by Friendships are often built on trust, loyalty, and shared experiences—but sometimes, cracks begin to show in the foundation. It can be devastating to realize someone you once considered a close friend isn’t who they seemed to be.
Unequal Exchange
U/twelveparsnips: “We lived in the same dorm and worked at the same place. I gave him a ride to work because he didn’t have a car daily for a few months.
The thought never occurred to me to ask for money because it I was going there anyway…why would I? He got a car and my car broke down. I asked for a ride. He asks me for gas money.”
Cruel Betrayal
U/angel_bunny444: “We went out clubbing and I happened to come across and old friend. She later was making jokes about him being ‘ugly’ and ‘looking like an alien.’ He was a burn victim and she knew that.
She would also park in the handicapped spots when she had no disabilities. She then leaked my phone number online having people harass me and thought she was doing something by dating my abusive ex bf. They lasted two weeks.”
Empty Plate
I thought he was joking and then he just bought food and ate by himself. Made me really think people can be so greedy to their best friend. I stopped hanging out with him after that, and I didn’t buy him food anymore. (He didn’t steal my wallet it was at my grandma’s house.)”
Toxic Cycles
U/TheIllogicalSandwich: “I have some former friends that at certain points in life cut off friends of theirs for being ‘toxic’. Once or twice when it happened and they told me the context I thought it seemed a bit like a harsh reaction. Then I was cut off recently and through therapy I have realized in hindsight that a lot of those cases are just them avoiding conflict and blaming others for all their issues.
Good f—— riddance to people that don’t communicate and then blame others for their own problems. There is definitely a type of abused people out there that become abusive themselves. Sometimes outright and sometimes in subtle ways they don’t realize themselves.”
Shattered Trust
U/p38-lightning: “I started dating a really nice girl who worked in a jewelry store. After three or four dates, she told me that my roommate and supposed friend had stopped by the store to tell her my dad was an a——–.
Costumed Manipulation
U/coldsheep3: “We went out for Halloween together and I was wearing a dress with a pair of n— spandex shorts underneath. The entire night she kept grabbing at my dress and lifting it up and I kept asking her to stop because I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea since my shorts were so close to my skin color. She had the audacity to bring it up to me the next day telling me that ‘I was being rude to her all night’. No S—
To top it off at the end of the night I started talking to a guy and we were really hitting it off and she came up and embarassed me infront of him and insisted that we kiss and made it awkward”
Cruel Swerve
U/Santatim_NC: “He was a co-worker that hadn’t been on the job long and I was tasked with training him. We worked a service route driving from job to job.
He was in his van following me and I passed a turtle in the middle of the road on the painted line. I looked back in my rear view mirror in time to see him purposely swerve and run over the turtle. A——!”
Stolen Identity
U/Darkm0or: “My best friend since 4th grade. We were inseparable, even when we grew up and had families of our own. Then, one day, his wife told me a story about his time in art school. He didn’t go to art school. I did. It was my story.
He co-opted my life to his wife. And while it was insignificant as an overall lie, it was still a lie that he never corrected or confessed to her. I never looked at him the same. It changed who he was to me forever.”
Toxic Ties
U/tsukinoasagi: “She constantly lied, most of the time it was little white lies but there where a few big ones. She was also so mean to her husband, he is a sweetheart so he was blind to it. Lastly she talked behind people’s back and would gossip about things they had told her in confidence.
It was had letting that friendship go because I knew I’d lose so many other friends in the process. I don’t regret it at all and have found much better, healthy and supportive friendships.”
True Greed
U/missmorganadams: “My friend owns a very popular food truck in the south. She’s netting a half a million a year in revenue. She needed help for a big event, so I went down and worked for her this past July. I worked with one of her regular employees and I asked how the tips were usually split up. The girl told me that my friend keeps every single tip, and that she’s never seen one.
Moral Divide
U/Kapitan_Borris: “Myself and a friend walked down an alley in the night and saw a drunkard pass out on steps, he looked in poor condition so I said nothing and friend said ‘we could rob this man and we would never be found out’. So I say ‘don’t be stupid, look at man’s coat, he is veteran. Would not have much anyway’.
But he insisted and say ‘we can sell the medals’. I felt disgusted, told that I do not want to see his face around our block again and that he no longer part of my friends. To be fair, we were hungry and desperate but I will not rob veteran of he’s medals.”
Chameleon Friend
U/sizewhat: “He changed his opinions depending on who he was hanging out with! I think he was mirroring my values and ideals when with me and I didn’t realise.
Well, until we were hanging out with his other friends and he started acting like them being racist, homophobic and misogynistic 🥴Not sure if it was a personality issue or something else, but it bamboozled me.”
Fading Connection
U/TheArchitect_7: “Been friends for 20 years. Recently, he kept drifting off while I was telling him something, looking at his smartwatch or getting distracted by someone/something.
One-Sided Friendship
U/Mediocre-Gaymer: “After 15 years of friendship i realized i spilled all my energy into the friendship and she just kept taking the energy and not reciprocating. It was the hardest decision of my life, but i refuse to be left empty while she’s overflowing with the energy i gave her.
Crazy thing is i don’t miss her. I realized she never really added value to my life, she just took. The moment when i decided to end it completely was when she said she refused to talk about the situation that made me angry and she said we should just get over it. Basically disregard my feelings because she can’t do confrontation. That’s when i ended it.”
Deceptive Games
U/Smart_Ranger3452: “She told me about how she legally got her ex to pay thousands of dollars in child support, then posted a Facebook status about how she’s a single mom and has never gotten any child support. This is after she stole money from the company where I helped her get a job, and also scammed me several times.
Would travel to other countries and then set up go fund me pages for medical bills etc. Her brother told me to give up because she’s a serial con artist and has taken advantage of basically every friend and family member. Which is why she’s trying to get sympathy online now from people who don’t really know her.”
False Grief
U/jedadkins: “My best friend, a guy who I consider closer to a brother than a friend lied about his mom passing away. We were roommates and he woke me up one night at like 1 am saying his mother was in the hospital on life support 3 hours away. He had power of attorney and the things weren’t looking good.
He didn’t have a car at the time so I grabbed some energy drinks and made the 6 hour round trip. He told me he had to make the decision to pull the plug shortly after he got there. I found out a year later his mom actually recovered and was still alive.”
Dominating Influence
U/kelsogamesonly: “Wildly, the first thing that tipped me off was when I realized a group of 4 adult women would make plans (even down to what movie we watched) we ALWAYS ended up doing what she chose. There was always a discussion, but we always had to do it her way.
The first time we managed to make plans that weren’t what she chose to do, she didn’t go, and then was genuinely pissed to find out we went without her. She fully assumed when she said she wasn’t interested that the three other adult women just… wouldn’t go? She got way worse, but we had to look past it for our own sanity. Have friends outside of work, kids.”
A Convenient Tool
U/whyamihere_369: “I’m from a country where going on trips with your partner before marriage is unheard of and looked down upon. She asked me to accompany her on a trip she was going on with her partner. I would feel uncomfortable and so I refused.
She insisted that I come despite that, until I said no once and for all. The moment I refused, the entire trip was called off. Turns out, if I were coming she could tell her parents that it was a trip with friends. I was merely a tool.”
The Sociopath’s Game
U/meemaws_beerchz: “when it became clear that she was a habitual cheater and opportunist. she had opened up about her childhood and so I understand why she was often times in survival mode, but I also couldn’t rationalize how someone could be so self-aware & introspective without realizing that their behavior was egregious.
