Friendships are just as hard to keep as they are to make. Once you've built a bridge of friendship with someone, it becomes the responsibility of both you and that person to put in the necessary work to maintain them. Friendships are delicate, so the moment that one side (or both) begins to neglect those maintenance efforts, the connection will start to deteriorate. Sometimes, it happens with gradually, while other times, a single breach of trust can ruin everything in an instant. People from around the world took to the internet to share their friendship betrayal stories and they are all as juicy as you'd expect them to be. From heartless double agents to secret haters, these tales will surely have you inspecting your own friendships for any weak spots:
#1 Stealing Business
My husband and I had a friend that we helped get back on his feet. We paid off some tickets he had, got his license reinstated, hooked him up with a solid connection for a reasonable, well-running car to replace his beater, AND gave him a place to live and a job (automotive repair)... He then decided it was a better choice to tell all our customers we were overcharging them and that he’d do the jobs cheaper if they’d bring it to him at his house (this was a short time after he moved out of our house, after never repaying anything he owed us. Not that we’d asked). Broke my heart...
#2 Unfaithful Wife
My wife said she needed some time for herself so she went to stay at her mom’s for a while. One day, I went to pick up my kids and walked in on her and my best friend in my bed. Turns out, it had been going on for a while and she knew him before she knew me (which I had no clue about). I'm prompted to conduct a DNA test on the kids. I hope the results don’t break my heart.
#3 Competitive Self-Centeredness
Years ago, when I was studying towards a health-sciences undergraduate degree, most of the cohort was determined to get into medical school. Our medical school program mainly accepted students from only our competitive undergraduate course, due to subject prerequisites. We all knew each other and were friendly, hanging out together and forming study groups.
Many of my friends were great—we shared tips, resources, practiced exams and interviews together. But there were a handful who really wanted to get into medical school, and since the program ranks applicants mainly based on undergraduate results, the better your friends perform, the lower your ranking is for selection.
So near application time, some of us would head off to the university library to borrow out textbooks to find chapters or page numbers that the lecturer mentioned would be on the exam. And they would be ripped out. You'd go and find another library copy of the textbook, and that page would be ripped out too. All of them, totally removed in a hurry.
I didn't believe that someone from our cohort did it until the interview practice began. Students began obtaining copies of the questions from previous years and lying when others asked if they had it. I saw someone give a terrible, awful interview answer and the other student would give them glowing feedback and inform them they should say that, word-for-word, during the interview. It was a mess and a lot of relationships fell apart or were never the same again.
#4 From Godfather To Real Father
I had a good bud of mine, who's the godfather of my son, live with me and my wife. I travel a lot for work, and I was out of the country for about six months in the Middle East. I came back and found out she was pregnant, with twins, and that they weren't mine.
#5 Turning The Focus
My mother told me she was sick of being with my dad. She told me a bunch of things he'd done which made her afraid of him. She asked me to tell a few of her close friends about how she was being treated because she wanted them to understand why she was leaving. Then she decided to stay with him. So she told her friends that she had no idea what was wrong with me, but they should pray for me because it looked like I was going through something.
#6 Hey, Soul Sister
My best friend since fourth grade. I called her my soul sister. I genuinely was so grateful to have what I thought our friendship was. She fell on hard times, got weirdly religious, and stopped working while going to a private university. I was always there for her—I was a shoulder to cry on, I visited her all the time because she didn’t have any friends and I knew she was lonely, helped her with groceries and rent, and even helped her family out. One day, she came over and after buying her groceries, she told me a higher power had been telling her to cut me off for two years and she had to listen. Now she wants to be friends again. Nope.
#7 Respect Yourself
I asked two of my friends if they wanted to live together in college. Then, one of them asked another person in our friend group if he wanted to join in as well. Then they asked another... and another. And then once there were too many people for one apartment, they dropped me out of it. I'm no longer "friends" with any of them. It was kind of a wake-up call though because I definitely gave way too much of myself to those people not knowing that I was the most expendable one. It really taught me not to put others on a pedestal and respect myself more. It has since led to me developing far more healthy relationships that bring me a lot of happiness.
#8 Rock Bottom
My best friend stopped talking to me after my dad passed away. He took the whole friend group with him. Apparently, I was “too emotional.” I was 13. Having my entire friend group walk away from me when I was in such a terrible place in my life stuck with me forever.
