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A former bride has shared her theory as to why so many friendships don’t survive the chaos of wedding planning.
In February, Jaina (@jainaazalea) took to TikTok – less than two weeks ahead of her big day – to explain her experience of losing friends amid wedding stress.
“I recently confirmed the theory that you do in fact lose friends while you’re planning your wedding,” Jaina began. While it may have been harsh to admit, the content creator argued that friendships shouldn’t be “mourned.”
She explained how her unhealthy friendships became obvious as she was finalizing details for her wedding. Between attending to wedding issues and attempting to live her usual day-to-day life, Jaina shared that she had little time for friendships that no longer seemed to be serving her.
“I feel like it really puts into perspective which friendships are not well balanced,” Jaina noted. “Relationships ebb and flow. There are always going to be times where you’re maybe giving more, or the other person’s giving more, because everyone goes through their own thing in life.
“But I feel like you kind of really see it for what it is during wedding planning,” she continued.
The woman, who tied the knot with her partner on February 22, went on to discuss how wedding planning takes a bride or groom into a whole new stage in life – a time that some friends may not have experienced yet. She noted: “Do you feel like there are sometimes when you’re progressing in a different stage of life, and someone isn’t?”
“I could definitely see how that might throw off the balance of a friendship,” Jaina remarked.
Relationships are typically built upon loyalty and trust, but oftentimes people have different expectations. For Jaina, wedding planning left her feeling very lonely, with not many people to “lean on” for support. She explained how the friend she thought she might’ve been able to count on wasn’t there for her when she needed them the most.
“The friend that I lost was a long-term friend,” she said in the TikTok. However, Jaina maintained that she’s always believed in the divine concept of “everything happens for a reason” and it was most likely meant to end in the way it did.
“Why am I going to sit here and be sad for something that was going to be inevitable?” she questioned. “If things are naturally ending, and even if they’re during times of great happiness and big things in your life like weddings, where you’re supposed to be celebrating and it’s supposed to be the best time ever, don’t let that cloud that joy. Just keep moving forward.”
Many commenters agreed with Jaina’s theory, adding their own input and experience about losing friendships during wedding planning.
One TikTok user wrote: “People get jealous, or they are not genuine for those happy moments in your life. We must be carefree towards friends sometimes.”
“100 percent, one month as a fiancé and haven’t seen my friends in so long,” another woman admitted, while one bride said: “What a nice way to put it! I’m going through this right now and my wedding is in three months.”
