When we're in a long-term relationship or expecting to get married, all we want to think about is moving forward with that person and living happily ever after.
But that also blinds us to any possible red flags waving around in the relationship, and only someone who deeply loves us would risk speaking up about it, pointed out the users of the "Am I the A**hole?" (AITAH) subReddit.
Redditor FrostGlistenss had thought for a long time that her best friend's future husband was a walking red flag, and she kept hoping that her best friend would notice the problems herself and end the relationship.
But when her future husband was treating her so badly over the phone that he ruined her bachelorette party, the Original Poster (OP) called out the toxicity of their relationship, and her best friend was so hurt by being called out, she called off the wedding and their friendship at the same time.
She asked the sub:
"AITAH for telling my best friend her marriage is doomed at her bachelorette party and accidentally getting the wedding canceled?"
The OP had been worried about how her best friend's partner treated her for a long time.
"I (27 Female) have been best friends with Amy (28 Female) for years."
"She has been with this guy, Jake, for about three years, and honestly, he is a walking red flag."
"He is super controlling and jealous, and he always checks her location. Once, he called her nine times while we were just shopping at Target."
"Amy keeps defending him, saying he is just protective because he cares so much. Whatever."
Everything escalated at Amy's bachelorette party.
"Then, this weekend was a total disaster..."
"Amy's bachelorette party was supposed to be a fun girls' night, but Jake kept blowing up her phone. Texts, FaceTimes, asking where she was, accusing her of acting single."
"She kept leaving to call him back, crying and apologizing, while the rest of us sat there awkwardly."
"After about the fourth time she left the table, I just lost it."
"When she came back, I said loud enough for the whole table to hear, 'You are not marrying a husband. You are signing up for a lifetime of being babysat by a jealous manchild.'"
"Amy started crying and ran out of the bar, and half of the girls followed her."
The OP knew she did the right thing, but it came at a high price.
"Later that night, her mom called me, drunk, thanking me, because apparently, they had all been worried about Jake but did not know how to stop the wedding."
"Her mom told Amy that if she went through with the wedding, they would not pay for it. Now Amy has blocked Jake, moved out of their apartment, and moved back into her parents' house."
"But she also blocked me for humiliating her and will not speak to me."
"Half of our friend group is saying I did the right thing. The other half is calling me jealous and toxic for blowing up her relationship right before the wedding."
"So.. AITAH?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You're the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
Some reassured the OP that she had done the right thing, even if her best friend couldn't see it right now.
"No good deed goes unpunished."
"You did the right thing. She was going to be in for a lifetime of misery."
"But that doesn't mean she is going to like you for it. I'm sorry, hopefully she'll come around. But don't doubt yourself here." - Tamika_Olivia
"The other half of her friend circle looks more like enemies. They called OP jealous and toxic but were unable to call the same to the trainwreck of a relationship. I'm glad she spoke up anyway. NTA." - abstractengineer2000
"NTA. It sounds like you were going to lose a friend either way; he would have forced anyone good out eventually by guilt-tripping her. At least this way, she doesn't have to deal with that guy anymore." - Best_Way_Rest
"I'm gonna come in with a big NTA."
"My sister asked me five times, the day of her wedding, that she was an hour late to, if she was making a mistake."
"I answered yes each and every time she asked, but told her it was ultimately her decision. I was gentle and kind about it."
"Gentle and kind... Did. Not. Work."
"He got physical and emotionally abusive, cheated on her, while isolating her from her friends and family. He even made her quit working when she was a nuclear engineer. It wasn't until her daughter told her she was scared and didn't see 'that man' as her father that she left him."
"You may have lost a friendship (hopefully temporarily), but most likely saved her life and future." - Velharthis009
"You were the only one brave enough to say what needed to be said, but people shoot the messenger. The friends criticising you are either ignorant or cowards. Forget them. Just know you did the right thing. NTA." - MunchausenbyPrada
"The boyfriend-fiance-thing was a BIG RED FLAG with a lot of little red flags. Good for you for practically saving her life."
"Just remember that her mom thanked you. At least her mom will be your friend. Give everyone a couple of months to figure it out. You did great. NTA." - IamLuann
Others agreed and assumed the friendship would bounce back in the future.
"OP, if your friendship with her is true, she'll realize you did the right thing."
"You were right. She was signing up for years of abuse."
"Her parents should have been saying this to her. Her other friends should have, too. Thank goodness you stepped up. NTA." - beena1993
"Her parents have likely been saying this to her, and she had her mind set against anything they said, and the OP helped turn it around for the better."
"Young adult children often do not like to hear uncomfortable advice from their parents. It's only when one of their peers (or sometimes an unrelated adult) offers the advice that they are more amenable to accepting it."
"When your friend finally meets the right guy, who will treat her right, and give her the space she deserves, she will come around and thank you for saving her from this one. NTA." - ofcbrooks
"The OP is NTA. The friend might not realize it for a while, but when she meets someone that's good to her, she's going to realize that OP saved her from derailing her life." - notthatkindofdoctorb
"One of the things people rarely mention about leaving a toxic or abusive relationship is the humiliation you feel when you realize everyone could see how shi*ty your life was the entire time. You didn't actually hide it very well."
