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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

Friend getting cosy with my ex…AIBU?

220 replies

AmonRa1 · 09/02/2015 09:50

I was seeing my ex, casually, on and off since 2009. It ended for good last year when I finally woke up, got some self-respect and ditched him. I did love him though, a lot, would’ve done anything for him and I think a small part of me will always have a soft spot for him but he treated me appallingly and meeting my now OH has totally shown me what a real, loving relationship SHOULD be like.

Anyway, when I first got with my OH, ex couldn’t stand it and was literally bombarding me with texts/phone calls/whatsapps etc begging me to give him another chance, he realised he’d been an idiot, I was the girl he wanted to marry, blah, blah, blah. I stopped responding and so he started messaging one of my close friends asking her to speak to me, to tell me he’s sorry, get me to ‘see sense’ (arrogant so and so) blah, blah.

Ex and I do share some of the same friends, although, tbh, to me, they are more like acquaintances. The past couple of months, my friends and I have been out on a Saturday night and have bumped into him due to him and us all being with the same people, in the same pubs/ bars etc. He and I have been fine, we have a drink and a chat but that’s it.

ANYWAY, my close friend that he started messaging that time, asking her to speak to me on his behalf, told me the other week that he had messaged her on FB after she had ‘checked in’ at his local pub on FB asking why she didn’t tell him she was there as he would’ve gone down and had a drink with her?! She said it very blaze, like that was a completely normal thing for him to do. I wanted to ask why he was messaging her and did she message him back but just kept schtum.

He has told me before in passing that he thinks she’s ‘fit’ (she is) and he is stupidly handsome and the majority of females aren’t exactly immune to his charm!

A few weeks ago she ‘checked in’ again at his local pub on FB (which is a bit weird as it’s nowhere near where she lives but she has recently palled up with a girl who lives near him and that is her local too, so fair enough) and when I saw it, I wondered whether he’d be messaging her again or whether the ‘check in’ was for his benefit as she very rarely uses FB/ does check in’s etc so it’s a bit odd. She’s also started to get a bit obsessed with hanging around with the same people as him, so those acquaintances that I mentioned in my 3rd paragraph, if we are out she is constantly saying ‘Let’s text so and so and see what they’re doing and where they are.’ Or she’ll text me before the weekend saying ‘So and so are going to be at the rugby club on Sat, shall we go and watch the match and go out with them after?’ I’m really not bothered to be honest as the majority of them irritate me and she has never been bothered about them or ever wanted to give them the time of day before?

ANYWAY, I haven’t seen her for a couple of weeks as I’ve been on holiday and work has been manic. She came over last night and in the middle of a conversation, casually managed to drop in how ‘A couple of weeks ago her and XXX (her friend) were down his local again and my ex came down to meet them and they all got really drunk and he invited them both back to his to stay the night, which they did…..in the spare room.’

At the time, I felt like she’d slapped me but I acted nonchalant and didn’t say anything, however when she left, I felt really upset. My OH noticed and asked what was up and so I told him and his first words were ‘Well that’s a bit off to be honest as she doesn’t even know him, only through you and even that’s not very well and why do you need to know that she’s getting drunk with him and staying around his house?’

And that’s exactly how I feel. I KNOW I am with someone else, him and I are history so it shouldn’t matter but this man was my utter world for a very long time. She is one of my best friends and in general, is a BRILLIANT friend. I just can’t help but think something is going on somewhere. They don’t know each other from Adam, apart from through me and I only really introduced them to each other in the last few months of him and I’s relationship, so that is only about a year ago. In that time they’ve probably met a handful of times when we’ve bumped into him out and about. She ‘dislikes’ him (like the rest of my friends) for how he treated me whilst we were together etc. Although obviously not, because she’s now getting drunk with him and staying over at his house.

He doesn’t do female ‘friends’ he only gives someone the time of day if he finds them attractive (shallow git) so I know his intentions would not have been honourable. I just don’t get how she thought I was going to react, am I expected to be doing cartwheels that one of my best friends is now spending time with my ex and staying over at his house? If they were friends before then that would be different, but they don’t know each other at all?

I feel like I need to speak to her about it and say that if anything were to happen there, I’m sorry, but I could not forgive her. Out of all the men in the world that is the ONE man that I couldn’t forgive one of my friends for going behind my back with and I shouldn’t even have to say that as she should know. Also, I have spoken to her every day in the past 2 weeks and not once has she mentioned that she stayed over at his. I have also spoken to him too a few times as his dog (who was my world when we were together) had a fit, fell down the stairs and ended up at the vets very ill. He was devastated and just wanted to talk to someone I think and I am the only other person who loves her like he does. Not once did he mention it either yet if I had stayed around her exes’ house or had his best friend randomly stay over at mine, I think I’d have mentioned it!

Irrespective of anything else, he is bad news. She is younger than me and without meaning to be patronising, quite naïve when it comes to relationships and men. She would get SO hurt, just like I did, just like all his ex’s have, hence why he’s 36 and on his own!

Should I speak to her do you think?

OP posts:
shovetheholly · 09/02/2015 14:47

Oooops, apologies, just read that post and realised that the relationship STARTED in 2009, and ended last year. Sorry OP! I can see why it would be a bit more raw in that case - but I do think you need to move on.

SaucyJack · 09/02/2015 14:49

Dude. You are not over him if you still care where he is sticking it. Fine line between love and hate, yadda yadda.

googoodolly · 09/02/2015 14:49

He's your ex, OP. Who he dates or goes for a drink with is nothing to do with you. I mean, if a friend of mine said to me "oh, I met your ex the other day - he saw me in x pub and sent me a text asking to join me and we had a laugh", I'd think "oh, good for you" and not really give it another thought.

You're giving this guy far too much headspace. Likewise, your friend can go for drinks with whoever she wants - she doesn't have to run it all by you because he's your ex. Maybe say to her you don't want to know anything about they get up to and leave it at that.

Gina111 · 09/02/2015 15:24

I am confused about the reason for your anger about your friend. I could understand if you held him in true contempt for his treatment of you and had no contact with him. Her connection with him would demonstrate a disregard for your hurt and would threaten most friendships.

However the reality is quite different. You describe your ex as your "utter world for a long time", and have stated "a small part of me will always have a soft spot for him". You continue to share an emotional connection, as demonstrated through your support for him over his dog. You may have things that you object to, such as his cheating etc, but clearly you still have an emotional investment.

You say you are concerned about your friend getting hurt in the same way as you and others have been hurt by him, yet your solution is to end your friendship with her, thereby causing her to suffer twice.

The remarks by your boyfriend and your response about the inappropriateness of her staying over at your ex-boyfriend's house do not suggest pure concern for her.

I think you are not being completely honest with yourself and have not fully emotionally separated. This must be very difficult for your new boyfriend as you are not fully available for him. Is there someone you could talk to, to help think through the complex and mixed emotions you have about this relationship?

OhMrGove · 09/02/2015 16:36

I'm quite surprised by these responses. IMO YANBU at all

elsabelle · 09/02/2015 17:28

YANBU. I would feel exactly the same. Theres nothing you can do about it except cut them both out of your life. She really is not a friend at all. In my younger years i did get with a friends ex and the friend totally cut me off. I deserved it and now looking back, many years on, i feel ashamed that i behaved the way i did. Of course the man in question turned out to be a total dick and not worth sacrificing a friendship over. I suspect this will turn out in a similar way.

getthefeckouttahere · 09/02/2015 17:54

YABU.
You're over him. Yup, Gotcha, definitely, Done and dusted, we hear ya. Ok.

Honestly re read you're original post, i would be disappointed if i got this of my 12 yo daughter. Hmm

AmonRa1 · 09/02/2015 19:14

Well thank fuck you're not mum, or my friend saying that if you wouldn't think twice about jumping into bed with your best mates recent ex.

OP posts:
FeckTheMagicDragon · 09/02/2015 19:29

my friend did something like this. I wanted her in my life, I did not want him in my life. She chose him. He dumped her, as he was trying to get to me.

We're not friends anymore. It does make me sad, but it was her choice at the end of the day.

bitofanoddone · 09/02/2015 19:36

What I don't understand is, why, after 5 years of treating you terribly you haven't cut him off completely? Was there a co dependent drama element to your relationship? Are you self aware enough? Or do you thing it was all a tortured true love affair?
After something so dysfunctional and time consuming I don't blame you for feeling like a dog in a manger.

milkpudding · 09/02/2015 19:44

I would be upset and angry if a close friend slept with/ had a relationship/ started a friendship with my recent ex who had treated me very badly, yes. OP and he only split up for good in 2014. It probably makes you feel that she is condoning his awful treatment of you.

Whilst you can't 'control' her behaviour, in close friendship you consider you friend's pov when doing things that might hurt them.

I suspect that she thinks you have forgiven his bad behaviour because you are so friendly with him now. Maybe she thinks his behaviour wasn't as bad as you made out before, or that he has apologised adequately. I would find it confusing if someone was friendly with an ex who had treated them terribly, comforting them when their dog was sick, chatting on nights out, etc.

I also think she was gauging your reaction when she told you about staying over. As you were neutral, she may decide to take another step, thinking you are ok with their friendship/ relationship.

I would actually speak to her and say he hurt you badly, you have been too friendly with him recently and you are going to distance yourself from him, and that you are worried that he would hurt her too.

I would definitely stop chatting to him on nights out- just say 'hello' and move on- and avoid all other contact.

If she does get involved with him anyway I would reflect that whilst she may be a fun person to spend time with she is probably not as close a friend as you had thought.

KIrsty7318 · 09/02/2015 19:53

What I don,t understand is why this one man and his dog (see what I did there!) Who was your entire world/casual on-off boyfriend/ whatever for five years, hadn't met your bestest closest friend until a few months before you dumped him. Was too embarrassed to be seen with you in public?

BTW, interesting first post.

simonettavespucci · 09/02/2015 19:57

YANBU to be hurt by your friend, but YABU to think that you are over your ex.

However, as you only split last year this is probably not particularly surprising, and your gf getting involved with him will not help, which is another reason she is wrong to do so.

In answer to your question - I would speak to her if I were you, but I would accept in advance that you may lose the friendship.

AmonRa1 · 09/02/2015 20:25

Okay just to clarify, I think I was a bit generous in my OP when I said that we chat etc when we see each other out. We don't, if he says hello to me I am civil and I won't flounce off in the other direction but I'm hardly friendly/pally towards him and it's normally just my friends and I giving him evils.

The dog thing threw me I admit, I love the dog, what can I say so yes, I did respond to his texts but it was purely about her.

Re my friend not meeting him, she wasn't around for a while and I tended to hang around with him and his friends. My friends really didnt like him v much due to him being a bit of a knob, so tbh, I tended to keep him seperate, but did introduce him to a few friends but a select few who I didn't think would be arsey towards him- she wasn't one of them.

OP posts:
Charley50 · 09/02/2015 20:31

Yanbu to feel hurt. It's human nature to feel that if you were special to someone, they wouldn't just hook up with your mate a few months after your relationship ended. It makes you feel a bit interchangeable really. Of course we don't 'own' our exes but it's still normal to be hurt by this sort of thing. Nothing might happen between them anyway so try to concentrate on your current, and as you said, far better, relationship.

Ouchbloodyouch · 09/02/2015 22:30

I'm actually one of the few who is with you on this OP. My ex treated me quite badly I enabled that so take the blame. I'm over him as much as I can be but it was one of those significant relationships where I don't think I will ever truly forget him. I would be happy to meet someone else now. But thinking about your situation and imagining (by substitution ) one of my dear friends going out with him. No way. I'd agree that they are single and entitled to choose who they date but I would end the friendship. Not in a spectacular fashion but coolly and quietly.
I think you have been given a hard time on here undeservedly. I doubt many would be that cool in real life. Its easy to say 'oh I'd be fine with that' and maybe in some cases I WOULD be fine with it but you know how important THAT particular relationship was and I can relate to your experience

jasper · 09/02/2015 23:23

I'm very concerned about the dog being your world when you were together.
I get that it irks you about your friend though, but you have to suck it up.

Ouchbloodyouch · 09/02/2015 23:35

I'm very concerned about the dog being your world Confused

Coyoacan · 10/02/2015 01:47

I think the problem here is different "moral codes".

Some people believe that you should never get involved with any friend's ex while other people have never heard of that concept, like me. I only heard about the rule of not getting involved with friends' exes from my dd.

Obviously I would never get involved with someone a friend of mine was in love with, but knowing that my friend had 100% moved on, I would consider their ex free game.

MightyMightyToros · 10/02/2015 02:13

I find your posts confusing.

You accuse her of going behind your back, and then you say she is offering you information freely.

Confused

I personally would never date a friends ex. But there are many factors to consider -
. How close you are as friends.
. How long the two of you dated.
. The reason that you broke up.

If the friendship is worth saving then I would definitely speak to her and very much leave the ball in her court.

If you're not bothered then just leave it to run its course. If hes as bad as you say then I'm guessing he will probably cheat on her.

sykadelic · 10/02/2015 04:05

I had my best friend do this. She's an ex-friend now.

What's funny is it started with me suggesting to her that she meet up with my ex (we'd only been together a short time so no emotional attachment). She told me after their date she wasn't keen. She lied. She lost her virginity to him and had been sleeping with him ever since, for weeks. We spoke often so it wasn't like she didn't have the chance to tell me.

I was hurt that she lied to me, not about her being with him (even though I thought she was an idiot for doing so because he was a bit of a loser honestly).

