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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Bad friend or looking after myself?

7 replies

SkinnedAlive · 10/03/2012 23:24

I have a male friend who I have in the past been very close to and who I do care for greatly. His current girlfriend is a complete fucking psycho errr interesting. He is not allowed to have any friends. Male or female. He isn't allowed to go out for a movie, a meal or for a quick drink and chat. She lives quite far from him so they only see each other once a month or so, and she is very suspicious and controlling, expecting him to have no social life if she is not there. She also takes him for every penny she can, cheats on him etc etc. His relationship is NONE of my business, but the way he makes me feel about myself IS. To be honest I feel like a second class friend and that the friendship is all take and no give.

For example, I dislocated my knee a while back while we were both playing volleyball. I was dizzy and vomitting with the pain and could not put any weight on my leg. He did not take me home/to hospital or even get me into a taxi. He left me to fend for myself. Luckily I had a wonderful taxi driver that was an angel and got me safely up the stairs into my first floor flat. The next day other friends helped me and got me to hospital where I was told I probably would need an operation on my knee. So not really a minor injury. He did not help as she would not have liked him going to another womans' flat and he had to respect her feelings on that.

I am his last close friend - everyone else has gone. Obviously this is a toxic relationship for him and part of me says don't abandon him like everyone else, but part of me just doesn't want to hear about his constant problems. While he is with her our friendship is all about him and how miserable he is - no laughs or support for me. When they split, after he has grieved for a while, I get my funny, sweet, kind friend back. At the moment I am exceptionally vunerable myself as my life is falling apart - I have to drop out of uni due to money problems, can't afford the op I need for my knee so am in constant pain, can't find a job, will probably lose my home etc etc (I live abroad so no benefits/health care/uni funding). At this point in my life there is nothing in me to give to other people and I just really want my other close supportive friends around me that make me feel good about myself and are being amazing :)

Does it make me a bad person to walk away from the friendship? We are in the same very small tutorial group at uni, so can't totally avoid each other, and I will obviously still be friendly and say hello/have a brief chat as part of a group. I just DON'T want to sit beside him every day hearing about his problems and have him call me at 2am whenever she dumps him and so forth.

OP posts:
NatashaBee · 10/03/2012 23:30

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SkinnedAlive · 10/03/2012 23:44

Yes, he has often said how betrayed and hurt he is that his other friends are no longer there for him and just don't seem to want to speak to him/invite him out anymore. But how can people if he is always saying no to invites or just want to see them when he has problems? I don't think he realises -what a selfish twat he is-- how he behaves when he is with her. He did know he behaved badly when I injured myself and he felt very ashamed, but he expected me to understand. Which I did as I know how much he loves her (and love is not logical). But it didn't stop me feeling hurt.

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Leverette · 10/03/2012 23:59

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TooEasilyTempted · 10/03/2012 23:59

Well I'd say you've got nothing to lose so why not tell him straight why all of his friends have abandoned him and tell him that you're not far off doing the same.

MissKeithLemon · 11/03/2012 00:04

as lev said you need to show him other peoples opinions... then he'll see
hth

SkinnedAlive · 11/03/2012 00:11

The thing is Leverette he thinks she is wonderful. He has low self esteem and although logically he knows she is unreasonable, his heart tells him differently. He often goes on about how lucky he is she 'picked' him when she is so pretty and could have any man she wants. The cheating made him sit up a bit, but again he turns it round into 'I am so lucky she decided she loved me too much to live without me and got rid of the other man and came back to me'. When of course the reality is the other man ran out of money/ realised what a nightmare she is and dumped her. When they fight she threatens suicide until he does what she wants.

I don't want to be a fair weather friend. But he is self destructing and I am not in a place in my life to keep offering support. I keep wavering and thinking I am strong enough, and would I like it if a friend abandoned me when the going got tough? Reality is not so easy though and I feel I have had enough.

OP posts:
SkinnedAlive · 11/03/2012 00:16

Just saw the other replies. Yes, I suppose I do owe it to him to say why I don't want to continue the friendship. I don't want a fight and nasty words going back and forward. I think he will accuse me of abandoning him and being a bad friend and that WILL hurt me. As I said I am in a bad place myself right now and just want to slink off quietly. But that's not really possible is it, given we see each other almost every day :(

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