True friendship is a gift, perhaps a much rarer one than we may realize. While it's easy to call someone a friend during the happy-go-lucky times, real friends are the ones who are there through thick and thin; who will lend you cab fare or give you a place to sleep when you show up unexpectedly. They are the ones who listen when you talk and care about what you have to say; the ones who don't desert you when you need them the most.
Sometimes, we think someone is our best friend, but when the going gets tough, we learn the hard way that the bond wasn't as strong as we thought it was. Losing a best friend is painful, regardless of the reason. The following stories that people have shared about when they realized they lost their best friend are heartbreaking, upsetting, and downright infuriating, especially when deep betrayal is involved.
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#1 Mean Much?
#2 Better Off Without A Friend Like That Anyway
#3 Finding Out Your Best Friend's True Colors Can Sting
He told his brother to tell me he wasn't home if I called for him. I was upset, but it also made me realize not to waste my time on that person anymore. His brother felt guilty, but I told him not to worry because I said I'd never call back again.
#4 Talk About Being Left In The Dark
He posted wedding photos on Facebook and I didn't even know he was dating anyone. Best friends are supposed to tell each other everything, especially if they're getting married and planning to throw a huge wedding.
#5 Getting Blocked Is Serious
Our conversations were getting shorter and less intriguing. One day, I received great news and wanted to share it with my best friend. I then realized that they deleted and blocked me on social media.
#6 She Probably Should Have Mentioned That Before The Dinner, Not After
#7 Some People Are Just Users
While they were driving, they decided they wanted to party. No one had money, so they suggested they should call me, Varvatos, since I always had money. I'm not their personal money bank. It sucks to feel like the only reason your friends keep you around is that they think you'll pay for everything.
#8 Putting A Girl Before The Friendship Always Ends Badly
My best friend in high school, who I thought would be in my life for a long time, started to hit on a girl that I was talking to. He would lie about me to change her opinion of me. And the best part is, he never admitted to a thing. Maybe it wasn't that bad, but I felt really betrayed.
#9 The Opposite Of Supportive
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Stories that matter — delivered straight to your inbox.
#10 He Didn't Take The News Well
#11 It's Clear Where His Priorities Lie
#12 The Most Back-Handed "Compliment" Of All
She told me she doesn't like other girls except me because she likes to be the prettiest girl in the room. It may seem overdramatic to end a friendship over a snarky comment, but it's not even that she was being sarcastic. She 100% believed what she was saying.
#13 A Friendship Should Not Be One-Way Street
When my "best friend" had marriage troubles, I was there for him—all through his wife's infidelity, the divorce, and even the custody battle. I testified on his behalf in court and he got custody of the kids. Fast forward two years later, I found out my wife was cheating on me. He was not really interested in talking to me about it so much and even acted like he wasn't home when I stopped by for a visit. He's a good dad and a fun guy to hang around with, but he's just not emotionally available to help other people out much.
#14 A Liar And A Backstabber
#15 Sadness Is Not Weakness
#16 They're Both Trash
#17 And They Lived Happily Ever After
We stopped talking when he married his wife. I moved away for college and he stayed local, during which time he was still dating the woman who would later become his wife. We stayed in contact and everything, but the distance was very hard for both of us. Staying in contact meant like, a phone call every four months or so. I still think of him as my brother, and I was the best man at his wedding. But during the course of the wedding and reception, I realized he had made a new best friend, and now he was marrying her.
#18 If Only She Hadn't Insisted So Much
#19 You Can't Control How You Feel
#20 Why Don't You Say What You Really Think
#21 Better Off Without Him, Bro
When my ex broke up with me, I needed my best friend to be there for me. But he didn't give me a single call, text message, or word about it, even when all our other friends were genuinely worried for me. Nah; instead, the guy just started hanging out with my ex more.
#22 So Much For The Butt Wiping
It was after my divorce. I moved in with my best friend at the time, who I considered my brother. Aside from the divorce, I was going through a lot, like having to apply for disability and my mom being terminally ill. Meanwhile, he had started taking testosterone and gotten married to a woman who insisted on "traditional values" and him being the "man of the house."
This all translated to him being completely insensitive. He kept calling me lazy and accusing me of mooching off him, despite the fact that I was doing all the housework. He kicked me out after a month. For context, five years before he had been really ill, I moved in to take care of him when nobody else would. I even gave the bastard sponge baths. I wiped his literal butt for him and he couldn't handle the fact that some days my disabled self had to skip doing the dishes.
#23 Now That's What You Call Two-Timing
I went to my boss asking why my best friend was promoted instead of me when I had been working longer and had a better work ethic. My boss told me that my "friend" had mentioned I wasn't interested in the promotion. My friend and I lived together and we had talked about how nice it would be for me to get the promotion. She sabotaged my career for her own gain.
#24 Talk About A Drama Queen
#25 Daughter Comes First
Public Domain Pictures
#26 Apparently A Friend For The Wrong Reasons
#27 It's Not The Same
She tried to tell me that she understood how I felt about my mom's death because her parents were getting divorced and she would only be able to see her dad every other weekend. Then, she made it all about herself by saying how she wasn't sure if she could cope with the depression. I had to comfort her in my time of greater need. I'm not trying to minimize the impact of the divorce on her; I'm sure it hurt a lot, but at least she still had her dad. My mother was gone! The two are not the same thing.
