People Are Sharing How They Realized Their 'Friends' Weren't Their Friends At All

Ashley Hunte
A group of friends sitting on a ledge, each with their arms around the people next to them.
Unsplash | Duy Pham

People will always talk about the pain of a breakup. And while splitting from your significant other really sucks, it isn't the only kind of breakup you might have.

Friendship breakups can be just as, if not more, devastating, after all. And while these Reddit users' stories show that you can definitely figure out your real friends from the fakes, that doesn't make it any less painful.

There's nothing worse than finding out your friends are straight up bad people.

A person texting on a smartphone.
Unsplash | Jae Park

"Had 3 friends, 2 I liked and 1 I didn't really like at all.

"Turns out they had a secret gc where they just called me slurs and talked about me behind my back. The guy I didn't like sent me screenshots of this and me and him have been friends 3 years now."

I really hope they didn't go to the wedding.

A wedding venue, prepped with seats and an arch for the big day.
Unsplash | Shardayyy Photography

"When he didn't invite me to his wedding despite talking to me a week before on phone but then called me on the wedding day to invite me to his wedding which was happening in two hours and asked for a $1000 loan because he was in a tight spot."

People making plans in front of you (and without you) are the worst.

Two carved Jack-o-lanterns lit up for Halloween.
Unsplash | David Menidrey

"When they not only didn't invite me to come trick or treating with them for Halloween, but discussed their costumes in front of me, and then trick or treated my house."

This person sounds like a criminal.

A man pantomiming a long Pinocchio nose with a caption that reads, "Stop lying."
Giphy | Simon Rex / Dirt Nasty

"Guy lies about his wellbeing being bad cause he loves how worried someone reacts. I called him out on it when he lied to someone else and he literally said 'I enjoy winding people up, I love how they react when I say x.' That's gross to me."

A true friend is still there, even when the going gets tough.

An IV bag in a hospital room.
Unsplash | Marcelo Leal

"When I got cancer and they never checked on me."

Another user added, "The same happened to me. You really know who your true friends are. I googled 'deserted by people when I had cancer' and was surprised to see it happening to more people than I imagined."

Being used doesn't even begin to describe this situation.

A minimalist white and yellow living room.
Unsplash | Michael Oxendine

"Worked with and rented a large house with my friend group after high school. Dumb and inexperienced with life, I didn’t know they were lying to me about bills and making me pay more/whatever they felt like until a family member asked about it."

"Eventually they all looked at moving into a new place without telling me."

A person sitting cross-legged while holding several USD $100 bills.
Unsplash | Alexander Mils

"One felt guilty and confessed- they would basically steal my money to shop with and planned on moving out while I was visiting family so I came back to an empty place and responsible for everything."

If only people could actually commit to stuff.

A birthday cake decorated with roses made of icing.
Unsplash | Bruce Tang

"The last time I tried throwing a birthday party for myself. It always seemed like the ratio of people who said they'd come to people who actually showed was...lacking. But my final attempt. I had 20+ people say they'd show. Exactly one actually came."

If you have friends who "prank" y0u, they aren't your friend.

The front door of a cute brick house.
Unsplash | Peter Boccia

"They asked to not have one of the people in our group over. They didn't want to tell him there was no game, they just wanted him to knock and pretend no one was there. I wasn't very cool with this but they didn't want to be 'confrontational' with said person."

"Before the next week rolled around they were saying 'there wasn't going to be anything going on' that Saturday."

Andy from the Office saying, "not cool."
Giphy | The Office

"I knew they were full of [expletive], but went by to confirm they were all there that Saturday, and sure enough they all were. Just dropped them like a sack of potatoes and never spoke to them again, no reason to."

There are plenty of ways to have fun while sober, people.

A person pouring alcohol into two small glasses.
Unsplash | Dylan de Jonge

"I had a whole group of 'friends' that would all get together at restaurants, go floating down rivers, bowling all sorts of fun stuff but the common denominator was that we ALWAYS drank at every event. When I got sober, I stopped getting invited."

Some people out there have a lot of nerve.

A pink piece of paper in the shape of a heart, that's ripped in half.
Unsplash | Kelly Sikkema

"I'm 54 and about 10 years ago I discovered that one of my best friends as a teenager lied to my then girlfriend to get her to break up with me. My whole group of mates who I'd known since I was at school knew."

"I never knew why I got dumped and it destroyed me."

The Anger emotion character from Pixar's Inside Out.
Giphy | Disney Pixar

"They even sat and listened to me crying over this and never said a word. All the time knowing he was trying to get her into bed. 35 years later when I found out I lived it all over again."

Surrounding yourself with people who actually want to be around you makes all the difference.

Two boys palling around, clearly as close friends.
Unsplash | Aman Shrivastava

"When I finally got real friends who cared about me, I realized that the people I have been calling friends for years where just letting me hang with them for the convenience."

Any "friend" who does this needs to see the inside of a police station.

A woman saying, "This is bad, this is really bad."
Giphy | ABC Network

"When their boyfriend hit me and then they made me call and apologize to the boyfriend for making him hit me. We are no longer in contact."

Don't be the only one who makes effort.

Several people toasting with glasses of wine.
Unsplash | Kelsey Chance

"When my boyfriend pointed out to me that they never make any effort. I invited them to my house... they could never make it. But they were totally down to ask me to chill when I was the one driving an hour to their house and would arrive with beer and food."

A good friend should have at least a little bit of empathy.

David from Schitt's Creek jaw drop
Giphy | Schitt's Creek

"When my father passed in middle school and they ghosted me and stole my stuff. My mom had to get their parents to give me my stuff back because they wouldn't even respond to me.

"When questioned later, one of them said they did that because 'my father's death was too much for him.'"

It's like they weren't planning on going to begin with.

A table set with empty dinner plates and candles.
Unsplash | Nadia Valko

"Being bailed on at the last possible moment after spending money on alcohol and spending time cooking to make snacks and stuff for a night in. I was literally walking around the supermarket asking what preferences they had for beer and food and they were replying as if nothing was wrong."

"It came time for them to come over and one by one, they all bailed within 10 mins of the time we agreed."

A person sitting alone at a table while eating.
Unsplash | Traworld Official

"This was the end of a long road of similar incidents and the general feeling I wasn't wanted in the circle and getting bullied by a few of them on a regular basis."

Try not to be friends with people who only want something from you.

A person talking with an iPhone against her ear.
Unsplash | Taylor Grote

"I found myself getting irritated whenever they called/hit me up... because every time they'd only ask for something, never just to talk or hang out."