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I moved away, friendship seems to have completely broken down almost overnight

50 replies

kendallroy · 27/11/2021 10:31

There is a slight backstory to this but I'm not very good at writing it down in massive paragraphs and I don't know what's relevant and what's not.

My problem is the fact that I haven't been in contact with a good friend for just over a month now. We used to text multiple times a week, sometimes daily.

I can't help but feel I'm 'out of sight and out of mind' or that she's pissed off I've moved to the other end of the country.

I want to text her and basically say, it's a shame we seem to have let our friendship break down, and I need advice on how to do that without making things worse.

The friendship could have just come to a natural end, of course.

OP posts:
baileys6904 · 27/11/2021 10:33

Sorry but depends on the back story

Hont1986 · 27/11/2021 10:48

She might be waiting for you to resume contact once you've dealt with all the faff from a big move.

Personally I have found hard to keep up long-distance friendships. I just don't really have anything to say.

Chamomileteaplease · 27/11/2021 11:03

Did you used to meet up in person as well as text? Did you have things in common because you lived near each other?

I just wonder if she thinks there is less reason for the friendship now if you aren't local.

Or it may just be as the PP said, that she is letting you settle in. I would text her without any drama and just see what kind of new relationship grows between you.

lunarlandscape · 27/11/2021 11:10

Some friendships are reliant on day to day gossip and proximity. They will die naturally if you move away. Others are based on shared interests or values - those are likely to last as the catching up matters less, since they're not dependent on daily life.

If I were you I'd get the person a really beautiful Christmas card and hand write a letter with it, telling them about your new life, about how you miss them and inviting them to visit at any time. Then just see how it goes from there.

Viviennemary · 27/11/2021 11:16

Some folk just aren't interested in maintaining friendships when one person moves a distance away. But its not clear if you have been contacting her and she hasn't replied

Monalotmoore · 27/11/2021 11:45

When you move away with the best will in the world we always mean to keep in touch with people but sadly it doesn't always happen.

Polmuggle · 27/11/2021 11:53

Why haven't you text her for a month?

AnneLovesGilbert · 27/11/2021 12:02

How often have you messaged her? Maybe she’s feeling the same. Going for the nuclear option instead of just dropping her a normal chatty message asking her how she is and what she’s been up is very dramatic.

And the back story will be relevant, it always is.

kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:04

@baileys6904

Sorry but depends on the back story
Entirely from my own perspective: (bullets are maybe easier for me)

• we met through our babies when they were around 4ish months old. Hit it off straight away.

• around a year later my husband and I started TTC number 2. I was very open about how anxious it was making me and how I was worrying about it when it was getting to month 9+. She used to ask me things like when was I taking a test and how was I feeling etc. I sometimes didn't find this helpful because I'm actually quite private and TTC was getting me down. I actually wished that I'd kept the whole thing to myself.

• husband and I decided to start IVF around 15 months of trying naturally. Friend had gone through IVF herself and I value her opinion so asked which clinic etc. so this did open up a channel of communication surrounding my IVF. While supportive, again I'm quite private and hate sharing my bad news etc. but I answered her questions about which stage we were at, when was my next scan etc

• first cycle resulted in a positive test. Against my better judgement, we did tell people. Only very close family, and my friend.

• first scan with the IVF clinic is around 7 weeks where we saw a heartbeat but the baby was measuring around a week behind. I completely span out with anxiety and didn't really want to talk about the pregnant until I knew what was happening.

• two weeks later at the next routine IVF scan, sadly the baby had died around 3/4 days after the first scan. This was at Christmas time last year.

• I sent a group text to my close family and my friend saying what had happened and that I didn't want to talk about it. Thanks for their support etc.

• miscarriage management was utterly shit. Husband couldn't come in, but would have had to look after our son anyway. Long waits in the clinic, I took two rounds of the medication but didn't work. Decided to book a private ERPC with my IVF clinic for the new year. I miscarried naturally in the early hours of the 31st Dec.

•Obviously a horrible time and I definitely did shut down communication around pregnancy and IVF. I didn't shut down on any other subject though.

• the new year wasn't kind either, had to have a hycosy, which said I needed a hysteroscopy to make sure there were no retained products before starting IVF again.

• anyway, finally started IVF again and decided absolutely that I didn't want ANYONE to know ANYTHING at all. Nothing personal up anyone. Just prudent to keep my mouth shut until there was actual news of a baby after a 12 week scan or something.

• I believe my friend was incredibly put out by this. She asked me all the time 'how was I doing?' I would reply in general terms 'yeah good, at the park freezing my arse off, how are you?' She would reply asking 'how's IVF?'

• sometimes I would say 'yeah fine' other times I would leave it and start a fresh conversation the next day or whatever. Basically either non-committal or swerve completely.

• this carried on for ages. Second round of IVF did indeed work. Around 10 weeks pregnant, I went round for a catch up and pizza etc. restrictions had largely lifted too.

• we got into a conversation where I ended up apologising for not being more open about what was happening, but it wasn't personal, and everything is fine.

• I was itching to tell her about my pregnancy, but I was waiting for NIPT results and it wasn't the right time. Anyway, she needled and needled and was clearly angry that I wasn't budging. She even said something like 'well I'm not just anyone'

OP posts:
BalloonSlayer · 27/11/2021 12:05

I always end up coming on these threads to say the same thing: if you move away the other person sees it as a rejection (they have left me!) The onus is on the person who moved away to try to keep the friendship going, to reassure them that they have not been rejected.

kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:10

Posted that before I lost it all.

Continued:

• around this same time we completed on a new house in a new city and she couldn't be less interested despite talking about nothing else when she moved only 2 months previously.

• some comments where made such as 'oh we won't be able to go on holiday' which I found odd, because I can still catch flights..!

• moving day comes, no card or interest etc despite me sending one

OP posts:
kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:11

More recently no condolence card after I lost my beloved grandmother quite suddenly

OP posts:
kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:11

I'm posting erratically because I'm eating

OP posts:
DaisyNGO · 27/11/2021 12:18

OP "I was itching to tell her about my pregnancy, but I was waiting for NIPT results and it wasn't the right time. Anyway, she needled and needled and was clearly angry that I wasn't budging. She even said something like 'well I'm not just anyone'"

Oh, that's bad, she's no respecter of privacy...

Helpstopthepain · 27/11/2021 12:20

Have you made contact with her?

CSJobseeker · 27/11/2021 12:27

You seem to blame her for your choices to share information with her in the past. That isn't her fault. Asking how you are was probably her way of showing concern, and it's not her fault you shared news about your pregnancy with her.

Of course she was more interested in her own move than yours. I bet the same applies to you too. Just because you sending moving day cards doesn't mean everyone else does. It's not the norm.

You seem determined to think badly of her, and assume that she has frozen you out. But you also haven't texted her. On that basis, I don't think you want to continue the friendship, so best to just let it die. Sending her an arsey text when she hasn't really done anything wrong would not reflect well on you.

Mittenmob · 27/11/2021 12:27

@kendallroy

More recently no condolence card after I lost my beloved grandmother quite suddenly
As sad as this is, I wouldn't expect a condolence card from anyone for losing a grandparent as an adult.

I'd say she feels like you shut her out of everything and the added distance makes.it harder to connect and read intent/tone in messages. I would either let it die or make a huge effort to go and meet her.

AurevoirLesEnfants · 27/11/2021 12:30

She sounds a bit much tbh. Are you sure you think it's worth making huge efforts to stay close friends? Funny that she was so full on and them suddenly not there at all though.

kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:31

@CSJobseeker

You seem to blame her for your choices to share information with her in the past. That isn't her fault. Asking how you are was probably her way of showing concern, and it's not her fault you shared news about your pregnancy with her.

Of course she was more interested in her own move than yours. I bet the same applies to you too. Just because you sending moving day cards doesn't mean everyone else does. It's not the norm.

You seem determined to think badly of her, and assume that she has frozen you out. But you also haven't texted her. On that basis, I don't think you want to continue the friendship, so best to just let it die. Sending her an arsey text when she hasn't really done anything wrong would not reflect well on you.

You seem to blame her for your choices to share information with her in the past.

I don't blame her. I 'blame' her for not respecting that I didn't want to share information again second time around. I blame myself for being too open the first time.

OP posts:
CSJobseeker · 27/11/2021 12:31

I imagine your friend could write:

"My problem is the fact that I haven't been in contact with a good friend for just over a month now. We used to text multiple times a week, sometimes daily.

I can't help but feel I'm 'out of sight and out of mind' or that she's pissed off and embarassed because she obviously shared personal things with me in the past and regretted it, even though I didn't betray her confidence. She was very standoffish with me for a while before she moved away, which I think was due to that."

Sittingonabench · 27/11/2021 12:32

I suspect she feels the friendship is based around your shared experiences in relation to motherhood and supporting each other through pregnancy. With you moving the play dates will have stopped and your (completely understandable) wish to be private about pregnancy issues may make her think the basis of the friendship is weak. I would just get in touch and tell her how much you value your friendship and would like it to continue x

kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:32

@CSJobseeker

I imagine your friend could write:

"My problem is the fact that I haven't been in contact with a good friend for just over a month now. We used to text multiple times a week, sometimes daily.

I can't help but feel I'm 'out of sight and out of mind' or that she's pissed off and embarassed because she obviously shared personal things with me in the past and regretted it, even though I didn't betray her confidence. She was very standoffish with me for a while before she moved away, which I think was due to that."

Why would I be embarrassed? Anxious and grieving, yes, embarrassed??

I was stand offish around one subject. Not in genera.

OP posts:
kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:34

@Sittingonabench

I suspect she feels the friendship is based around your shared experiences in relation to motherhood and supporting each other through pregnancy. With you moving the play dates will have stopped and your (completely understandable) wish to be private about pregnancy issues may make her think the basis of the friendship is weak. I would just get in touch and tell her how much you value your friendship and would like it to continue x
Thank you, I think you're probably spot on.
OP posts:
CSJobseeker · 27/11/2021 12:35

I was putting it from your friends perspective, not yours.

Surely you can put yourself in her shoes? From her perspective, she bonded with you over motherhood and both going through IVF etc.

kendallroy · 27/11/2021 12:38

@kendallroy

More recently no condolence card after I lost my beloved grandmother quite suddenly
I also didn't hear from her for a week after telling her I'd lost my grandmother. When I did hear from her it was an after thought of sorts after telling me about how early she'd be woken that day.

I'm just a bit hurt that I have listened to literally hours of her talking about her inter-familial relationships etc.

OP posts: