Friends are like the family we choose, trusted with our joys and deepest secrets, making us feel like we truly know them. But sometimes, those we think we know best can hide a darker side.
14. “My ‘best friend’ of 20 years had a secret obsession with my ex throughout our marriage. I recently found out that they even had an affair.” — eat_sleep_p_p / Reddit
13. When my “best friend” passed away, I realized I had never truly known her. She was a pathological liar. She claimed to have been born in New Zealand and moved to the U.S. at age two, but she was actually born and raised in New Jersey. Even her middle name was different from what was listed in her obituary.
The most outrageous lie was that she had a younger sister who was hit by a car and died as a toddler. She had a tattoo of roses that she insisted was for her sister and would break down in tears every November on what she said was her sister’s death anniversary. It turned out that this sister never existed. — mrsmoffbricks / Reddit
12. “Not a very dark secret, but I had a friend with many acquaintances outside of school. People often called him to hang out every day. It turns out he had an app that faked calls with names he inputted. He would have actual conversations on the phone (with no one on the other end, obviously). He felt embarrassed about not having friends or girlfriends outside of school.” — KingAltay / Reddit
11. “I had a friend who constantly talked about their ‘best friend’—sharing conversations they had and things they did together. It turned out that this ‘best friend’ was actually a split personality. My friend was schizophrenic, though they didn’t get diagnosed until years later.” — PM_ME_THEM_CURVES / Reddit
10. “After an eight-year friendship, I realized that this person had only been friends with me because she lacked connections and wanted access to my professional network.” — cawfytawk / Reddit
9. “A former friend once admitted to faking a pregnancy to stay with a wealthy guy she was dating. Her plan was for her family to squeeze as much money out of him as possible before leaving him.” — Advanced_Hat_3548 / Reddit
8. “I recently found out from a mutual friend that another friend has been spying on their ex for years. They figured out the ex’s passwords and have been secretly reading emails and checking bank transactions. They share several children, but the spying has been relentless. The person was told to stop, and the ex was advised to change their passwords.” — Wheres_that_to / Reddit
7. “I discovered that my friend kept his boogers in a jar and secretly ate them as part of an addiction. It freaked me out so much that I stopped hanging out with him.” — skinnnns / Reddit
6. “I worked at a coffee shop with a woman much older than me who was like a mother figure. She was one of the kindest, most caring people I knew. Then, during a random conversation, she casually revealed that she cheats on her husband with her ex-husband whenever she can. I still don’t know how to process that.” — Legendairybrew / Reddit
5. “I studied with Lisa for about six years, and we became quite close. She often talked about wanting a baby with her partner, and after years of trying, she finally shared the happy news that she was expecting. Tragically, she later told me she had a miscarriage at five months. A few weeks later, I ran into an old friend who also knew Lisa from our course. When I mentioned Lisa’s pregnancy and loss, my friend’s face went pale. She said, ‘Are you serious? Lisa can’t have kids; she had a hysterectomy years ago.’ I was stunned. Lisa had even shown me ultrasound pictures. It felt like everything I knew about her was a lie.”
4. “My best friend of 17 years became incredibly jealous of my healthy romantic relationship and revealed her narcissistic side. She even used my grandpa’s death as an excuse to reach out and accuse me of being a horrible person. She’s no longer in my life.” — BackgroundChard1 / Reddit
3. “A colleague I had been friends with for over five years faked having cancer. She shaved her head, wore gaunt makeup, and even used a cane. I brought her meals, wore the solidarity ribbon, and covered her shifts when she needed to go home. Eventually, another colleague told me it was all a lie. They had known for years and confronted her, but she always denied it.” — ligamentary / Reddit
2. I had a friend I’d known closely for years who claimed to have various ailments, from Celiac disease to autism. I went out of my way to accommodate her needs, always making sure her food was gluten-free, picking places that wouldn’t overwhelm her, and being understanding when she wanted to leave early or needed space. I also supported her through what she said were struggles with infertility due to PCOS, and I was patient with her ADHD.
It turns out she was faking it all. To this day, I’m not entirely sure why, but I suspect it was a form of attention-seeking, possibly linked to narcissism. — CopperHead49 / Reddit
1. I had two friends I thought were really close to me. One day, while hanging out with one of them as she was getting ready to go out, she asked me to text our other friend about our plans since she was too busy. While texting, I accidentally scrolled up through their previous messages and stumbled upon a conversation where they were trash-talking me. They mocked things I had said, shared my pictures to ridicule me, and made all kinds of mean comments. I never confronted them about it.
Thankfully, we eventually had a falling out, and I no longer associate with them. © margaret0619 / Reddit