Coping with a Close Friend's Betrayal

For many of us, our close friends are like a second family.  For some of us, who might have contentious relationships with our immediate family, we might rely even more on our close friendships for emotional sustenance and support.  We rely on and trust in our friendships, which makes it so painful when we find out that we've been betrayed by a close friend.

Coping With a Close Friend's Betrayal

When we think about coping with a betrayal, we usually associate it with the betrayal of a spouse or family member, not a betrayal by a close friend.  It's not a topic that is often written about in psychological literature, even though such betrayals often cause a great deal of emotional pain.  We expect close friends to be there for us emotionally, to be there for the good times as well as during rough patches in our lives.  Close friends are people we confide in and who confide in us.  We feel understood by our close friends, sometimes even more so than our spouses and immediate family.  We might even idealize our close friendships.  And we might have blind spots with certain friends.

There are many different types of betrayals that can occur in friendships.  The one that most often comes to mind and is portrayed in books and movies (as well as in "real life") is when a friend gets involved with one's spouse or romantic partner.  But there are other betrayals that can also hurt and be very difficult to come to terms with emotionally because of the trust that we usually place in close friendships.

Clinical Vignette:

The following fictionalized account, which is a composite of many different cases with all identifying information changed, is an example of a close friend's betrayal that is not discussed as often.

Mary and Alice:
Mary and Alice became best friends in high school and remained best friends in college.  They thought of themselves and described themselves to others as "sisters."  They were actually closer to each other emotionally than they were with their siblings.  They relied on each other for emotional support.  They confided in each other.  Over the years, after college, they helped each other through messy relationships and problems in their marriages.

When Mary found out that her husband, Tom, was cheating on her, the first person that she called was Alice.  Alice provided a shoulder for Mary to cry on, so to speak, and helped her to get through a difficult divorce.  Alice was Mary's emotional "rock," as Mary had been for Alice many times.

A year after her divorce, Mary ran into Tom and his girlfriend, Pat, the woman that he cheated with, in the grocery store.  If she had seen them first, Mary would have turned down a different aisle.  But she found herself in the awkward position of being almost face-to-face with them before she even realized it.  Mary knew Tom's girlfriend because they all went to high school together.  She also knew that Pat had always been interested in Tom and was jealous that Mary was with him.

Even though he cheated on her, Mary was still in love with Tom.  She never would have imagined in a million years that Tom would have an affair.  They were having problems communicating and their sex life had dwindled to almost nothing, but she couldn't believe, until he confessed to her about the affair, that he would ever cheat on her.  Tom wanted to try to work things out in their marriage, but Mary knew it was over.  She divorced him because she realized that she couldn't ever trust him again.

As she passed them in the food aisle and looked away, she felt herself close to tears.  Just as she was about to turn the corner to go in a different direction, she felt someone tapping her on her shoulder.  When she turned around, she was surprised to see Pat.  She was inclined to keep walking and ignore her, but Pat took her elbow and said, "I know you hate me because of what happened.  Everyone blames me for your divorce, but Alice needs to take some of the blame too.  If she hadn't told me about the problems that you and Tom were having, I never would have called him.  You know I was always in love with Tom, but the two of you were together and seemed so happy.  When Alice told me about the problems in your relationship with Tom, I saw a chance, and I thought he would be much happier with me, and I think he is." Without saying another word, Pat walked away.

Hearing these words, Mary felt numb with shock.  She managed to make it through the checkout and drive home in a stupor.  Later that night, when Alice came over, Mary told her about the incident in the grocery store.  She held her breath, hoping that Alice would say something, anything, to contradict what Pat had told her.  But, instead, Alice's face turned a bright red and she looked down at her feet without saying a word.  Then, Mary knew it was true--Alice had betrayed her by talking to Pat about things that Mary told Alice in the strictest of confidence.  Mary was stunned and all she could say was, "Why?  Why did you do this to me?"  Alice remained silent for a long time, and then she said, "I'm sorry I hurt you."  Then, she put her coat on and left.

Mary was left with no real explanation.  Over the next few days and weeks, she could barely think of anything else.  She felt betrayed by her ex-husband and now betrayed by her best friend.  She kept playing the situation over and over again in her mind trying to make sense of why Alice would have betrayed her in this way and with someone that Alice knew was interested in Tom.  How could she do this?

A month or so later, she received an email from Alice apologizing for the betrayal.  She said she never meant to hurt Mary, and she never thought it would contribute to the demise of Mary's marriage.  But she gave no explanation.  All she said was that she didn't know why she did it.  This was the first contact that they had for a while.  So, Mary was left to sort this out on her own.  She had other friends, but her sense of trust had taken a real blow, and she wondered if she could trust her other friends.

By the time Mary came to therapy, she was at a low point.  It took her a while to feel that she could trust her therapist.  Gradually, she established a rapport with her therapist and she began to sort out the double betrayal of her husband and her best friend.  She didn't completely blame Alice for Tom's affair because she realized that he was an adult and he made his own decisions about being unfaithful.  But she felt almost as violated by Alice's betrayal as by Tom's.

Over time in therapy, Mary began to realize that there had been signs all along that Alice could be indiscreet, but Mary chose to ignore them.  Alice would often tell Mary about very private things that other people had confided in Alice.  This made Mary feel uncomfortable, but she never thought Alice would betray her.  She realized that she didn't use good judgment in confiding in Alice.

It took a while for Mary to work through the double loss of her husband and her best friend, and to feel good about herself again.  She became closer with other friends over time.  She began dating a man that she really liked.  Eventually, she forgave Alice, but she didn't forget about the betrayal, and they were never really friends again.  Gradually, the pain of this double betrayal receded into the background and took its place as she moved on with her life.