#9 Unfriendly Manipulation
Several of my housemates decided to move to the west coast after college. There was one who was planning on going with them that they didn't want to keep living with. They waited to tell her until after they had driven out over spring break to look at apartments—in her car. Pretty gross, and it really messed with her. They told her after they got back.
#10 The Letter
In seventh grade, she wrote a 10-page letter on all the reasons I should end myself and had all but one of my friends sign in agreement after I confided in her that I felt like something was wrong with me (early undiagnosed depression—go figure). The day she gave it to me was arguably the worst day of my life at the point because my parents told my sister and me that they were considering divorce and my grandmother passed away.
#11 The Village Gossip
I had one friend who honestly wasn't my favorite person because she was really manipulative, but I never said anything bad about her. I found out that she had been talking bad about me to all of our mutual friends and telling them all that I did horrible things that I never did. I ended up essentially being pushed out of that entire friend group and it ruined a lot of my high school experience.
#12 The Source
I had one friend. I was bullied by everyone at elementary school. Because my friend John would also be bullied when he hung out with me at school, we only played outside of school. One day, a popular kid asked to play with me during recess. I was ecstatic! Until after a while, they said, "You're not as bad as John said you are." And that's how I learned WHY I was bullied.
#13 Glue In The Chair
I had some "friends" who were always talking badly about me. I found out from another good friend. One day, I came to school in my brand new jeans that cost around $150 and they put glue on my chair while I was in the bathroom. I sat on it. I asked which one of them did it, and neither of them said a word. We went to the principal's office and these guys had the nerve to say that I put it there to get them in trouble. Their parents were called and I earned around $200, plus a new pair of jeans.
#14 How To Grieve
My friends told me to “grieve better” after my boyfriend died. Some people are just terrible dealing with grieving. They're great for a little while, but at some point, it just becomes an irritation whenever it's brought up. Grief gives no cares. It'll hit you, fade, then hit, then fade, then mostly settle down. Then seven Christmases later, it shows up in a panic attack. It's different for everyone, and often different for every death.
#15 A Friend For Entertainment
I was friends with a guy who seemed like a good mate when it was just us, and then as soon as there was someone else, or a group, he tried to make me the butt of all jokes. It was even worse if there were girls around. After a while, I called him out on it, and he was just like, "Dude, it's just a joke," but I was done with him after that. I saw him randomly earlier this year, after years of no contact, and it was amicable. We caught up a bit on how we're getting on with our lives, and while he has grown up and become a bit more grounded, there's been no intention of rebuilding a bridge. I think if I ever met someone who has that side to their personality, I'd drop them like a hot potato.
#16 Defend Yourself
A "quiet" girl I became friends with would only sit with me in class just so she can snitch about me to my ex-friends. She would literally sit next to me for one or two classes, then go sit with them after. I called her out on it after she came to sit next to me and asked her, “Why do you even bother sitting with me when we both know you’re just trying to gather things to talk about me with them? When I come back from the bathroom, you better go sit somewhere else.” I was usually very quiet and that was the first time I stood up for myself.
#17 The Wrong Pick
In high school, I hung out with a person who I thought was my best friend. We were almost inseparable. Our favorite band at the time was Good Charlotte and they were on tour. She got tickets and forced a third party friend who didn't even like them to go with her instead of me. Not saying she owed me, but if it was me, I would take my best friend who likes the band instead of someone who doesn't want to be bothered. It always sat wrong with me.
#18 It Gets Better
I told a friend a secret in high school. "I suffer from major depression and social anxiety. Don't tell anyone, I'm seeing a therapist." That took a lot for me to say. I was making progress. My friend proceeded to tell the entire class. People thought I was crazy. That's highschool. I stopped being friends with the few friends I had. I was more alone. I graduated from high school with zero friends. Thanks. Don't worry though, in college I blossomed into a bearded man with no fears. Life has been great ever since.
#19 An Unexpected Gift
I have Asperger's and as a result, I seem to attract narcissists. Both my best friend in high school and my first wife were narcissists. My wife and I were having issues and we decided to try a trial separation. My high school friend slept with my wife two days after we separated. At the time, I thought it was a betrayal, but years later realize it was a gift, as I had a reason to cut two toxic people out of my life.
#20 Switching Sides
A woman I thought was my friend appeared in court as a witness for my ex-wife in her bid to gain full custody. THANKFULLY, she failed and I now have custody of my kids. We worked together for a year—our kids were friends, I helped her and her husband out when he was having mental health problems, and she was at my sister's wedding party. Now I don't speak to her anymore.
#21 Pokemon Fallout
I remember I got a holographic Charizard when I was a kid and I was so excited to show it off at school the next day. Then, about halfway through the day, it went missing. I looked EVERYWHERE and I could not find it. I was super bummed out. The very next day, this kid named Marcelo, who I thought was a friend, showed up with his own Charizard. I couldn't prove it was mine, but I knew in my heart that it was. The timing was just too convenient.
#22 Bunch Of No-Shows
Just happened today actually. I threw a housewarming party for myself and invited 20 friends and family over. Its been five hours and no one has shown up or bothered to call. I specified no gifts and supplied about $250 worth of food and drinks that'll go to waste now.
#23 Ruined By Rumors
I was in the hospital having my first child. Two of my friends were going around telling anyone who would listen that my boyfriend wasn't the father. My boyfriend never doubted me and our son looks just like a mini version of him. 15 years and three more kids later, the boyfriend is now my husband and those "friends" have been out of our lives for a long time now.
#24 A Devastating Blow
Not a friend, but a sister. I had this enormous crush on this guy. I was too shy to talk to him and just adored him from afar. My sister told me to "be his secret admirer" so that he could get to know me. For a month, I put notes and cards in his car a few times a week. One weekend, my sister and I went out and I saw him. I pointed him out and told her that he was the guy I'm in love with. She told me she was going to go talk to him about me and get us hooked up. I waited for thirty minutes, but she never returned. I went inside the restaurant and found her making out with him. That was a devastating blow.
#25 He Chose The Girl
A friend of mine knew I had a crush on a girl and he kept giving me courage to get at her. A few weeks later, I found out (from another friend) that they were (sort of) dating. The bottom line is that, after all that mess was sorted out, the girl started dating the other guy.
#26 An Unstable Person
I decided to be friends with this girl that was crying. It was ok at first. Then, she started to show signs of insanity. She wouldn’t let me hang out with anyone else and she started to cry whenever I would leave her. I, being naive, decided to stay with her. This continued until she literally punched one of my friends because I decided to hang out with them for a day instead of her. I tried to break it off, but then she wouldn’t let me. She eventually threatened to end me and our parents got involved.
#27 Spinning The Story
My "friend" stole the $3,000 I loaned to him during a hard time in his life. 10 years of friendship to freaking trash. He then started telling everyone I owed him from all the good things he and his family did for me. I hate him and his family now for being jerks, and above that, they call themselves decent Christians.
#28 Rage Issues
A girl I knew in college invited me over with her friends to watch Supernatural or something like it. I wasn't a fan of the show or whatever. Afterward, I was like, "It was alright." I thought she was fine with this. She was not. She smashed a lamp into my face. It didn't break, but it did hurt. She kept telling me how wrong I was. Her friends told me she is just like that.
#29 The First Betrayal
My roommate, whom I had supported through and basically coached to finish his first marathon when no one else showed up, worked behind my back to get my girlfriend to break up with me at the time. He was the first in a long line of people to betray me and for reasons that I can never understand.
#30 Out Of My Life
My ex broke up with me and never gave me a reason why. I then ended up at a Halloween social with my now ex-friend and she went home with him so they could get intimate. Turns out, she called him and told him that I cheated so she could get with him. Glad that mess is out of my life.
#31 Cut Them Out
My 20-year friend decided to start gaslighting me despite knowing I have extreme anxiety issues. I begged and begged him to cut it out for four freaking years, but he wouldn't. When I asked why he said it was funny watching me get upset, he just shrugged. I didn't want to lose my only friends, but I had to make the decision to be alone and mentally sane. They still blame me and talk badly about me behind my back.
#32 Already Down
I had a mental breakdown in college and spent a weekend on a mandatory hold in the psych ward. When I got out, I found out a close "friend" of mine was telling mutuals all about what happened and how crazy I was. She claimed she was just concerned and was trying to get advice. Its been almost four years and I haven't spoken to her since. Don't kick a person while they're down. Sheesh.
#33 Meaningless Fight
I loaned her $4k to fix her car. I let her wear my shoes and clothes. She started fighting with me for no reason, then blocked me on her phone. After a while, she started harassing me in public and threatening me. I got tired and got a temporary restraining order. We went to court for a permanent one a few weeks later. Her mom was at the hearing. She tried to slander me and paint me as a violent person, which I am not. Meanwhile, this girl has thrown chairs at bars at other girls. Out of respect for her mom, I didn’t say all this. Finally, I got a three-year permanent order. Screw her.
#34 Cut Her Out
Years ago, I was 18 and pregnant. My ex (the child’s father) and I were trying to work things out. My best friend was friends with him too. I suspected something was going on and sure enough, I was right. They had been sleeping together behind my back for months. When I found out for sure and confronted her, she flipped out on me and acted totally different than her usual self. It turned into a hugely stressful, hurtful ordeal. The entire school found out and it was so much drama. I ended up going into pre-term labor because of it. Needless to say, the ex and I didn’t work things out and my “best friend” was cut out completely.
#35 Worthless Humans
My friend told the whole school that my dad hurt me. He was never my friend. He was motivated to spread the rumors by some girl in my science class who hated my guts for some unknown reason. "We don't have to kick her butt, her dad can do it for us." Those words have rung in my head for the past 11 years. I no longer maintain friendships with those people.
#36 Changing Plans
My friend wanted me to meet him at the bar with some friends on his birthday. I left work at 11 p.m. plus took an hour drive to meet him at the bar. He wasn't there—I called him for 15 minutes with no answer. He finally answered and said he went to a different bar. It ruined my day and effectively our friendship. It might just be me, but I have no patience when it comes to that stuff.
#37 Taking Sides
I had a twisted relationship with someone that went sour. My friend didn't know this person that well but immediately started taking their side, to the point where even if I pointed out things that didn't seem correct in the persons behavior they ignored it and pressed the issue in a different way. I felt worse that I lost someone that I thought was a friend that day than the person I was having the issues with.
#38 Left In The Cold
My friend literally left me out in the cold. One Christmas, we were arranging drinks on a group chat—lots of people were busy so only three people plus myself could come. One of these was Dave, and we agreed to meet at a village near his house. The day before the drinks, Dave cancelled. Okay, not a huge deal. He says he's having a family dinner that evening.
I arrived at the village the next day and got texts from both the remaining friends that there was a train accident and it was causing big delays. One of them wasn't coming and the other would be an hour late. So I called Dave and asked, "Hi, this has happened, can I come round yours while I wait?" He said no. I said I didn't want to disrupt his family meal, but it was cold outside. He still said no, that it would be too disruptive. I was stunned and went to wait in the bar on my own for an hour. We'd been friends for years but I haven't spoken to him since.
#39 Forming A Hate Club
They took my ex's side without even asking me the full story and then decided to form a hate club. He wasn't even a source of reliable information because the stuff they were talking about happened when he was blacked out on prescription pills... A legit source of info for sure...
#40 Bad Boss
I had someone who was a boss and friend bring me on as an occasional contributor to a more extensive role. He told me I was making equal pay to someone who was in the almost exact same role, but originally joined after I did. I found out last night that the other person has always made twice what I make.
#41 Proving A Point
My “best friend” would tell guys to act as if they liked me to prove that I would like anyone that showed interest in me. This went on for a couple of years and her sister kept track of it in a book.
#42 Always Abandoned
Nothing that dramatic. People tend to abandon me when I'm at my lowest. Maybe I drive them away, I don't know, but nobody I really count on ever stays when I really need them.
#43 Silver Lining
I made plans to go see a movie with my friends for my 16th birthday and planned it weeks in advance. Everybody bailed the day before, but I decided to still go see the movie. I ended up running into my whole group of friends leaving the movie theatre while buying popcorn. It sucked at the time but eventually, that lesson was a great birthday gift.
#44 Total Flakes
I booked a table for six people to watch a sports event at a bar. I told them so. All five friends said, "Okay, we will be there." No one showed up or even had the decency call or text that they were not coming. that really took the wind out of my sails and I haven't hosted any get-togethers since.
#45 Left Out
My friend told me she wasn't doing anything for her birthday. Then, on the day of her birthday, photos appeared on Facebook of her out with the rest of our friends. They’re not my friends anymore.
