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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Ghosted....and feeling hurt

38 replies

Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 21:29

So, a friend of my oh is married. They have children the same age as ours. His wife and I became friends, saw each other several times a week as only live a few streets away and our children got on really well. We confided in each other about lots of things as friends do and she told me about her other group of friends bullying her out of the friendship group because she had pnd. She told me she was unhappy in her marriage and i confided thatvthings were not good in mine and that my oh was being emotionally abusive and I was at a crossroads. (All ok now though thankfully). She complained how no one seemed to care about her wellbeing until i came along and how unsupported she felt by the friendship group she said abandoned her (after a newcomer arrived and allegedly turned her friends against her) and also by her own oh.

She praised my support of her and said she really valued our friendship. I was extremely supportive of her - and her parents and siblings kept saying how lucky she was to have finally found a good friend that was much needed. I was so happy to have found a friend who also supported me and felt we had a genuinely meaningful friendship. We asked them to be godparents to our youngss so what happened next has really hurt.

So, her eldest started preschool and we still saw each other loads with our other children. Then her eldest was due to start primary school and that summer I was ghosted.

No idea what happened but I was really hurt. She drastically cut down messaging me, left social media and cancelled every time we were due to meet. My husband was as baffled as me so asked his friend.

His friend then said that there was no issue....until pushed then he said this;

My friend didnt like me asking her how she was because she felt I was prying (she had thanked me so often for caring enough to ask how she was as no one else ever bothered so this was a bolt from the blue and I never pushed her to talk, I just gave an ear if she wanted one)
My friend didn’t like me saying negative things about my oh (she spends no tim with my oh and has no relationship with him. I had only confided in our problem at that time because she had opened up about her own marriage being unhappy and I didn’t want her to feel alone!)

So, I was told not to say anything incase it brought her pnd back (?)

I tried several times to meet, to message and just got passive aggressive ‘love to meet but can’t as sooo busy’ until I gave up.

How can a person change like that?

I feel like I was used until her eldest started school and now her attention is on the school mums....

It really hurts and makes me question whether she was bullied by her old friends or whether she simply did the same thing to them!

OP posts:
Gemini69 · 02/02/2018 21:35

I'm not assuming... but did you keep asking about things in her relationship that she had confided in you about ? did you keep bringing up the subjects that she has discussed with you ? it's just a thought...

people like to vent.... maybe she feels she told you too much about her private world and felt exposed Flowers

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/02/2018 21:41

I think two things happened here; one she over-confided and now feels uncomfortable at the number of things she told you. She was needy but feels that you now know too much and that gives you a 'weapon' should you choose to use it - and secondly, she no longer needs you. She's tagging onto the school mums now.

It's not you, it's her. She's a needy woman who is a bit like an ape swinging from branch to branch. You were a good strong 'branch' and she'll find that not all branches are like that.

Write her off. Your friendship wasn't real - on her side. Anybody whose family members start commenting on her relationships with friends to those friends, are a little bit 'off' in terms of boundaries.

You sound a very nice friend to have. Don't be sad, this wasn't a friend that you lost but a user. Not only that but a mean-spirited user as she's so unconfident in you as a person that she's reminding you - via her husband - of her PND just in case you were thinking of saying anything. A bit of a lousy person really and not friendship material. You can do better, a lot better. :)

Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 21:43

No, I never asked about her marriage. I only asked how she was and left her to say whatever she had on her mind if she wanted to. I never pushed So was very hurt that she said she thought this way.

Her husband is very controlling and everything always has to appear perfect so I don’t know if she told him what we discussed and he has encouraged her to stop bothering with me. He is very competitive with my oh and was mortified when she told me she had pnd and mentioned it in front of my partner.

That said, I kept all the stuff she told me about her oh to myself - we agreed we’d never tell our oh anything we discussed about them as they are friends and it would cause issues for us all. I was hurt that she seemed to have told him things I had confided in confidence to a friend.