Trust is Difficult After a Friend's Betrayal
The vignette above is just one example of many.  As this case illustrates, a close friend's betrayal can really knock our sense of trust in others as well as ourselves.  We question not just why we were betrayed by a close friend, but we question ourselves as to either we betrayed ourselves by trusting this friend in the first place.

This type of betrayal can be very difficult to overcome on your own because it often challenges us to the core of our beings.  Seeking professional help can provide the support you need to get through a traumatic betrayal.  If, unfortunately, you find yourself in a situation where you've been betrayed by a friend and you're unable to overcome this problem on your own, you owe it to yourself to seek the help of a licensed mental health professional.

About Me

I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR therapist and Somatic Experiencing therapist who works with individual adults and couples. 

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 or email me.

Friendships: Losing a Friend After Giving Advice

One of the wonderful things about close friendships is the mutual support you provide to each other. Recently, a personal acquaintance told me how she lost her best friend after giving her advice, and she gave me permission to use her story, if I change her name, because she felt it might benefit others. Over the years, I've heard many versions of this story, and I've come to realize how common it is.

Yvonne (not her real name):
Yvonne and Sally were best friends since high school. They grew up in the same town, got married to their high school sweethearts with a couple of months of each other, and they continued to live close by even after they got married. They saw each other frequently, spending time with each other together as well as with their husbands. Over the years, they shared their secrets, hopes and dreams with each other. They thought of each other as sisters.

Sally and Yvonne Were Best Friends

It was not unusual for Yvonne and Sally to ask each other for advice. So, Yvonne thought nothing of it when Sally came over for coffee one day and told her that she needed Yvonne's advice. Sally told Yvonne that she suspected that her husband might be having an affair with his secretary.

At first, Yvonne thought Sally was joking. Everyone thought that Sally and Bob were the happiest couple in town. But when Yvonne realized that Sally was serious, she got over her initial shock and listened attentively to what Sally had to say.

Sally told Yvonne about all the telltale signs of Bob's infidelity: staying out late after work, sexually the provocative text messages on Bob's phone that Sally found when she became suspicious and searched his cell phone, and the sudden lack of sexual interest that Bob was showing for her.

They had been planning a vacation to Hawaii for months and now, suddenly, Bob wasn't sure if he wanted to go. As Sally told Yvonne all of this, she lowered her head and began to cry. She asked Yvonne, "I've been thinking about confronting Bob about this. What do you think should do?"

Yvonne told me that, at this point, her mouth had gone dry, and she hardly knew what to say. She had never seen Sally so upset in all the years they'd been friends. Her heart went out to Sally, and she wanted to help her. So, after a few moments of silence in which she composed herself, she told Sally she thought she should confront Bob. When Yvonne told me this part of the story, she said, "I would do anything now to take back those words."

A few days later, Sally came to see Yvonne. Sally looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her eyes were red and puffy with dark circles and she looked exhausted. Yvonne was shocked to see Sally in such a state.

After they sat down with cups of coffee, Sally told her that she confronted Bob. At first, he denied it. Then, after arguing about it for a few days, he admitted everything: He and his secretary were having an affair and he had no intention of giving it up. He felt ashamed, but he was also relieved because he hated lying to Sally.

At first, he thought his affair was only a passing thing. But after Sally confronted him about the affair, he had time to think about it. Before she confronted him, he said, he was going to break it off. But his arguments with Sally forced him to think about it more, and he realized that he was really in love with his secretary and he wanted to marry her. He apologized profusely to Sally, and then he asked her for a divorce.

As Yvonne sat there in stunned silence, Sally told her she couldn't help feeling that if she had not taken Yvonne's advice, Bob might have broken off his affair and all of this would have blown over. Maybe they would've had a chance to save their marriage.

But now she felt everything was lost. Bob moved out the day before to live with his new girlfriend, and he told her they should sell their house. Then, taking no responsibility for her own decision to confront Bob, Sally told Yvonne that she felt Yvonne's advice ruined her marriage and she wanted nothing to do with her ever again. And, with that, Sally walked out, leaving Yvonne in tears.


By the time Yvonne told me this story, five years had passed. True to her word, Sally wanted nothing to do with Yvonne. She ignored Yvonne's phone calls and email, and she refused to open the door when Yvonne tried to see her. In a few months after their last conversation, Sally sold her home and moved out of state. Yvonne never heard from her again.

Hindsight is 20/20
Hindsight is 20/20, and Yvonne had important insights over time. She came to see that, even though they were in their 30s, her friendship with Sally was somewhat adolescent and enmeshed. At the time, when Sally asked Yvonne for advice, Yvonne didn't have enough distance, due to their enmeshment, to stop and think about it before she gave advice.

She said that, if she could do it all over again, she would've told Sally that she couldn't advise her what to do and Sally should seek the help of someone impartial, like a mental health professional. She realized that, under most circumstances, no one can tell a friend what to do about his or her marriage.

Although time had passed and Yvonne was over the initial stage of hurt and anger for Sally blaming her and ending the friendship, she said she will never forget the important, painful lesson she learned. As I mentioned earlier, I've heard variations of this story many times. It can be a very painful lesson to learn that, even when a close friend asks for this type of advice, giving them advice about their marriage or relationship can backfire.

More importantly, we can never know what's right for another person's relationship. Even most experienced therapists don't give advice--they help clients to come to conclusions that are right for the individual clients.

So, the next time a friend seeks personal advice about serious problems in his or her relationship, unless you fear for your friend's physical safety, rather than risking the friendship, provide a comforting ear and a sounding board, but resist telling your friend what to do. Suggest that your friend seek professional help fro a licensed psychotherapist so your friend can figure out what's best for him or herself.

About Me
I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Exp I work with individuals and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website:  Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 or email me.