What to Do When You Don't Like Your Partner's Friends
That one pal can make happily ever after not so happy.
— -- We’ve all met them -- that friend of your partner’s who is just downright annoying.
Whether it’s personality clashes or plain old bad influences, that one pal can make happily ever after, well, not so happy.
“This is a big, big reason why couples end up breaking up,” relationship expert Paul Brunson said on “Good Morning America.”
The problem for some couples may be just plain jealousy. Two studies found that when people say they care a lot about their partner, but aren’t sure how much their partner cares for them, they were envious of their partner’s friends, worrying that maybe they were replaceable.
For others, though, that one friend may just be toxic.
“There was a friend that was always around,” Folashade Butler said on “GMA” of her husband, Brandon’s, friend. “He would always do everything Brandon did, was always where Brandon was, he even dated Brandon's ex-girlfriend.”
With just a few days’ notice, the couple said, the friend abandoned his role as a groomsman in this D.C. couple’s wedding.
“I sort of said to Brandon, 'Either you talk to him about his behavior or I will,'” Folashade Butler said.
At that point, her husband agreed.
“If you have friends that don’t add value to your relationship, then maybe you should re-evaluate those friendships,” he said on “GMA.”
So what can you do if you have a problem with your partner’s pals?
“The first is you need to look within your relationship and identify if it’s an issue between you and your partner,” Brunson said. “The second thing you want to do is look at the values versus characteristics of your friend. If it’s simply a characteristic you don’t like, that’s a friend you could keep. But if it’s a value you no longer share, that’s a friend you should fire.”
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