OP posts:
Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 21:44

Thank you lyingwitch. I’ve been so loyal and feel stabbed in the back

OP posts:
Bringonspring · 02/02/2018 21:45

You sound lovely and I agree with PP that she is nervous with regards to how much she confided in you xxx

Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 21:47

I agree - I think she overshared and now feels uncomfortable but that doesnt excuse her telling her husband what I’ve said in confidence about my oh - who is his friend!

She is extremely passive aggressive and avoids conflict at all costs. I was very protective over her and I’m actually really hurt

OP posts:
JustVent · 02/02/2018 21:49

I made a friend in very similar circumstances and was ditched in similar circumstances.

Except she didn’t have excuses.

She was just an arsehole who didn’t need me anymore, her kid started school and she was happy and made school gate friends instead. They are welcome to her. I was so bloody hurt.
I now stick to my life long friends who I’ve always been able to trust and rely on.

JeReviens · 02/02/2018 21:51

She also sounds a bit intense and full on - I'm thinking with all those gushing compliments about how wonderful you are (were). I'm afraid I never ever trust anyone who gushes compliments - it almost always never ends well.
Sorry you're sad about this but she sounds like a complete user flake anyway and you're probably well off out of it!

Justgivemesomepeace · 02/02/2018 21:53

You say her husband is very controlling. You dont think he didn't like how close you were and has made her cut you out do you?

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/02/2018 21:55

Palava, if it comes up then just tell your husband what you've posted here but it probably won't because men don't generally open up in the way that women do.

If you run into this woman again, feel free to tell her that you're disappointed that she told her husband things that you'd told her in confidence about her own marriage. Her PND does not excuse that. Then walk away and let her think about it. You owe her nothing.

It won't hurt for as long as you fear because deep down you know this was not a true friend. She has lost one, you have not.

ElderflowerWaterIsDelish · 02/02/2018 21:58

If the woman doesn't want to be friends with you then for the sake of your own feelings it's best to move in and make some new friends,

You can't force someone to be your friend of they don't want to, but you can move on,

Maybe with the next friend don't be so open at once or confidential about problems, you may feel unburdened but it may be draining and too much for the friend having to listen to it .

ElderflowerWaterIsDelish · 02/02/2018 21:59

*confide ...not confidential Hmm autocorrect

Wildflowerfloosy · 02/02/2018 22:02

Palava, you have not done anything wrong at all; you have been a very kind and caring friend.

She sounds typical of someone who.is used to.manipulating others and then just dumping before going onto.someone else. This has happened to me several times, so my advice is draw a line under it if you can and move on, there are plenty of people who would truly appreciate a friend like you.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 02/02/2018 22:02

*about your marriage, sorry.

Mrsmadevans · 02/02/2018 22:07

It is her bad OP try to move on , block all contact with her and keep yourself busy .

MrsDesireeCarthorse · 02/02/2018 22:11

"I tried several times to meet, to message and just got passive aggressive ‘love to meet but can’t as sooo busy’ until I gave up."

But she had already ghosted you and you had been told she thought you were prying etc. Why on earth would you then try 'several times' to meet up with someone when they so very obviously don't want to meet up with you?

That alone makes me suspect that your reading of your friendship with this woman would be very different to hers. Maybe she found you got too intense and felt she constantly had to thank/reassure you but couldn't get away from you until her eldest started school. Maybe she found you over-shared and was really uncomfortable by what you confided.

Maybe it was the way you saw it but the fact you kept trying to meet even after being told all this is just astounding. I know it hurts but that wasn't even a hint.

CotswoldStrife · 02/02/2018 22:20

Did the ghosting come after you'd decided to stay with your DH OP, because you mention a crossroads?

I've been in the position of having a friend who had marriage troubles, poured them out to us and criticised her DH yet you are expected to welcome him back with open arms when she decides not to dump him. It can be awkward.

TheBrilliantMistake · 02/02/2018 22:23

You're getting her story second hand though, and it might not be entirely accurate, but obviously she's withdrawn from the friendship.

