friendship

'My best friend told me their dad had a stroke. That wasn't the truth at all.'

For many, friendship break-ups are more traumatic and leave more of a mark than the romantic kind. Often, the relationship has a history, a set of complexities and an inherently deep connection that is all but broken the minute a friendship is over.

That’s not to say that the odd toxic friendship has to stay. There’s a time and place for the break down of friendships —  that just doesn’t mean they are overly easy.

Redditors have shared their own stories of friendship break ups, highlighting how complicated they can be and how varied the catalysts are.

The liar

Perhaps unsurprisingly, lying was a big one. Especially if it was to kick you out of their apartment.

“I lived in an apartment with my best friend. It was going fine for almost a year, no fights or anything,” one user wrote.

“One day, his dad had a stroke. He could no longer work or pay his bills so he needed a place to stay and my friend was adamant that his dad move in to the apartment, meaning I would have to leave. After some arguments (I was trying to make the case that I shouldn’t be the one to move out because it wasn’t fair on me. He should move out and find a place with his dad) I finally decided to be the bigger person and move back in with my parents so that his dad could move in to the apartment.

LISTEN: The Well on friendship – the good, the bad and the downright toxic. Post continues after audio.

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“Weeks later, I see a Facebook post about how happy he is that his girlfriend is moving in with him. The whole thing was a lie to get me to leave so his girlfriend could move in… I think his dad was struggling to find a place, but in the end he found somewhere to stay. My friend just decided to keep the lie going so that I’d leave.”

The partier

And then there’s the one who you have nothing in common with except for partying.

“I got sick of the partying, the drugs and the constant “bros” hanging around the house all day. Once I quit smoking weed I realised it was the only thing we had in common,” another user wrote.

The one about the partner

It’s not uncommon for a partner to come between two friends.

“I told him about how his girlfriend was cheating on him behind his back. He accused me of slandering her and now we’re no longer friends,” one user wrote.

The ultimate friendship break-up. Image via Getty.
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Another said it's a less-than-civil break-up when you find yourself interested in the same person.

"Found out she was sleeping with the same guy I was, the guy I had been in love with for years. We sat down and had a long heart to heart talk and both promised to be rid of him. Found out a week later she had gone out of her way to do that to me and they were now dating. Coincidentally she ended up cheating on him," one wrote.

...or the one who became the partner.

And then, of course, like a scene from a movie, there are the friendships that blossom into something else. Until they crash. Fast.

"Got too close, had sex, started dating. Eight year friendship, two months dating, one month awkwardness, silence ever after..."

How did your relationship with your best friend end?