#28 Toxic Friendships Can Really Sneak Up On You
I had an exceptionally close friend in high school. We'd talk on the phone several times a week and share our innermost feelings with each other, but we mostly joked around. Lots of people thought we were dating but we both kept it platonic. The closer I got to her, the further I drifted from my other friends, not to mention my family who she didn't really care for. It obviously added some baggage to any romantic relationship I found myself in.
When we went off to separate colleges, we had a lot of time apart. I ended up going to therapy for my depression and my therapist pointed out that although the friendship had its merits, it wasn't exactly healthy. The thought had honestly never crossed my mind before! I thought she was exaggerating, but I kept in the back of my mind.
On the drive back from a strange day trip to see her, it just hit me how toxic the friendship really was. She was incredibly nice to me, but she subtly led me to believe that it was us against the world; that I couldn't really trust anyone except her. I wouldn't jump to calling it abusive, but it was definitely messed up. I ended up ghosting her the next week. At first, I felt guilty about it, but ultimately, I think it was the right move for both of us.
#29 Who Would Miss Someone Like That?
I realized that I was always the one making the plans, while she was always canceling them. She'd only go through the trouble of contacting me if she wanted something from me. She'd often agree to plans with me as a placeholder, then cancel if she found something more exciting to do. If I called her on it, she'd act like I was being clingy. Back in October, I realized all of this and thought, "I wonder if I'd ever heard from her again if I stopped trying to make plans."
So I stopped contacting her and didn't hear from her again until last week when she pretended to start up a casual conversation with me. She started asking about my job. I knew she had been considering leaving her job, so she was definitely hinting at me to help her get a spot at my place of work. When I said I couldn't help her, she didn't even bother continuing the conversation with me. I think the sadder part is that I don't miss her.
#30 Only There For The Good Times
My best friend of 20 years wasn't there for me when my dad passed away, He sent a simple condolence text on the day it happened and made a quick visit at the wake. She was literally at his 70th birthday the week before. We went on vacations together. It's been five years and I feel like I lost two people that week.
#31 No Rude People Allowed
She started to say some really offensive stuff. I mean, appallingly offensive. I think she had some serious issues. Neither her mom or her dad seemed all that blunt, but she sure was.
#32 Time To Say Goodbye To That One
I realized that, despite her absolute best intentions, she was leading me in the wrong direction. She had me believe that I wasn't ever going to find any other deep and meaningful connections in my life. It all started when I got close to a girl who I had a lot in common with. I fell hard, and unhealthily so.
A huge part of the reason why I fell so hard was that I had been conditioned to believe that it was unreasonable for me to expect to find people I could bond with over the things that truly get me excited in life. My best friend, on the other hand, made herself out to be an outright unicorn. The weird thing is, she was right—I was never going to find people like that within the circle she curated because that circle consistently dismissed so much of what I'm passionate about and who I am.
#33 At Least Some Good Came Out Of A Bad Situation
#34
Disabilities Are Not A Joke
#35 No Need To Say Goodbye Twice
#36 A Person Who Steals From You Is Not Your Friend
I'm in the creative industry and I used to have a "writing partner", who was also my best friend. After I left for Los Angeles, suddenly he had a website, a podcast, and people to invest in him reopening a small town movie theater. I thought, good for him until I looked at the website and realized he stole ideas that I had pitched to him.
They were dumb things of course, but very specific, and on brand with what I had thrown away. He's pretty successful now. That's when I realized, he never called me, or texted me, or told me anything about any of his successes. Then, I came home for my birthday, and after getting super intoxicated together, he asked me, "Aren't you going to congratulate me on the theater?"
I pretended to not even know what he was talking about. It was like he was waiting to be face to face with me so that he could gloat? He has some weird, residual resent from me leaving town and trying to do bigger things. I don't think he's resolved it within himself. I used to be so angry about our relationship and his flippant, showboating, fake attitude that he adopted in order to play businessman. But, after my last visit home, and seeing how everyone we knew treated him like a nuisance, I just feel bad for him.
#37 It Wasn't Actually About The Voting Though
We voted in the 2016 election. On the way there and back, she kept talking about how the voting was a waste of time and how she couldn't believe I dragged her into it. "One vote doesn't make a difference," she'd always say. After we voted, she dropped her phone and the screen shattered. She said it was the universe telling her that voting is useless and later proceeded to blame me for her broken phone. I had never met a more delusional and self-absorbed person.
#38 Baby Mama Wasn't Having It
When he got his girlfriend of three months, a pregnant mother with two toddlers, he cut all communication off between us. I sent him messages and emails every couple of weeks, but no response at all. It broke my heart. I have a feeling his baby mama took his phone and blocked me. He was my best friend for 13 years, turned into a stranger.
#39 Hey, Jealousy
#40 No One Likes A Controlling Friend
#5 What A Horrible Thing To Say To A Friend
#4 Dogs Are Family Too
#3 High On The List Of Things A Bad Friend Says
#2 I Guess Glow Sticks Always Win
#1 Be Careful Who You Travel With
She said to me, with a straight face, that she would rather leave me behind in a foreign country and hop on a plane back home alone. I had accompanied her to France for a graduation trip, and she treated me like a slave the entire time. When I confronted her about it, I was gaslighted. That turned out to be the last week I ever spoke to her.
