A woman’s post on Reddit has sparked conversation and concern among users.
A post by u/Fickle-Audience-1623 shared the story of a woman’s friend of nearly two decades, who abruptly blocked her on all social media following a whirlwind marriage to a woman he had recently met. Since the post was published, it has gone viral with more than 35,000 upvotes.
The original poster wrote in the post that the pair had been friends since they were 17, and their friendship had already endured various ups and downs. She said that her friend had been going through a rough time recently, but began to find stability as he started dating a new woman. The two got married after only a few dates.
Newsweek reached out to u/Fickle-Audience-1623 for comment via Reddit.
A woman appears confused while looking at her phone. A post on Reddit has gone viral after a poster shared that her friend of 18 years cut her off after getting married.
Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images
The poster nevertheless supported her friend—until a text exchange with him left her hurt and confused. She had reached out to him, and he responded by saying he didn’t think he knew her.
“Either way, I’m married, so sending messages like that aren’t appropriate,” he wrote.
The poster’s last spoken conversation with him was brief, and he informed her on a speakerphone call, with his wife present, that he had deleted his social media because he and his new wife “found each other.” Not long after, his wife’s Facebook account reappeared, and when the poster received a friend request from her, it disappeared before she could accept it.
The post has resonated with readers, who expressed their concerns about potential controlling behavior from the friend’s wife.
One top commenter, u/radiorentals, wrote: “This reeks of a controlling [and/or] emotionally coercive relationship, and so often people stay in those relationships far beyond when they should because they think that they’ve burned all their bridges.” They added that she might let her friend know she would be there if he needs help.
Another commenter, u/Goodgoditsgrowing, echoed this sentiment. “It’s probably going to take him a while to truly see her behavior for what it is—isolating with the intent to abuse,” they wrote.
An Expert Opinion
Newsweek spoke to Leigh Norén, a sex and relationship therapist, who noted signs that suggest the poster’s friend is being manipulated.
“It appears controlling and makes me wonder if the poster’s friend is being controlled and manipulated by this new partner,” Norén said, adding that, while boundary-setting in relationships is important, cutting out a decades-long friendship so suddenly “is generally not a good idea.”
Norén said she encouraged the poster to view the situation as a potential call for help rather than a rejection, saying that society often struggles to identify dynamics of abuse against men.
The poster mentioned in her post how her friend’s behavior seemed “out of character,” from his unusual text style to his abrupt decisions. She shared frustration, not only at losing her friend, but also at being left to wonder if he was indeed being isolated against his will. “If he can do this, we were never really friends, and that thought sucks the most,” she wrote.
Still, many users commented that, while friendships can become strained by marriage, sudden isolation is typically cause for concern, not dismissal.
The overwhelming consensus from the Reddit community and a professional alike seems to be that the friend’s isolation should be taken seriously, not as a slight.
