10 People Who Realized Their Friends Were Fake

Friendship breakups can be just as painful as romantic ones, experts warn. 💔 In this article, 10 people reveal the painful turning points when their trust crumbled. From small disappointments to shocking betrayals, see how one single thing can shatter lifelong bonds.

• I had a traumatic birth where I didn’t know if my baby would live or die. I called my best friend of 20 years to come and be with me. She said, “Sorry, I can’t. I’m really sick.”
  Days later, I was shattered to find out that she wasn’t sick. She just had a date. She chose someone she barely knew over being there for me in the worst moment of my life.
  Twenty years of memories, sleepovers, secrets, being each other’s "person"—and when I needed her most, I got this. I’ve never heard from her again. © Irene / Bright Side

• We planned a trip to another country, where she happened to have an online relationship with a guy who also lived there. The moment we arrived off the plane, and she found her BF, that was the last I saw of her until the end of the trip, where we met at the airport. Very awkward experience, she also wanted him to join us in the hotel room, and was upset when I refused to allow him in.
  Once we got back home from the trip, I never heard from her again. © iwokeuplikethis_001 / Reddit

• I got a Canon camera for Christmas one year. It was a huge gift and I was thrilled. My friend, who “knows cameras,” wanted to see it and made some rude comments about how it’s far from top of the line but good for “a beginner.”
  He ejected the memory card, then forced it back in, breaking the little metal prongs that hold it in place. It never worked again, and he absolutely refused to take responsibility for it. I’d had it for less than a month. © KitchenSwillForPigs / Reddit

• I called my best friend to tell her I was engaged. We’d shared every milestone together, so I thought she’d be over the moon. So she was. She hugged me, smiled widely, and said all the right things.
  The next day, someone sent me screenshots of her messages where she called my fiancé “boring” and said, “Give it a year, she’ll regret it.” 5 years later, still happily married, 2 kids. © Veronica / Bright Side

• I love cooking. One of my closest friends asked me to cook for a party she was hosting at her house. She said she wanted to impress her guests, and I agreed, but I only told her I’d need her to cover the ingredients since it wasn’t my event. She said that we shouldn’t even discuss it.
  After the party, I handed her the receipt—about $200. She suddenly said I should cover it as a “gift” because I enjoyed cooking. When I refused, she said that I’m not a real friend if I can’t do such a small thing for her. That day, our friendship was over. © Kim / Bright Side

• As a gift for my 40th birthday, my husband was taking me to Europe. I said the only way it’d be better is if I brought my two besties with me. He made it happen. We saved for over a year.
  We paid for the plane tickets, all meals, and tours. We had such a great time. There were no tense moments. I have literally hundreds of photos. This was a dream come true.
  That all changed when we returned home. I called to check on my friend “Joe” to make sure he got home safe. I was met with one-word responses and a hurried reason to cut the conversation short. I chalked it up to fatigue. But every time I reached out afterward, I was met with the same short, dry, disinterested response.
  I turned to my other friend, and she informed me that “Joe” thought I was “being weird” and “kinda difficult” on the trip. I asked about these incidents, and she couldn’t give me an example. I have messaged “Joe” to hear it from him, and he has never spoken to me since. © Consistent_Number602 / Reddit

• Two years ago, as a single mom, I was excited to finally see my good friend after months apart. I hired a babysitter, drove an hour to her place, and waited outside as she was on her way home. She showed up half an hour late, bringing her married boyfriend and her daughter, who was 4 at the time.
  Right after walking in, they both went outside “to grab something from the car.” Half an hour passed, and I was still sitting there with her kid. I called her, but she didn’t pick up. I sent her a text saying I was going to leave in five minutes, and her daughter would stay alone.
  In a couple of minutes, she showed up. I was horrified when she said, “I always knew you weren’t a real friend. So dramatic.” Not like I was paying a babysitter so she could run off with her affair. Yeah, that was the final straw. © Kate / Bright Side

• Had a friend I used to go running with every week. One week, his girlfriend answers his phone and says they’re having some alone time. He shows up the next week, embarrassed.
  A few weeks later, he completely ghosts us. Then his Facebook page got deleted, and her page became an “us” page. Our entire social circle was unfriended over the course of a week.
  My wife and I saw them again about two years later. They had an infant, and she (the girlfriend) looked absolutely poisoned to see us. © Beowulf33232 / Reddit

• I lost my engagement ring, and it broke me. It wasn’t just expensive—it carried all the meaning of my relationship. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find it.
  Half a year later, I was pregnant, and my friend, who is a photographer, offered to do a maternity photoshoot for me. I went to her place, and we were chatting about poses and ideas. As we talked, I noticed her hand, and there it was—my ring. My heart sank.
  At first, I didn’t say anything. I thought that it couldn’t be happening, and the ring just looked the same as mine. But it was a weird feeling. So I said something like, “Oh, you know, I lost my engagement ring recently, and it looked the same. So weird.”
  She laughed nervously and said her boyfriend had given it to her. I tried to brush it off, saying, “No problem, mine just looked the same.” But it was too unique to be a coincidence. A few minutes later, she admitted she needed to “clear things up” with her boyfriend.
  Turns out, he had found the ring in their car and just gave it to her. And she took it without any thought to ask if it belonged to someone else. I suppose that it slipped out of my finger when we were going out together, but the whole situation was very awkward, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was very wrong.
  She tried to reach out several times, but I declined. Eventually, we had a talk where I explained to her what was going on. She said it was a stupid coincidence, and she couldn’t believe that I thought she stole it. We never talked again. © Anna / Bright Side

• Decided 5 seconds before my wedding ceremony that she no longer wanted to be my maid of honor or even in the wedding after an argument with a couple of my other bridesmaids.
  She was the only one not ready and threw a fit about the cupcakes being displayed weirdly, so a couple of the other girls were like, “Okay, go fix it, then.” And she slammed the door and threw a whole temper tantrum in front of my husband and his groomsmen, where they were hanging out before the ceremony began.
  It was wild, and we haven’t spoken since. We went to high school together and texted and hung out regularly, too, so it was pretty sad throwing away a friendship over something that silly. © Meatloafisdisgusting / Reddit

Friendship breakups sting because they remind us that trust can vanish in a heartbeat. But friends aren’t the only ones who can cross the line—parents sometimes do, too. In fact, some moms and dads treat boundaries like suggestions, and the fallout can be just as jaw-dropping. Up next: 11 Parents Who Took Boundaries Too Far.