OP I totally understand you being hurt that your friend, your best friend in fact, is looking like she wants to hook up with someone who hurt you so very badly - of which she knows first hand. I think you need to tell her that you won't be able to stay friends with her if she commits this betrayal. And to specify, not a betrayal in being with him when you can't, but being with him in spite of everything that happened between you and the hurt he caused you. You're entitled to feel this way because:

  • they weren't friends before so she is actively choosing to become friends with someone who hurt you so bad
  • it feels like she's telling you that you lied when you told her all those bad things he did.
  • it will feel like she's taking his side and has decided that he's actually a good guy, which considering how bad he was to you is like she's blaming you or claiming you're at fault in some way for how poorly you were treated

It's insulting and I think she needs to know. I don't think she realises that she's doing something wrong and as you haven't said anything to her rather benign comments (like my friend "feeling" me out with her comments) she feels like she's got the green light.

I'd start pretty tame though with something like: "I'm not okay with you becoming friends with X, spending time with him and considering dating him. I don't want to talk about him, think about him, or be friends with someone who wants to be friends with someone who thinks it's okay to treat people like he did... especially when that someone knew about it and saw the pain first hand.

fairylightsbackintheloft · 10/02/2015 07:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

diddl · 10/02/2015 08:16

In theory I wouldn't care.

In practise though, I don't tend to stay friends/in touch with exes, so i'd probably be seeing less of the friend as it's unlikely that we'd be going out as a foursome!!

DistanceCall · 10/02/2015 08:18

"I AM aware it is none of my business and they are free to do what they like, but I HONESTLY would NOT go with one of my friends exes. I just wouldn’t."

Well, you wouldn't, but obviously your friend is not you. And she's doing nothing wrong. I feel sorry for your partner. From your posts, it sounds like you got together with him on the rebound, to be honest.

AmonRa1 · 10/02/2015 09:01

Well I spoke to a few of my friends about it yesterday who all had the same view as me. In the meantime she was constantly texting me and I didn’t reply as I just didn’t know what to say to her so I decided to go against the grain with this post and speak to her.

I messaged her saying that I was upset that she was going on about him the other night when she came around, that I am trying to eradicate him from my life and that is hard when I now, randomly have to start hearing about him from her (she knows him and I don’t have much to do with each other and that he is a taboo subject, so be under no illusions there) I said that it is a free country and she can be friends with/ see who she likes, I said I understand that she is friends with XXX who is pally with him so she may bump into him out and about but that is a bit different to actively getting drunk with him and staying around his house?!

I said I’m really sorry, I wish I could be okay with it, but at the moment, as it is all still fairly recent and raw I can’t be. Perhaps in a couple of years I wouldn’t give a damn, but right now, I do.

I said the ball is in her court, she is a grown adult and can be friends with/see who she likes but after everything he has done (and please people, she damn well knows, she has been there through it ALL, she’s even SEEN him in action) I would find it hard maintaining such a close friendship with her if she was to develop any time of relationship with him.

I was perfectly reasonable, I didn’t scream and shout or go off on one, I didn’t accuse her of anything untoward, I just told her that I was upset and surely that’s one of the main points of friendship? Being able to confide in one another and be honest with each other?

Anyway, her response was.

‘No, I totally understand and I would feel exactly the same way! I’ve been feeling awful ever since and been dreading telling you because I knew I shouldn’t have done it and just felt so, so terrible. You’re my best friend and you know I know exactly what he’s like and how badly he’s treated you. I can promise you 100% it won’t ever happen again you know I’d never do anything to upset you and I am so, so sorry. X’

So, I guess I just have to take her word for it and trust her.

Yes I know I’ll get shot down for speaking to her, but TBH I really don’t care. I did what I felt I needed to do, I tried not saying anything but I couldn’t be ‘normal’ with her again until I had got it off my chest.

As for the assumptions (because that is what they are) that I am not over him, don’t love my current OH etc, I can’t keep repeating the same thing. I’m sorry if I don’t want to be friends with my ex, I’m sorry that he’s a lying, cheating, manipulative idiot and I would rather not have him in my life anymore and yes, that DOES include my nearest and dearest not getting close to him too, but that does not mean I want to get back with him or that my current OH is a rebound and I don’t love him. I want this prick to move on, just not with my best friend. How would that ever work? My OH HATES him and I mean REALLY despises him, he’s not a violent man but if he ever saw this guy I know he would probably try and deck him, all of my other friends can’t stand him and that’s not just for what he’s done to me, just how snobby and pompous he is in general. It is never going to be a situation where we can all play happy friends. Anyway, it’s entirely up to my friend what she does. I wouldn’t be able to be friends with her at the moment if she were to develop something with him, perhaps later on down the line, but not now, so if she were to do that, she would be thrown in the cooler for a while and if that makes me a cow then so be it. Sometimes actions have consequences, that’s life.

OP posts: