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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

My friend has turned since I called her out on her behaviour.

31 replies

Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 15:51

So long story short, I've had this best friend for the last 6 years or so. I'm incredibly close to her family, husband etc. Our kids go to the same school so I see her everyday pretty much. We spend most Christmas days together, new years and birthdays. It's as though her family have taken me under their own wing as I don't have anything to do with my own parents because of abuse growing up.

My friend suffers low self esteem, that's what I thought in the beginning so over the years I have tried to help her build it up. She won't work, tidy up, no hobbies and has gotten dangerously overweight. This doesn't seem to faze her at all, I asked her if she was depressed and she said she wasn't.

So fast forward and I notice she's becoming increasing toxic in her behaviours. I've had a couple of partners since knowing her and every single time she tries to.convince her husband that my partner "has a thing for her" though this is pretty disrespectful towards me, I let it slide as I feel bad for her. Her husband started to believe her (she's incredibly controlling over him, joint facebook, he doesn't have a bank account, can't see his friends unless she's there, the list goes on).

Last year, I had a bit of a thing with her husband's boss (they invited him to their house when I was there and we got on very well. My friend told me she found him attractive and she would never stop talking about him. She convinced her husband yet again that thusbwas somebody who took a fact to her (she's been endlessly messaging him which made him uncomfortable). This led to the husband confronting him and his boss knocking him out cold. Bad move, yes. So we all stop talking to him and move forwards with our lives.

I mention to my friend how the boss sent me some unsolicited photos before which I felt uncomfortable with. It wasn't mentioned again.

This year, my friend asked me for these unsolicited photos. I probably reacted a little ott, telling her I was shocked she'd ever ask, it was disrespectful to her husband etc. Since calling her out on this, things just haven't been right between us. I was angry she'd put me in that situation as I'm friends with her husband and this man had assaulted him fairly recently.

I distanced myself from her a bit but she's changed, started making digs at me about my appearance etc. I'm fairly attractive and successful, so it was water off a ducks back.

My cousin ended her life last year which was very difficult for me. My 'friend got drunk one evening and started making fun about it, she even tried to do a reconstruction of her suicide whilst laughing in my face. She told me she wanted to end herself and go be with my cousin (who shed never met). Rather than smacking her in her face as I wanted to, i made sure she stayed safe and her kids who were asleep upstairs at the time. Between me and her husband we managed to get her to sleep so she could sober up. I then left feeling a bit traumatised.

She apologised the next day but blamed the drink. I told her I was disappointed she was blaming that rather than taking ownership of her issues. I told her I'd she was suicidal then I'd help her but if she was just getting drunk and hurting people then I would be walking. She assured me she wasn't suicidal and idiot here gave her another chance after she apologised.

She became quite frosty with me again and so did her dad which surprised me as he's always been wonderful towards me. He confronts me one day and tells me my friend is scared to drink around me now because I upset her. Seeing what has happened I get a bit angry. She has just deflected the blame onto me, not taking responsibility and absolutely not sorry for her behaviour.

So I tell her father a few facts and ask him if he's ever seen me acting unreasonably towards her. He replies that he hasn't, it's just what she's said. So then I confront her about it. She tells me she can't remember what I did but she's upset, she actually couldn't name a single scenario as she knows I've never mistreated her, on the contrary, I've always bent over backwards for her. I got pneumonia at the beginning of this year and I heard nothing from her for a whole week after I'd told her I was bed ridden. But as soon as I could move about again I was still doing the school run for her as she had chipped the smallest piece of bone in her foot from falling down the stairs drunk one night. She literabnly lived 20 seconds walk from the school. So unless running around after her feeling like death warmed up, she told nobody I was unwell. They were a bit cross when they found out as they said they'd have helped me.