"You were given advice here and there, loving hints at leaving him, and you defended him so much. Now that the rose-tinted glasses finally, FINALLY come off, embarrassment and humiliation are a huge part of the trauma."
"Don't ask me how I know."
"She is freshly dealing with an open emotional wound. Like others have said here, give her some time. Let her know you're always available as her friend. You didn't directly humiliate her, it was hearing the words out loud in front of God and everyone that was humiliating. Hearing everyone agreeing."
"NTA." - throwRA-nonSeq
"It's f**king embarrassing when the whole illusion crumbles down and you realize everyone was talking about you the entire time and seeing you as some kind of pathetic victim/idiot."
"At the same time, the people who cared about you weren't literally thinking you were a 'pathetic victim' or an 'idiot,' but of course, while the illusion is crashing down, that's exactly what it feels like, like they couldn't possibly think less of you."
"But they could probably see your experience with compassionate concern while understanding that any one of us (themselves included) can easily find ourselves in this same situation, and you just weren't ready to let them in."
"Emotions are extremely powerful things, and even the wisest and most mature among us will, under the right circumstances, not be able to see certain things due to being overcome by emotions."
"It does not make us pathetic, let alone idiots. It makes us human. And it takes time for us to realize where we might have made a mistake."
"It will take time, but your friend will realize what you did for her, OP, and no matter how embarrassed and hurt she was in that moment, it will deeply, permanently pale in comparison to the years, decades, a lifetime of hurt that she was setting herself up for." - forthentwice
After receiving feedback, the OP reflected on the consequences of her actions.
"Thank you, everyone, for your comments and for sharing your own experiences. So many of these were heartbreaking to read, and I'm so sorry you and your loved ones went through these things. But I can say it makes me feel a little better about stepping in when I did."
"Looking back, I wish I had handled it differently, but it just boiled over. Watching her cry in the bathroom over some jealous texts while we were supposed to be celebrating her was too much."
"I probably should have said something way earlier, but I kept hoping she would see it herself. I know the way I did it sucked, but I don't regret finally saying something."
"Realizing she blocked me and knowing that I might have lost her forever hurt at the moment, but I would rather deal with her hating me for a while than watch her waste years being miserable. I would have hated myself so much more if I stayed quiet and watched her suffer."
"I just hope one day she sees it that way, too."
"When her mom called me, I realized I wasn't crazy for being worried... and that it's better to face a little heartbreak now than a lifetime of regrets. Fingers crossed, she realizes that soon."
"She probably needs space to grieve the future she thought she was going to have."
"I'm going to give her time and just hope she knows I'm still here when she's ready. I just want her to be okay."
As much as this feedback must have hurt at the moment, especially in the presence of so many loved ones, the subReddit was grateful that the OP had stepped forward and said the words the rest of her best friend's support group was too afraid to say.
She would likely need time to get past the humiliation, to grieve the life she thought she was going to have and to process the whole experience, but hopefully, once the best friend had the chance to do that, she would realize that the OP had her best interests at heart and did for her what no one else would.















Humiliated Redditor Ditches Friend's Birthday After She Publicly Mocks Them In Front Of Everyone
Fake people tend to show their true colors during pivotal moments, like weddings and major celebrations.
But when they want an audience to hurt someone else, it takes total sense that they would be called out in front of everyone, as agreed by members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subreddit.
Redditor HollyyGinger went to their close friend's birthday party, expecting to have a good time and celebrate their loved one's special day.
But when their close friend made several mocking comments about them, and the party laughed along with them, the Original Poster (OP) took that as an indication of the state of their friendship and left the birthday party early.
They asked the sub:
The OP was excited to celebrate their close friend's birthday.
"One of my close friends had a birthday dinner last weekend, and I was genuinely excited to go."
"I helped her organize a few things beforehand, bought her a gift, and even rearranged some plans because I wanted to be there for her."
But the birthday dinner did not go at all how the OP expected.
"During dinner, though, she started making little jokes about me in front of everyone."
"At first, I laughed along because I didn't want to make things awkward on her birthday."
"But she kept going. She joked about dating life, brought up an embarrassing story I had told her privately, and made another comment about how I'm ''way too sensitive' sometimes."
"People were laughing, and I tried to act like it didn't bother me, but honestly, I felt pretty humiliated."
The OP tried to ask their friend to change the direction of the rest of the party.
"I quietly asked her when we were alone if she could stop making me the joke of the evening."
"She rolled her eyes and said I was taking everything too seriously and that everyone knew she was joking."
"I went back to the table for a while because I really didn't want to ruin her birthday."
"But then she made another joke about me, so I decided I'd had enough. I congratulated her again, said goodbye to everyone, and went home without making a scene."
The OP's friend tried to blame them for how the evening turned out.
"The next morning, she texted me, saying she was hurt that I left early and that several people noticed."
"She said that I made her feel like she had done something horrible when she was 'just having fun.' But her having fun was more of a public embarrassment to me."
