Although I agree with another PP that if you aren't happy, have tried to mend things and it doesn't work, then you should leave the relationship before you start looking or going with anyone else. That is behaving with dignity and honour and treating the other person you don't love anymore with respect.

Anyway, in this particular case it wasn't pleasant, but despite staying neutral and supportive, my DH's friend was the one who basically dropped us. Perhaps it was guilt and shame over his bad behaviour - he was horrid to her financially and with cheating, and perhaps he couldn't believe we weren't judging him - he wouldn't even come to our wedding because my friend was coming. But 20 years on, we have lost touch with him, and we are both still friends with my friend. Trying to stay neutral and support both didn't work.

Other times when friends have split from husbands, I've not tried to be so liberal. Sometimes, the person who is hurt, dumped and made to feel worthless by being rejected just needs to know that her friend has her back. They need to hear the words that the other person is a complete sh#t, and isn't worth the tears. They need the coffee, cake, bottle of wine and girly sessions and to be told they are going to get past this and meet someone who is worth being with. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I'm just helping a friend through a terrible trauma.

OP, I don't know if you became friends with this lady because she was married to your DH's BF, or if you were friends with her anyway. But either way, she has obviously been your friend for a long time, and her soon to be Ex has been your DH's friend for a long time.

None of us here know the situation with the new GF who met who, when, during etc. No-one knows if this man met the GF before or after the split, or whether she knew or not. That isn't for us to know. I guess if it was me any 'judging' on my part re GF would be whether she knew he was married but got together with him before he left his wife. That would mean a complete no no to any meeting up in the future as far as I'm concerned.

But in the current situation, I think you need to sit down with your DH and explain that you aren't asking him to stop being friends with his BF but that you are staying friends with his soon to be ex wife and intend to support her through what is a terrible traumatic time. If he would like to support his BF's Ex and be non partisan and hear her side of it and how his friend's actions have affected and devastated her, then he's welcome to do so, - try the 'we will support both', but if he understandably doesn't want to do that, then both of you need to each agree to support the friend you have chosen. And that unless he wants their breakup to start affecting your relationship he needs to respect boundaries. i.e. DH doesn't discuss with you about his BF or the OW, and you won't pass on confidential information about your friend. I think I would be inclined to say that you can't imagine at the moment when you would want to know or have anything to do with his BF and OW, but that may change over time and as your friend gets over what he has done. But, I would stress, that you will be the one to let your DH when that time has come for you, if it ever does. In the meantime you would appreciate it if he sticks to the agreement and keeps his relationship with his BF and the OW separate from you.

I hope that both your friend and your DH's friend get to move on, and meet someone who is really special and who treats them with all the love and care they deserve.

Punkatheart · 06/11/2017 21:33

What a wise and balanced post, Hol - yes, yes to all that! We have to be loyal if we are that sort of person and do what we think is right. You sound like a great friend. If I hadn't had friends to talk about my ex with I genuinely might have gone mad....

WasDoingFine · 13/11/2017 07:39

I have just started my own thread about this actual situation with mutual friends of stbxh and l.

They want to remain friend's with us both but l have just found out that they are going out for a meal with them. We were together for 20 years and he left me for the OW.

I feel so hurt. Not sure if l can continue my friendship with them

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