There are few things in life more beautiful than a strong, platonic relationship. You may never tire of hanging out with your best friend, and you likely feel comfortable sharing absolutely everything with them. They know you better than you know yourself, and you can rely on your bestie to be there on your absolute best and worst days.
But just like in romantic relationships, there might come a day when you have a painful realization that your partner in crime doesn’t value you as much as you value them. Redditors have been sharing stories of why they ended friendships with their former BFFs, so we’ve gathered the most heartbreaking tales below. We hope these stories don’t remind you of any of your own friendships, pandas. But if they do, remember that you deserve better. And keep reading to find a conversation with Olivia Brouillette-Wardhono, Founder, Lead Psychologist and Integrative Somatic Practitioner at Therapy With Olivia.
#1
Friends for 20 years. She didn't drive so pretty much the entire friendship I would take her grocery shopping every week. I took her cats to the vet. Helped her when she lost her house. For 20 years I asked her for nothing.
My husband ended up suddenly being diagnosed with brain cancer. The day he was released from the hospital after having a tumor the size of a lemon removed, I called in a prescription he needed and our local pharmacy didn't have it so I would have to drive an hour round trip and my husband wasn't able to handle that amount of time in the car so I called to ask if she could stay with him while I got his meds. She told me no because she wanted to go to the store with her boyfriend. I called my neighbor and she watched him.
I never talked to her again. It's been almost 10 years.
Image credits: softshoulder313
#2
We always worked on his car together. I always worked on my car alone.
Image credits: 4benny2lava0
#3
Didn't end it myself, but accepted it ended when I realized if I stopped talking, I'd never hear from him again.
Image credits: Starkscream
#4
We were friends for over 40 years. Friends since childhood.
We entered into a business together and he completely screwed me over, taking most of the money with him, and leaving me in crushing debt.
Years later I asked why he did it. His answer; "Because you're an atheist. You rejected god, so you deserve everything you get."
And that, was that.
Image credits: Virtual-Werewolf-310
#5
The second I got brain cancer I stopped being included in their lives.
Image credits: healingalltheway
#6
She told my kids they were the reason I tried to self delete. 25 years of friendship, someone I talked to every day no matter what state or country she was stationed in. I don’t even have to words to describe the emotion I feel. Heartbreak, anger, confusion… none of them apply. I’m just numb to her.
Image credits: kytamore
#7
He robbed me of a pathetically small amount of money that I would have given him if he had just asked.
Image credits: anon
#8
I spent years dying of organ failure. My friends began to see me as a burden. A reminder of their own mortality. So they stopped answering when I called and stopped coming by to visit. I spent months in the hospital withering in pain and no one came to see me besides my mom.
I got a transplant and I’m all better now, but I’m quite lonely and sad.
Image credits: nightglitter89x
#9
Didn’t want to be her friend anymore.. So now we’re engaged!
Image credits: _Royal_Insylum
#10
We had a dumb teenage falling out and both of us were too stubborn to reach out and apologize. Finally about 4 years later I reach out and we meet in person and reconcile. It was a nice reconciliation but we were never as close after that. I also realized in hindsight through the whole ordeal that I was always the one who had to be the “adult” or bigger person in our friendship. I think that’s why I waited 4 years to reach out, I wanted to see if they cared enough about me or the friendship to do it. And after we reconciled it felt like the responsibility to keep the friendship going was solely on me. As you grow up and make new friends in adulthood, you reach a point where you end friendships that are more work than they should be. In hindsight our friendship would have ended with or without the falling out, the falling out just made it happen sooner.
To this day I consider them my greatest childhood friend. But I don’t think our friendship was made to last into adulthood from the beginning. That’s life tho.
Image credits: Actrivia24
#11
He told me he was gonna steal my girlfriend and then proceeded to steal my girlfriend. Man of his word at least.
Image credits: mr_kenobi
#12
After 15 years of taking my friendship for granted, I finally had enough. Though it was not my intention.
The last thing I told them was, "One day soon, you're gonna look up, and I won't be there." 3 weeks had passed, and I'd been taking the time to type out exactly what I was going to say and how I felt, for the next time I saw them.
Then I got a message asking, "Are you cutting me off?"
At that moment, I decided that the answer was "yes."
I had also decided that they did not deserve an explanation, nor did they deserve a 10th chance.
Image credits: JabroniBeaterPiEater
#13
I made a new female friend. Best friend was a female. She saw competition and kept trying to gaslight me about how apparently new friend was just trying to sleep with me and was super fake. I was just like ???
I tried to get them together to play DnD. Old friend couldn't stand to be around new friend cause she hated everything about new friends voice and personality. Old friend started hanging out with a new guy I didn't like. She said either I choose her or she leaves to hang out with new guy.
Bye. Me and new friend have had the best friendship I've experienced so far purely platonic and we make each other laugh so hard. I didn't realise how much old friend manipulated me and gaslit me. I feel free.
Image credits: StealerofCookies
#14
1993 I think -- he failed to pay traffic tickets. I posted bail. He said he would pay me back. I put it on the back burner and said nothing about it to anyone. Less than a week later our mutual friend asked why I was hounding him for the $$. So he borrowed money and then insulted me to our friends. I should have listened to his Dad and let him sit for a few days.
#15
Condescending jokes were only funny when she made them, and setting boundaries was a personal attack on her.
Image credits: ElizaWolf8
#16
I ended the friendship after lending money. It’s true what they say money ruins relationships.
Image credits: Complex-Bobcat5391
#17
In middle school I had my first best friend, we'd play videogames together, had sleepovers, etc. When we got older he got into World of Warcraft which my parents understandably didn't want to pay the subscription for. He started hanging out with me less and eventually joined in on being a bit of a bully to me because I was weird and nerdy. Eventually we just stopped hanging out. It sucked at the time but I found new and better friend that I am still friends with now at 30.
But yeah, a friendship ending over World of Warcraft is pretty funny looking back lol.
#18
He beat his girlfriend up.
#19
A couple of months before my wedding, he told me he didn't want to be my best man anymore... via WhatsApp. The conversation that followed revealed that he was extremely jealous of the relationship my now wife and I have. We had been friends for 20 years.
Image credits: brotherfrank