"Now I feel guilty, because it was her birthday, and maybe I could have just ignored it for another hour or two."
"I wasn't trying to punish her or make the night about me. I just didn't want to sit there smiling while someone I trusted kept embarrassing me after I had specifically asked her to stop."
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
Some reassured the OP that she didn't have to stay at a party where she didn't feel welcome.
"She was having fun. You were not having fun."
"You’re not overreacting. You told her it was hurting you, and she kept doing it because hurting you was entertaining for her. She is not a good friend." - Dunquinn-
"I remember when I was really little, a bunch of adults were laughing at me as I cried."
"I cried to my mom, 'Stop laughing at me,' to which she replied, 'We aren’t laughing at you; we're laughing with you,' while giggling."
"My response was something I stand by to this day: 'Then why am I the only one crying?!'"
"It’s only funny if the person who’s being teased is laughing too. You weren’t laughing. It wasn’t funny; it was cruel. NOR." - XSmartypants
"She’s a bully. It wasn’t 'more like 'it was publicly embarrassing. It WAS publicly embarrassing."
"Then she tells you that SHE is embarrassed because YOU left early. That's bulls**t."
"NOR. Drop her." - WTH_JFG
"NOR. They make jokes about someone's privacy to humiliate that person. Anyone who would use info that was shared in confidence to get a laugh is an abuser. You don't do that, especially to a close friend, without the intent to hurt that person." - BungenessKrabb
"Would it have been fun if you did the same? Start telling her darkest secrets?"
"She made you into a punchline for other people’s entertainment."
"You told her to stop, and she didn’t; now she’s the victim?"
"NOR."
"But also, some people need to feel it to believe it. I hope you go to the next gathering with a few stories of your own and don’t let her rewrite the narrative." - beached_not_broken
"I’ve had it happen by my 'best friend' at the time, only it was in a professional setting event. Very personal details only she knew, all spilled for her amusement, embarrassing me in front of colleagues."
"NOR, OP. As you did, I left the gathering earlier than expected. My 'friend' called the next day asking why I left so early. I told her what she had said and done and how humiliated I felt."
"Her 'apology' was that flippant version that shows no remorse, like, 'Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.'"
"Over the subsequent years, she managed to alienate and burn bridges with most of those same people we were gathered with."
"I’m sorry this happened to you, OP. Anyone who thinks you were 'too sensitive' has no empathy and 'friends' like that don’t deserve your time." - Hungry_Tank9182
"NOR. She was being a jerk to you, and she was expecting you to just take it and not say anything or defend yourself."
"Because they think it's sooo funny to mock others, but I bet if the roles were reversed, she would be offended and upset."
"Honestly, you deserve better friends. I'm sorry you had to deal with this."
"I would've left and blocked her." - Cryslove
Others urged the OP to stop thinking about the event and let that friendship go.
"That was the point of her fun! Humiliating you with an audience!"
"Sharing something deeply personal, told in confidence? Immediate dealbreaker."
"She is not (and likely never was) your friend. Friends do not treat friends with such disrespect. Block her, and go no contact. She brings nothing good to your life, and she’s not worthy of your energy and time."
"NOR." - MizPeachyKeen
"It’s called bullying. She is not your friend. Friends don’t humiliate their true friends, or tell them 'they are too sensitive.'"
"That is what bullies do. She keeps you around to put you down and make herself look or feel better."
"Her actions, attitude, and behavior are those of an immature high schooler. She could actually be jealous of you and not want one or all of the following: you to succeed, have more friends, feel better about yourself, look better, etc."
"Please slowly distance yourself, find new hobbies and activities with more mature, well-rounded, healthy people." - Freeling_Fab_U_lous
"How DARE you spoil her fun; didn't you know that part of your gift was letting her make you the butt of her jokes? (sarcastic comment)"
"What an awful person. No one should need to put others down to raise themselves up. She doesn't deserve the title of friend, to be honest. You showed much more grace than I would have managed." - tphatmcgee
"She was using you as her punching bag to make the others attending laugh. Probably thinking you’d just take it. That’s not a good friend. NOR." - Additional-Start9455
"'Someone I trusted kept embarrassing me after I asked them to stop.' NOR."
"First, you shouldn't have had to ask her to stop because a friend wouldn't have started in the first place. One of her 'jokes' was about you being sensitive, so she knew you didn't like it and did it anyway."
"Second, you asked her privately to stop, because you didn't want to embarrass her. Think about that. You didn't want to embarrass her. But she couldn't show you the same consideration, even after being asked to stop."
"That's not how I treat my friends, and I suspect that's not how you treat your friends, either." - calminthedark
"I would have answered her text that she's a s**tty friend and to f**k off. You have class."
"I probably would have made a comment at dinner that I asked her to stop with the insults."
"NOR. You did everything right." - Particular-King218
The subReddit was disappointed on the OP's behalf that a friendship they were so committed to, they were excited to celebrate their friend's birthday and even helped plan the event, came apart at their expense, and on very public terms.
If the friend didn't want to be "embarrassed," maybe she should have thought about how she was embarrassing others first.