On the one hand, friends can go the extra mile for each other and 'put up' with stuff like this because one or both of you can have periods of time when you just don't want to talk. On the other hand, life's too short to keep making an effort in one direction.

I guess all you can do is give it one last shot, explaining that you came to value the friendship and wouldn't want to see it end. If there's something you've done (inadvertently) then it's ok to tell you and see if you can resolve it. If she doesn't respond, you have your answer.

One note though - if it's not just PND, but depression in general, it can have some awful effects where people massively value your friendship, but they just can't face you (or others). It can be very difficult to understand from the outside and can feel very much like you are giving again and again, but never receiving. IF that's the cause, then you'll need a tonne of patience and compassion, but inside she will probably value every effort you make.

Florallee · 02/02/2018 22:25

Hang on; I thought the deal was that neither of you were meant to mention to either of your partners that the other had said?

And then she tells your OH's friend everything that you had told her in confidence Hmm
Perhaps..
1: Her partner got wind of your chats (were some of them through text/phone?), so she minimised and twisted it around
2: she's a shit-stirrer.
3: She's depressed.

The thing is, you now know that she's not to be trusted.

Cantshedmymuffintop · 02/02/2018 22:32

She's embarrassed. She's told you too much, maybe her oh has found out that you discuss him and she's felt duty bound to ditch you. You shouldn't feel bad about it, it's clearly her/their issue. Best avoid tbh.

MermaidHead · 02/02/2018 22:33

Move on OP, she’s a user.

Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 22:33

Thanks all x

Mrsdeseree....it was my husband who insisted I should try to get the friendship ‘back on track’ so things weren’t awkward at birthday parties for the children etc. It’s for that reason alone that I tried. I honestly wish I hadn’t now as it was obvious she was ghosting me and I felt even more upset - with the situation and also with myself for basically being conned into a fake friendship which I was then dropped from.

Once my husband told me what her husband said and it was clear she had broken my confidence, I was really upset and also angry because I felt so betrayed. I was hurt but wanted to move on.

I’ve posted tonight because my husband keeps asking me to try again with her and saying that it’s awkward we aren’t friends anymore.

I keep telling him she dropped me not the other way around, and also that she broke my confidence so I could never trust her again even if we could cobble together some kind of surface level friendship after this.

OP posts:
Meadwaymumof4 · 02/02/2018 22:34

I had / have a friend like this. We was very close,told her things I wouldn’t tell my much longer term friends. She was wonderful and I thought we really clicked.
Until her child started nursery and our friendship practically died a death over a cliff.
I was replaced by her school Mum mates.
I see her around three times a year now. We didn’t fall out but I don’t really class her as a friend, not sure what we are now? People who meet for coffee every six months maybe.
I’m much more guarded with new friends now. I don’t expect friendships to last after her. I make efforts with lots of new school mums but I’m just enjoying the company in the moment, i don’t expect or want more and I’m much happier.
I’m still really hurt by my old friend and it’s been years now. In a way I wish we had properly fallen out as she lives a mile from me and after having play dates, going out for drinks weekly, meeting up as a family groups at the weekend for years, I now don’t even know what her kids look like. I haven’t seen them in three years.
Some people are just like this. Like someone said upthread, like branch swingers.

Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 22:34

Cotswold - she has apparently complained that I had badmouthed my oh so that won’t be it at all

OP posts:
Palavapalava · 02/02/2018 22:41

Thanks all x

Thebrilliant - but she told her oh things I said about my oh (who is her oh friend!) in confidence after promising not to. That’s not pnd, that’s being a bitch and I’m really hurt by that in particular.

Floral...EXACTLY!

Meadway, that’s awful. This is kind of how it feels for me...but I couldn’t see how I could meet up with her now after how she’s treated me and after her breaking my confidence like that - it could have caused real problems in my relationship with my oh and we are only just back on track!

OP posts: