She Cut Off Her Best Friend For Telling Her Coworkers That She’s A Recovering Alcoholic During A Barbecue She Hosted
For the past two years, this 32-year-old woman has been in recovery from alcoholism, and the process has been long and difficult. She’s also preferred to keep the journey private, sharing it with only a few trusted people.
One of the people she opened up to was her best friend Amanda, who’s 31.
“We’ve been friends for over 10 years, and she’s always been super supportive, or so I thought,” she said.
Yet, when she recently threw a barbecue at her house, Amanda actually told all of her colleagues that she was a recovering alcoholic, and she was completely shocked.
For some context, she works in marketing and recently landed a position at a new agency. Things were going great at her job as well, and she enjoyed getting to know her coworkers and building relationships with them.
“None of my colleagues knew about my recovery because I didn’t think it was something I needed to share at work, at least not yet,” she noted.
Then, last weekend, she decided to host a barbecue – inviting some of her coworkers and friends, such as Amanda.
At one point during the barbecue, some people began discussing alcohol. She stayed a bit silent during the conversation, but she didn’t think it was a big deal.
Amanda, on the other hand, felt the need to chime in for some reason and told everyone that she wouldn’t be drinking since she’s been sober for two years now.
rh2010 – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
“I was absolutely mortified. The conversation just stopped dead, and I could see the awkwardness on everyone’s faces,” she recalled.
“I tried to laugh it off, but things just weren’t the same after that.”
Following the barbecue, things have been really strange at work for her, too. Some of her coworkers have begun acting weird around her, while others are more distant or avoiding her entirely.
So, she wound up confronting Amanda and saying she was super upset about her personal info getting exposed without her consent.
In response, Amanda claimed to not think it was a big deal since she “should be proud” of her sobriety.
“While yes, I am proud of my recovery, I also feel like it was my choice when and how to share that with people,” she explained.
Amanda did apologize after she expressed that, but she still felt that it was a half-hearted effort. Not to mention, her friend also accused her of overreacting. That didn’t sit well with her, and in the end, she cut off contact with Amanda – at least for the short term. Her friend hasn’t stopped messaging her, either.
“Saying she didn’t mean any harm and that she was just trying to ‘help’ and that I’m making this a bigger issue than it needs to be,” she vented.
Now, she has begun second-guessing herself and isn’t sure if ending her friendship with Amanda over this was justified or not.
Was it Amanda’s place to speak on her recovery? Is it understandable if she wants to distance herself from Amanda for the time being? What would you do?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Relationships