17 Friendships That Didn’t Stand the Test of Life

A good friendship is when there is a person with whom you feel easy, calm, and really warm. But sometimes everything goes wrong: a friend starts sucking your energy, always complains or competes, as if you were participants in some kind of marathon. Such relationships are exhausting, even if from the outside everything looks fine.

In this article, there are 17 stories about friends who showed their true colors. Let’s read, recognize familiar types, and learn to set boundaries in time.

• I had 2 friends. One of them, who was divorced, needed money for an operation, and the second friend gave it, then she helped the poor woman with clothes and financially. So, the first one repaid the second one by having an affair with her husband.
  When I asked her, “How could you?!” — she blithely said, “What’s the big deal? I just tried it!” The first friend divorced her husband in the end, though not because of that. © Xatira71 / Pikabu
• My friend and I, both 30, went to Turkey. We met 2 men and started hanging out together. And on the third day, the one that I liked, began to avoid me, although the day before he hinted at love.
  I cornered him, and he said, “Your friend said that you have 3 children from different husbands, and you’re vacationing here on their alimony. I’m not ready for that.”
  The cherry on the cake is that I don’t have children, while my friend has 2 (stayed with her parents while we were there). Although, what kind of friend she is to me now... And we are still in touch with that guy.
• The friend has a son, he is a year younger than my daughter. When my daughter was 5 years old, I was a correspondence student and went away for a session, and came home for the weekend.
  On my return home, I bought her a brightly colored ball. She liked it very much, so she wouldn’t let it out of her hands. Then this friend came to visit me with her son. The son began to shout, demanding that my daughter gave him the ball.
  My friend took me aside and said, “Take the ball away from her and give it to my son. And I’ll give you the money for the ball, because he’s crying.” I, of course, was stunned by this arrangement.
  I said, “How do you imagine it? I take away the ball, a gift from the mother, whom she hasn’t seen for a week, and give it to your son? He’ll stop crying, but what’s my daughter gonna feel?” The friend was upset with me. The ex-friend now. © Kstepa / Pikabu

• A childhood friend came to visit me for 2 weeks, and it was horrible. She complained constantly, telling me in detail about what pain she had, what pills she was taking for it and all that sort of stuff.
  She didn’t want to do anything but sit and play games on my tablet. She saw my chat with my daughters there and started commenting on it.
  She hardly ever showered, explaining, “I don’t go outside, so I don’t sweat.” It was disgusting! All in all, it was a very long 2 weeks. I think I need a therapist now. © Candy Welsh-Payne / Quora
• I had a friend. She always asked me to take her dog to the vet, or to take her to the hypermarket for groceries and then help her carry them to her flat, or to pick something up somewhere and bring it to her. I didn’t mind — I had a car, and she didn’t. Of course, no one ever gave me money for the fuel.
  But one day she needed to bring bags of manure to the vegetable garden. I refused, as I didn’t really want to clean the trunk afterwards, as I had just washed the car. But she wouldn’t give up and told me to take my husband’s car. I said, “Why doesn’t your husband bring you this manure if it’s that urgent?” My friend shamelessly said that they didn’t want to wash their car afterwards, and it would stink.
  So, they don’t want to do it, and I apparently enjoy it — awesome logic. I don’t work a free taxi anymore. And I’ve minimized my contact with her. © Nychtotakoe123 / Pikabu
• I have 2 friends from college. And now one of them is getting married. On the weekend, the bride and I went to a bridal salon (the third friend was at work). We picked out a few dresses, and the friend asked me to take pictures of her in these outfits on her phone and to send the photos and videos to her mother.
  I was getting the camera ready when a text from the other friend came through. I didn’t mean to click on it and was instantly going to close it when I saw one of my Instagram pictures in their private chat from earlier that morning. Both were making fun of me for the face I was making and my outfit choice. It didn’t appear to be very good nature.
  I admit, curiosity got the best of me, so I searched my name in the chat. I found multiple pictures that I, my boyfriend or my mom have posted of myself, absolutely ripping them to shreds. They’d also make fun of me in general in terms of the way I talked, wore my hair and the way I ate. This went back, as far as I could tell, at least a year.
  I put her phone in the bride’s purse and left. I drove home and cried. Then the bride called me to find out where I had left, and I honestly told her everything. So she started to get indignant, “You had no right to read it! It’s none of your business!”
  Then she started saying that “we didn’t mean anything bad” and in general, “I invited you to my wedding because I love you.” The other friend also called me later and said that I had invaded someone else’s privacy and offended the bride. My boyfriend and my mom think I did the right thing. But I’m not so sure anymore... © Necessary-Wall-6446 / Reddit

