Jilted People Reveal Why They Broke Up With Their Best Friend

A best friend is a special bond based on trust, openness, and honesty. But what happens when these standards break down, and one best friend totally betrays the other? Have you ever had to dump a best friend?

TakinShots asked, [Serious] Why is your ex-best friend an ex-best friend?

Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.

Ouch. Hopefully she didn't keep the husband either.

Because she had an affair with my husband (which I discovered when she had his baby).

Best friends don't do any of these things.

Invited me (and my 4-year-old daughter) to his home country and excitedly made plans with me for the six months leading up to it. I get there naturally expecting to hang out, but understanding that he has real life obligations (job, wife, etc). Long story short, we get zero time together. I was miffed but made the best of the trip just being away with my daughter.

He came by where I was staying after not communicating with me all week and offered my last weekend away to go to a cabin in the mountains four hours away for a couple nights. I took him up on it because despite being upset about him ditching me, I was hopeful that it was just an off week for him and that we could finally hang out. I really liked the guy and assumed he thought of me as I did him, a brother.

Anyway, we spent the night at the cabin after barely speaking the whole trip there (I tried several times to initiate conversation) and the next morning he promptly kicked me out. IN THE MIDDLE OF F**KING NOWHERE. He said he needed the time with his wife.

There I was, stranded with my luggage and my daughter in a foreign country and not expecting any of this. He was so casual about it "It just didn't work out". I could have knocked his teeth out for that. He gaslighted me over text messages as soon as I got home and I haven't spoken to him since.

He was my best and closest friend. I don't think I'll ever understand why he did that.

A ghosting best friend is no best friend.

I wish I knew, she one day just stopped talking to me and ignored all my messages.

Addiction shows no mercy.

He od'ed on heroin.

Sometimes people simply have to move on, as hard as it is.

She felt that I'm not relevant to her anymore???????

When you get replaced by a toxic relationship...

She was dating a guy she would always fight with. She would ditch me for him and drugs. She would get mad when I wanted to spend time with my boyfriend. She would call in the middle of the night and ask me to pick her drunk self up only to get in her car and drive home. Basically, it was one-sided and all about her.

MLMs often tell recruits to cut out non-believers from their lives.

She started selling oils from a pyramid scheme and drank too much Kool-Aid.

When having the biggest of hearts and best of intentions gets you nowhere...

Because he wouldn't do anything to better himself, no matter how much help I offered. He'd rather sponge charity meals off of other people than try to support himself.

A high school dropout, but a bright enough guy. Would get jobs, not go to work so he could play games with friends instead. Would whine about getting fired like it wasn't his fault. "I only called off fake-sick for my first three Friday nights, I don't see the big deal."

Said (perhaps rightly) that it was because he was a dropout that he couldn't get better jobs.

I offered to pay for him to take his GED classes and for the test. He said he worried it would be too hard. I offered to TAKE the GED classes with him so I could know what the subject was at any given time and help him study...AND I offered to pay for his first year at a community college if he didn't get full financial aid. He kept telling me, "I'd probably just fail you."

The only way he was failing me was by not trying.

Even after all that, I would have still tried to stay friends with him. But he'd also do things like invite ME out to lunch or dinner, then expect me to pay for it every time.

The combination was eventually just more than I wanted to deal with any more.

If it's all about you, this friendship won't do.

He's a manipulative liar and a huge egotist. Never will speak to him again.

Some people think they deserve to be punished, but onl end up punishing themselves.

I was best friends with let's call him Chris for many years. Chris was always the life of the party, everyone loved him. Just an overall fun, funny dude, with a good head on his shoulders, but he had very low self-confidence.

I was his best friend for years. We would talk every day, hang out all the time, workout together, etc. Eventually, we all went to college, and Chris and I stayed close friends, but I started hanging out a bit more with a girl, let's call her Maria. Maria was cool, and friendly with Chris, all was well until Maria started inviting her friend "Ashley" along. Ashley was nasty, rude, and well...evil. She treated her friends like absolute shit. I couldn't stand hanging out with her.

But Chris liked her. I think it was just because she paid special attention to him, and because he had such low self-esteem, he felt that this is what he deserved, and it was the best that he could do. They eventually dated, and we all stayed in touch, until one night, they broke up, and he called me in tears.

He explained that he got her a necklace. He went out of his way to pick out something that he thought that she would like, and she threw it back at him and said to return in. I thought that this was so horribly mean, so I told him, "Look, man, I know you think that this girl is right for you, but she's not, and you will realize that when someone better comes along and treats you like a decent human. It was thoughtful of you to do that for her, and she didn't even appreciate the thought, that's horrible." He told me I was right, thanked me, and we made plans to hang out.

Then they got back together a few days later, and I literally never heard from him again. I tried to text him, call him, etc., with no reply. Every year for three years I would text him on his birthday and Christmas just to wish him well, but he never replied. It's sad, but, I think he told Ashley about what I said, and her being completely controlling and manipulative forbade him from seeing me.

My cousin just messaged me the other day that he ran into him and that his number is the same that it has always been. Also, he's married now. I always still thinking about texting him and wishing him well, but I always decide against it. I would never make him choose me over his girlfriend, and I just feel bad that he threw away years of a friendship for this very unpleasant person.

Is it ever too late for second chances?

My possessive boyfriend made me choose between him and her and I made the wrong decision :( its my biggest regret in life, I miss her so much.

The best friend chose her fate by aligning with bullies.

She made friends with people who bullied me so I stopped hanging out with her and we drifted apart.

Sabotaging your best friend's relationships? Deal breaker.

If a guy ever liked me over her she would get him alone and make up nasty things about me to turn them off of me. Took me a few times of interested guys just ghosting me suddenly to realize what was happening. She was super jealous of any other girls getting attention and used to bitch a lot so it didn't surprise me. It's annoying now to see her preach about women supporting women online though.

Admitting to your best friend that you're in love with them? That's risky business.

Personally, I think it was (and still is) my fault.

I was really good friends with this girl for around 4 years. We did everything together - go to the movies, dine out, chill at each others' house - the usual best buds stuff.

I still don't know how, but somehow, someday, I started developing some feelings for her. Out of fear that my confession would disrupt the friendship, I decided to stay mum. Once, when we were out drinking, we were doing the regular chit-chat when I just...told her.

She just looked at me for a moment and became silent throughout the night. I knew I'd blown it.

So I decided to give her space. I temporarily ceased communication with her. After a week or so, she texted me and told me that she thought about it for a long time and that she doesn't feel the same way.

The now me would have completely understood, but I was an egoist back then. I felt hurt, but I didn't spontaneously retaliate - I decided to let the friendship decay away.

As the days went by, I gradually started decreasing contact with her. It went from "one-worded text replies" to complete ghosting. I felt stupid, but it was my pride at stake, after all (/s).

Eventually, we ceased talking. We still don't talk to this day. I miss her like crazy, but I know I've made the friendship irreparable. Every time "Wish you were here" plays, I remember her and start crying.

For people who are doing what I did - PLEASE don't. It's not worth it; trust me.

Sounds like someone was just trying to stir up drama. No thanks.

She always had complaints about her other friend, but never listened to any of my advice. I also found out that she was emotionally manipulating her other friends. OK, bye.

People do strange things in order to feel like they fit in, even if what they do is harmful.

He was a smart guy, very friendly if not a bit lonely. We were both very close as young kids but when we started high school I fell into the 'normie' crowd whilst he quickly made friends with the more troublesome students. He would get into trouble to amuse them and this became a part of his personality in general over time (in fact this happened to a lot of close friends).

This basically ended the friendship after a year or two and what I can't understand is, is that he is still like this, 10 years after high school. C'mon Ed, time to grow up.

Toxic people spread misery.

I hate conflict, especially with loved ones. I always try to avoid escalating a dispute in any way I can - even if that means putting someone else's wants before mine.

I was upset with this person over how their uninvited friends crashed and treated me at my own birthday party. I spent the night crying in a corner of the place. As respectfully as I could, I raised this issue to said best friend a couple of days later and they completely exploded on me. Their insults ranged from how ungrateful I was to them to what a horrible friend I am. As a bonus, they even told me that me learning how to speak up for myself shouldn't be tested out on them because I have plenty more fake friends to call out.

I cut contact after that without looking back and the weight off my shoulders is much lighter :)

Best friend literally stealing your man? Girl bye.

Was best friends with a girl for many years. It was basically a sappy "girls' night" movie type thing. We shared clothes, had sleepovers, got ready for parties together, texted all the time. People thought we were sisters. Also, this is into our late 20s, not grade school.

I was dating a guy that I was absolutely nuts about. Long story short, he went from amazing and charming to condescending and mean. I was absolutely heartbroken about it and confided in my best friend, of course. I detailed to her all the reasons why it didn't work out and she watched sad movies and ate ice cream with me.

Suddenly best friend was less and less available. I'd ask what she was up to and get weird strained answers. I asked her on several occasions if she was seeing my ex (she'd expressed an interest before we dated), and she said no.

This goes on for several weeks until I get a pocket dial from her on my voicemail. It's literally her flirting with my ex and talking about all the reasons we broke up and why that's not a problem for her.

I texted her to ask what she was up to, she lied, so I made an audio file of the voicemail to send to her and never heard from her again.

Friendships require trust and honesty. Without those, what's the point?

I started realizing how often she was lying about things. Even little things that I couldn't understand why she would even bother lying about them.

After I was aware of the compulsive lying, I just couldn't trust anything she ever said and I started to disconnect.