Content Warning: Alcoholism, Drunk Driving, Brain Aneurysm, Medical Complications, Abandonment
When we hear the term "best friends," it typically calls to mind, "Best Friends Forever."
But just because someone was our best friend does not mean they'll be a best friend for a lifetime. After all, friends might be a part of our lives for a reason, for a season, or for a life, and not all best friends are created equally.
Already cringing, Redditor FoxPrime asked:
"How did you lose your best friend?"
Gut-Twisting Trauma
"He got jumped pretty bad by three guys and developed paranoia and maybe schizophrenia, too. A couple of years ago, I was visiting him, and one day, he went out to grab some food, and everything was fine."
"When he came back home, I opened the door, and he pushed it open, baseball bat in hand, and before I could process what was going on, he tackled me through a glass table and then tried to hit me in the head with a baseball bat. Had his cousin and brother not been there to hold him back, I would have died."
"He accused me of all kinds of things that never happened. But when he came back to reality, he realized that he’d tried to kill me and completely broke down."
"I forgave him right away because I knew it was a mental health episode, but he never forgave himself and stopped talking to me out of shame."
"It's heartbreaking, to be honest. He was my closest friend for 18 years."
- CollegeTop6458
A Common Occurrence
"He started hanging out with a new group of friends and started to become a d-bag just like them."
- Heavy_Pudding_1578
"Yeah, that's kinda accurate for my friend from secondary school."
- TheChunkyScale
"This is a ridiculously relatable way to lose a friend."
- Spincrit
Just Heartbreaking
"He passed away recently from leukemia complications. He was my favorite person in the world, and now he's just GONE."
- chibimonkey
"I don’t know if this helps in any way, but our personalities form as a result of the people we surround ourselves with. Your best friend was a big part of your life, and so he’s a big part of YOU."
"He’ll be with you always, so carry on his legacy proudly until you reunite wherever dead people go."
- sloothor
So Sudden
"I was playing COD (Black Ops) one day with him. The last thing we ever talked about was how the next day we would be back online to keep playing."
"Then I never heard from him again. He hasn’t responded to one message and, from what I’ve heard, is doing fairly well."
"Most people would know what they did wrong and probably not admit it when asked why by others, but I genuinely don’t know what I did wrong. If my life depended on knowing why, I still wouldn’t be able to give an answer."
"Now that it’s been a year, I’ve switched from sad to actually becoming mad. I'm 29, and we were friends since we were sophomores in high school, and he can't even give me a proper sign-off."
- aians
"I had a friend like this and we were close till our mid-30s even our kids knew each other. One day, she disappeared and blocked me and our mutual friends."
"I went back and forth between sad and mad but eventually was at peace, realizing people go through s**t."
"I actually ended up seeing her a few weeks ago at my nail salon after years of no contact. I was genuinely happy to see her and she seemed to be to see me too."
"We caught up for a bit. I didn’t ask any questions on where she had been, just how she’d been. We exchanged numbers, and I wished her a happy birthday."
"It’ll never be the same but randomly seeing her like that finally gave me closure, too."
- Trippy-Giraffe420
Two Relationships Lost At Once
"My best friend was my ex."
- twrk4meho
"Same. The worst part is that I don't really miss him as my partner, but it hurts so much to miss him as my friend."
- lifelikefantasy
Best Friends Come In All Forms
"I put him down this morning. He was 18. He was a good d**n cat."
"RIP, Mystery."
- CompetitiveCut1457
"Biggest hug to you. I'm glad you had 18 years together, but know it's never long enough. I'm so sorry."
- SummerOfMayhem
The Dangers Of Alcoholism
"My best friend of almost 20 years died due to alcoholism."
"It disturbs me how we downplay the real dangers of alcohol consumption and treat it as a cultural thing to just accept and ignore."
"I miss him every day and wish I had gotten him help while he was still here."
- DroppinEaves
"I used to tell the homies all the time. We shun and disassociate w/people who do the 'bad drugs,' but if the entire table orders a shot (or five) during dinner, we laugh and say, 'Next one is on me.'"
"Then we slur words, forget moments of that night, fall over, can't walk straight, and become bold, maybe angry."
"Lord forbids one of us tries to drive home and we say, 'Lemme know when you make it,' and if we do make it home, it's a successful mission. And at the same time, we get mad at drunk drivers ONLY if they hit someone."
"It's disturbing how we downplay alcohol consumption. Bless you and your friend group."
- JuChainnz
The Cheating Life
"He was sleeping with my girlfriend. No coming back from that one in my book."
- growingcoolly
"It takes a special kind of friend to share a drink with a man while tapping his girlfriend behind his back."
- theHowlader
The Final Straw
"She had a terrible relationship with her husband and was always tearing him down and picking fights. I tried to mediate where I could and support her when she was actually in the right."
"Once I threatened to leave her kids' birthday party if she didn't stop being a b***h to her husband in front of everyone."
"But the final straw was when I got married. She let us have our wedding in her backyard, helped me with the decorations and everything, and was always happy for me finally finding someone."
"Then she started crossing the line and making fun of my husband to me and also in front of us both. After the second time it happened, I told her if she didn't stop, then that was the end of our years-long friendship."
"She thought I was playing, but it's been 15 years since I cut her out of my life, and I'm better for it."
- Killrpickle
A Rollercoaster Of A Friendship
"She and I had been best friends for years. Her boyfriend never treated her the best, so I was always there to listen to her vent. I never really brought up my problems, ever… until one day, I needed her."
"I was in a bad way with depression and anxiety and I needed to vent to her. First time ever. Her response? 'You’re not the only one with problems.'"
"Her way of telling me to basically get over yourself. To say I was devastated hearing that would be an understatement. I had listened to this girl b***h and moan and cry about her boyfriend for years, and not once did I ever make her feel like she was bothering me, but the ONE TIME I had issues, she couldn’t be bothered to listen to me."
"So, I pretty much cut her from my life after that and moved on. She never made an effort to try to fix things."
"Six years later, I sucked it up and messaged her and she thankfully messaged me back. We talked and made amends (somewhat). She planned on visiting my city over the summer and we made an agreement to meet up."
"I was so excited. We kept in touch until the day of the meet-up and then… radio silence. Nothing. I tried to excuse the behavior and assumed it was a crazy night for her but she never followed up with me. All I got was some random Snap of the location she was at, but she didn’t respond when I asked why she sent it."
"She completely ghosted me. I haven’t spoken to her for the last eight years now."
"What pains me is I realized I never truly got closure from anything. I think about her nearly every day. I sometimes try to convince myself to message her and see if she’s turned over a new leaf so we can talk. I have a beautiful baby daughter I would love for her to meet. But I just can’t bend over backward again for someone that treats a best friend like that."
- Beard341
Not Worth The Risk
"A drunk driver hit her car doing over 90 miles per hour."
"I drove by the accident and recognized her car. She was 22. I sat there and cried as the fire department ripped her car apart and she was airlifted out."
"One of the firefighters came over afterward and said he was sorry. He didn't want to me suffer for hours without knowing. I really appreciate that 30 years later."
"I was 19 at the time, and I drove to her parents' house and let them know what had happened. It is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever had to tell anyone. It didn't even occur to me to let someone else inform them."
"I still miss you, Michelle, and a big f**k-you to every drunk driver out there."
- Demonae
Religious Differences
"He found out I was Catholic, and he was Church of Christ. He said he couldn’t be my friend anymore. We were 16 years old."
- Goglplx
"That happened to me, too. My Baptist friend at 12 went off to church camp, and when he got back, he cried while telling me we can't be friends because he doesn't want to go to h**l. I guess his pastors told him I will try and convert him and make him Catholic."
- Zes_Teaslong
Always Respect Food Allergies
"I had a drink with him whilst playing chess, we smoked, autumn had just been setting in, and we were at our spot on the marble tables outside. That was the last time we consciously spent together."
"The following week, I got a call from his mom that he was in a coma because of his peanut allergy. I spent every day at the hospital with him, but his brain wasn't reacting anymore. His wife and his family weren't capable of unplugging him, so I was the one with the burden."
"Not a day goes by without thinking of him, and I'm a big guy, and it always makes me cry. It's been 12 years on the 21st of September. He was a gentleman, a brother, and a scholar. He was my liege."
"God d**mit."
- Montreal_Ballsdeep
An Unequal Friendship
"He wouldn’t make sacrifices to keep the friendship going."
"The last straw was when I had to fly cross country for our mutual friend’s wedding home in California pretty much last-minute (I was in medical school on the East Coast and had an important exam)."
"He thought picking me up from the airport was an inconvenience to him."
- Five-Oh-Vicryl
The Best Of Hauntings
"He passed away from an unforeseen brain aneurysm. He was all alone."
"I pray for him to haunt me some time."
- TheFoulWind
"'I pray for him to haunt me some time.'"
"This is so deep, I'm crying."
- secure-childhood-567
"Not the exact same, but my mom was literally within an hour of coming from a surgery, took a short walk, had an embolism, and that was it. I watched it all happen but in a lot of ways, I'm glad I did."
"I know she wasn't alone, I know she felt very little pain, and I know the doctors and nurses did EVERYTHING in their power to save her. That all gives me comfort."
"It truly is crazy how quickly things happen. Life is too short, ALWAYS let those you care about know and be there for them. Tomorrow might be too late."
- randomdude1022
As wonderful as it would be for all the best friendships to last forever, some are not meant to withstand life's twists and turns.
It's clear from these Redditors' accounts why these friendships ended, too. From the natural progressions of life to betrayals to tragedies, there are countless reasons a friendship might end, and the best friendship is no exception.