So since this I have gone no contact with her. I no longer trust her but now she is trying to turn people against me by playing the victim which she does a lot. I haven't said a word to her in 3 weeks and she's been slagging me off to mutual friends. I had to break my no contact to ask her to stop using my Netflix account which she'd been logging into. Didn't seem right for her to be doing that and I was met with more poison from her. The worst part is that her parents have turned now too. I have them on Facebook still as anything i do now seems to give them more fuel. So removing them would cause more conflict. If I remove my friend then I would be removing her husband too as he has to share her account and he's done nothing wrong in all this. Her and her parents are sharing lots of horrible passive aggressive stuff on there which is 100% meant for me to see. Me on the to her hand, I've kept quiet and not risen to it. I've tried to move on with my life but I can't seem to escape it. Everywhere I go I'm either seeing stuff or people tell me she's calling me a bully (ironic I know), some of our mutual friend have been on the receiving end of the same behaviour in the past so they know what I'm going through right now. I feel like confronting her family over this. I haven't spoken about her trying to solicit naked pictures of her husband boss as people would get hurt from it. Bit as this is getting worse for me now I can't help but think maybe if the truth came out it would all stop. She is doing this because she's worried the truth will come out so it trying to discredit me. Sorry for the rant but any advice? It's horrible to have all these people talking about me when they don't know the truth.

OP posts:
Hanab · 14/06/2019 15:57

Just walk away .. block block block and walk away ..

BryanAdamsLeftAnkle · 14/06/2019 16:00

Delete her and her husband, then her parents, then any friends who you believe are taking her word for it, block all phone numbers. Filter emails to go to spam. Change your netflix password and move on.

Life will be a happier place when you remove all drama

sprouts21 · 14/06/2019 16:04

Block them all.

Peridot1 · 14/06/2019 16:05

She sounds dreadful and you just need to walk away. It’s hard. I’ve had to do the same with a friend. A toxic friend. She did the whole passive aggressive Facebook stuff too. Initially I just unfollowed her so I wouldn’t see it and then after a few weeks a discovered she had unfriended me. I have unfollowed her DHtoo and for a while I unfollowed a few mutual friends so I didn’t see stuff.

Ive no idea what she has been telling people but I have discovered that lots of people have distanced themselves from her for various reasons.

Almost a year on I have moved on now. And realised just how toxic she was. I now realise it was a friendship that was fading anyway as I really didn’t like lots of things about her.

It’s hard and it did affect me emotionally for a while. Especially as her teen DC was involved. But time is a healer as they say.

Longtalljosie · 14/06/2019 16:09

She is an awful person and to cut her out you also say goodbye to her family. Think of it like a boyfriend situation - you just accept when you dump a boyfriend that you also lose contact with their parents etc - this is the same. And you must dump her because she’s awful, she’s slagging you off and she makes you feel like shit...

Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 16:10

Thanks for the responses. I've been carrying on a usual and feeling so so much better since she's not been in my life. Her parents live a couple of doors down from me and I have to see her twice a day on the school run. As we have mutual parent friends at the school she's been stood with them bad mouthing me and though they've largely not wanted to get involved, I know they still gossip. It makes it awkward for everybody and she's just playing this game with everyone while I'm carrying on with life. I unfortunately can't block them from my life as I'm always bumping into them so I can't see this ending until everybody is fed up with hearing her moan about her imagined slight. I'd love to out her for what she truly is, but it'll hurt others and only make more drama.

OP posts:
Moralitym1n1 · 14/06/2019 16:11

I hate this phrase but I'll use it - it has run its course. She is no longer a good or even a viable friend to have.

Be thankful for the support/food times when you needed it, but NC them and forget about them.

If you ended your friendship with her, you were going to lose her parents etc as well; inevitable.

She'll run out of things to say and anyone with a brain cell will see through her anyway.

RantyAnty · 14/06/2019 16:11

Delete and block them all.

Don't gossip about them and don't listen to anything people tell you they said.

Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 16:12

I'm sorry you've been through this too. It's awful to go through.

OP posts:
UglyDucking · 14/06/2019 16:15

Its not worth the hassle. Remove them and block on all social media. Just cut all ties. The truth will come out in the end. Keep a dignified silence. Sounds like youve done nothing wrong.

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 14/06/2019 16:20

Since the friendship isn't working for you, you should end it now. This will inevitably mean falling out with her parents and husband, and I'm slightly surprised that is not obvious to you? I also wonder how it is possible for her to control all your mutual friends?

BearRabbitPants · 14/06/2019 16:21

@BryanAdamsLeftAnkle has it spot on 👌🏼 block block block, delete delete delete. I did the same myself and mine was a 15 year friendship. Life's too short to have toxic people bringing you down.

Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 16:28

No it wasn't completely obvious to me as I have faith in people to be objective where they can be. I'm incredibly close to her parents and never once assumed their friendship came with conditions. They know what she is like and they themselves have been victim of her manipulation many times until the truth came out. She abuses alcohol and acts way out of line then won't take responsibility for her actions, her parents know this. They just don't know anything other than what she's planted in their heads. If I lose their friendship then so be it, but when the truth eventually comes out they are going to see she's played them again. She's done this to numerous friends in the past, it's a pattern she's repeating. I've called her out on it and she doesn't like it.

OP posts:
Peridot1 · 14/06/2019 16:42

It must be hard if you have to see them all so often. I don’t thankfully.

Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 16:49

Yep, it's pretty horrendous when she's stood there with a smug look on her face.

OP posts:
IceQueenCometh · 14/06/2019 16:54

Wow. Block them all, change your Netflix password and trust that people who are worth knowing will see what a nasty piece of work she is and ignore her as well.

If you see her parents just give them a wave and keep walking.

Keep a diary of anything else that she does that comes to your attention in case you have to make a complaint for harassment.

This will blow over, especially if you block them all. They will have no fuel, and there's only so many times she can complain to people that you have blocked her. They won't care. They will probably sympathise with you. Don'e engage with any of them. Who you are friends with on facebook is entirely your decision.

wheresmymojo · 14/06/2019 16:56

She isn't controlling to her husband...she's abusive. If a man was doing the things you say we would call it out as emotional abuse/coercive control.

She's clearly got some significant issues - this is unlikely to change as she is incapable of seeing that she has these issues or how they impact on other people.

She sounds at best toxic, at worst narcissistic.
If you ever call her out she will always turn it around on you and will always play the victim to others.

I have my own friend like this and need to take my own advice!

wheresmymojo · 14/06/2019 17:01

...and I agree with how you're handling it. Don't rise to the gossip.

She will latch on to someone else and eventually do the same thing to them and then people will see that it wasn't you.

As for her family - again, same situation with my friend. Except eventually she played the same game with them so many times even they realised how she was and acknowledged that she probably has some kind of complicated personality disorder(?).

I have no idea...I used to think my friend had borderline personality disorder but having spoken to some people on MN who have BPD they were not convinced it fitted. So now the only thing I see that fits is narcissistic personality disorder.

FuriousVexation · 14/06/2019 17:04

I can't imagine why you were friends with this poisonous, delusional lazy fuckwit in the first place! You are well shot of her. It's a shame to lose the support of her parents but blood is almost always thicker than water in these cases.

carla1983 · 14/06/2019 17:34

Oh my goodness OP, personally I would get rid.

So many things here that you describe are problematic but what she said about your cousin was unforgivable. Drink is not an excuse.

I've had a fair few toxic people in my life blame their behaviour on alcohol. What I've seen consistently with such people is that they go on to disrespect & hurt you even when sober, as your friend has here. Alcohol isn't an excuse. In vino veritas. Alcohol just makes a person more of what they already are and be honest about what they are already thinking.

TeaForTheWin · 14/06/2019 17:43

Block them all. Her parents aren't going to take your side. Ever. And they shouldn't be piggy in the middle. Distance yourself from all of them. And yeah, block them all and + any mutual friends (unless they are genuinely really decent mates) that way she can't spy on you through them. Which she will, because her sort are always seething when people finally get sick of them and walk away (hense the shit stirring she is doing). Booze is not an excuse for her behaviour, maybe people just use it as one to actually be themselves (so they can blame their shitty persona on the drink).

Kaddm · 14/06/2019 17:52

Delete Facebook entirely. They can talk whatever crap they want.

AgentJohnson · 14/06/2019 17:53

I can’t believe you were friends with her as long as you were. People will get bored and she will find some other drama to feed off. However, now you know what those other people felt like when she turned on them but you stood by her. It really was only a matter of time before she turned on you.

Reflect on why you gave this woman so much slack and ride the drama out.

Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 18:15

I didn't know her when she turned on those other friends, it was before she met me. I've just been told since then that she has a pattern of this behaviour. I'd never turn on somebody just because she had, I have my own mind. I feel bad enough that her husband was my friend and he doesn't know she was trying to solicit dick pictures from the one person he despises however, it's their marriage and not my business and she should never have put me in the middle of this only to blame me for it.

OP posts:
Throwaway4today · 14/06/2019 18:16

I'm more of a redditor than a Facebook user, but I have my business on there so can't delete it entirely, not that I would to please her. She is getting removed from it.

OP posts:
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