• I am angry because a friend and her daughter have come to visit me from another country. I met them perfectly, took them everywhere, showed them everything, fed them breakfast and dinner both at home and in restaurants. And this is despite the fact that my baby is still a toddler.
  And today we went to the park. A friend paid the entrance fee, and her 13-year-old daughter asked, “Why are we paying for you?” And the mom didn’t even bother to explain to her that I used to pay for everything. It just pissed me off! © Upadi2403 / Pikabu
• My husband left for my sister. Of course, I shared it with my friend, cried. Then everything seemed to get better: with difficulty I forgave him.
  After a while, my friend said loudly in front of our other friends that I am infertile, and my husband cheated on me with my sister. It was completely insane. It hurt like hell. I was betrayed by the 3 people closest to me. We stopped communicating.
  Then she apologized — I was sorry to lose so many years. I asked her why she said that. She said it wasn’t on purpose, but I couldn’t forgive her. A year later, my husband and I had a beautiful son. © olyshok / Pikabu
• I am a single mum of 2 children (6 years and 5 months). This is my conscious choice. I am lucky to have a good job (I’m a French teacher at a private school) and my own house. I took a year off to recover from childbirth and bond with my children. Sometimes I work part-time as a tutor, but it’s optional.
  My friend became a mom 2 months ago. She is the breadwinner in the family, and her husband has been unemployed for a year. And about 10 days ago, she started to hint that she can’t afford daycare, and she needed to return to work.
  Then she started making remarks about how I probably have a lot of free time (yeah, with 2 small children!). And then she said directly, “How about you babysit my child while I’m at work? One more, one less — what’s the difference?”
  I refused and said, “Your husband doesn’t work — let him take care of the baby!” And she was like, “He’s not very good with kids. He can’t do it.” So, I said no again.
  My friend ended up calling me heartless and blocking me everywhere. And for some reason, I feel guilty. © Fresh-Cucumber-980 / Reddit

• For the last 3 years I’ve lost 170 pounds and all my friends. When I was 300 pounds, my friends were happy to invite me to visit them, as well as to come to my place, to introduce me to their husbands and friends, or to invite me to joint holidays to the sea.
  Now, when I am 120 pounds, nobody invites me anywhere and on my invitations, they come up with hundreds of excuses: there is no time, there is no money, the husband of my sister’s friend with the family asked me to go to the seaside with them, sorry. That’s the way it is. © Overheard / VK
• My friend invited me to “go to her country house,” and I found myself unloading boards from her car, while she was looking at me with the dissatisfied face. She has a husband and an adult son.
  As I recall, the friend was showing them how independent she was. At my expense, apparently, but I didn’t know that. Neither did they.
  To me, she once again demonstrated that I was a fool. After that, I finally drifted away from this “friendship.” © MyNotes / Pikabu
• I am 7 months pregnant. I have been driving my friend to work for the last year, but I am going on maternity leave next month, and it makes a problem for her. She can’t drive and there are no relatives around to help her. I told her I wouldn’t get up at 6 a.m. to drive her to work during my maternity leave.
  And today a friend suggested a brilliant plan: she wants my partner to drive her, since he is to blame for my “interesting situation.” He’d have to get up an hour early and make a detour for it. I’m not even gonna ask him to do that! I refused my friend, and now she’s trying to guilt me and keeps insisting I just ask and won’t drop it. © throwawayaita278902 / Reddit

• A now ex-friend of mine once complained that she had no money and I had such beautiful outfits! We’re the same size. I brought her some clothes that I no longer wear, in a very good condition. She picked through the pile and said, resentfully, “I thought you were going to buy me new ones...”
  I grabbed my clothes and headed for the door. She said indignantly, “Where are you going with my stuff?” Then she blocked me everywhere: she was offended that she didn’t get any outfits in the end. © Stuxinya / ADME
• At university, I had a friend — the best in the group, smart, active, all the things. I invited her to my place for a sleepover, and she said that her mom wouldn’t let her go. I was a little confused: the young lady is already 22 years old, how can her mother not let her go?
  I asked her why her mom wouldn’t let her go. And the friend was like, “Well, you live in the suburbs, it’s not safe there. What if we’re sitting there in the evening and someone breaks into your flat?”
  I was even more confused. I said that I have a door in my flat, and for 22 years of my life no one has ever broken in. And when my friend found out that I have a gas stove in my flat, she looked at me as if I was crazy, “How do you live with a gas stove? It’s dangerous!”
  The funniest thing was that her mother let her go to a party in a country house with 3 men, because there are men there, if anything — they will protect her. After this story, our communication came to naught. © Overheard / VK
• A friend refused to go to my anniversary because the daycare fees increased, she had to pay for a driver’s license, and other expenses. She didn’t want to come without a gift. Okay, I get it.
  We celebrated my birthday only with family, I didn’t invite anyone. And today she sent me a photo of her new car... © Overheard / VK

• We were 3 friends. One was getting married. She didn’t invite me. I didn’t understand why. Then I moved to another city.
  Years later, I came back and found out the reason — it turned out that, according to the second friend, I was not invited to the wedding because she was very jealous of her fiancé. She was afraid that he would fall in love with me. I was shocked. I had never even seen him and had never stolen other people’s boyfriends.
  It was very hurtful. Later she wrote to me, apologizing, saying she was a fool. I answered her coldly, and we never spoke again. If she had apologized then, in the heat of the moment, I would have forgiven her, I’m a forgiving person. But time has passed. Sometimes it’s too late to apologize. © V.Bezobraziee / Pikabu
• A friend was having money difficulties, and her child was growing quickly. I packed up my son’s clothes.
  And later I came across an ad with pictures of these things. I thought, well, she needed money. But then I met her on the street and, it turns out, the kid is wearing a torn jacket, which is clearly too small for him, his shoes are almost wrapped with the tape, and she has a new phone.
  I couldn’t stand it, so I asked her directly. And she just shrugged. How can you sell things that were meant for your child and buy yourself a phone? © Mamdarinka / VK

And these stories here prove that friendship between men and women can be quite unpredictable.