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Lady Upset As Bestie Dates Her Toxic Bro, Refuses To Reconcile After He Sends Her To The Hospital
Sibling relationships are often messy. But when one sibling blames you for their dad leaving, takes every opportunity to make your life a nightmare, and drags others into the chaos, things move beyond petty fights.
Today’s Original Poster (OP) endured years of bullying, but things took a sharp turn when her childhood best friend became romantically involved with the very person who tormented her.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:
It’s one thing to have petty fights with your sibling, but it’s on a whole other level when they are toxic and weaponize their presence
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author’s brother was very abusive to her and her best friend knew about it, but it didn’t stop her from dating him
Image credits: Single_Strawberry_81
Image credits: prostooleh / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author received a phone call that her brother had put her best friend in the hospital, but she wouldn’t budge, even though her best friend had been calling, too
Image credits: Single_Strawberry_81
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The best friend’s sibling called her claiming she was being unfair by not being there for her and that the best friend had simply made a mistake
Image credits: Single_Strawberry_81
The author refuses to believe that her best friend made a mistake because she knew what she was getting into when she chose to date her abusive brother
The OP described her painful childhood growing up with a brother who constantly maltreated her. With their father leaving and a distant mother, this left the OP even more vulnerable to her brother’s ill-treatment, from harsh words to initiating school bullying.
In the darkness, though, there was a light: her best friend. Her family soon became a refuge, offering the care and support her own family failed to provide. However, sometimes, your safe space can crumble.
At 16, the OP’s best friend did the unthinkable. She started dating the brother who had tormented her friend. To the OP, this wasn’t just betrayal — it was her best friend dismissing all the pain she’d endured, choosing to side with her bully.
When the OP confronted her friend, she didn’t apologize. In fact, she doubled down and said the OP was being controlling of who she could date and who she couldn’t. Their friendship shattered then, and so did her ties to her friend’s family.
Fast forward to some time after. The best friend’s relationship with the brother turned toxic, landing her in the hospital. Her father reached out to warn the OP about the danger her brother posed.
Her friend also tried reconnecting, desperate for support, but the OP wasn’t interested. She rejected any attempt made by her best friend to get in touch with her, unable to forgive the past. To her, the betrayal was a deliberate choice and not something that could be dismissed as manipulation.
Image credits: prostooleh / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Bullying always has a negative impact on the person being bullied. As stated by Mentalhealth.com, it is detrimental to their emotional, physical, and psychological well-being. However, what can it be referred to when it is perpetrated by a sibling?
Psychology Today refers to it as sibling maltreatment. According to them, it is often dismissed as “sibling rivalry,” but in reality, it can be a form of severe bullying and emotional abuse. Maltreatment includes “shaming, harassing, belittling, gaslighting, name-calling, threatening, insistently teasing, or excluding a victim.”
It is usually one-sided, with one sibling dominating over the other. Maltreatment tends to happen repeatedly over time, and this often leads to emotional or psychological harm, whether clearly visible or not.
The psychological hurt experienced from her brother’s maltreatment and her best friend choosing to date him was the ultimate betrayal, and understandably so. PsychMechanics affirm that betrayal can be particularly damaging in friendships, and the pain felt is proportional to how much you’ve invested in the relationship.
However, they explain that the “psychological experience of betrayal” is that the hurt a person feels when betrayed is usually a sign to reassess the relationship and encourage the individual to redirect their emotions elsewhere.
Netizens agreed with this as they believed that the OP’s loyalty should lie with herself, not someone who had previously betrayed her. Others noted that the friend had enough time to apologize but only reached out when she needed help, which many felt was insincere.
In all, the majority of commenters strongly agree with the OP’s decision to cut ties with her former best friend, believing that her betrayal was unforgivable.
What would you have done if you were in the OP’s position? Would you have forgiven or cut ties? Please, let us know your thoughts!
Netizens believe that the friend knowingly chose to date an abuser and should face the consequences of her actions
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What do you think ?
csaclint 12 months ago
Gonna ask a question that i'm probably going to get hammered over... What is it that makes so many women think they can "fix" a guy? or that makes them believe "it will be different this time" or anything else that makes them ignore obvious personality traits and behaviors? This is not new. This guy is scum for sure, but the girl knew it and decided for whatever reason that he wouldn't treat her the same way. i just don't get it.
Binky Melnik 11 months ago
I’m a woman and am fortunate that I’ve only been with the very BEST people I’ve known in my life. (Oops; There was one who mildly put me down behind my back. Jerk.) Of all the many, MANY women I’ve known in my life, none has ever had one she felt she needed to fix or who abused her. We discussed it at length many times, though, as we sometimes see those types out in public, and the traits most of those people seemed to share: lower socioeconomic status, less than average intelligence, and fewer opportunities for education, career, and betterment. No, NOT every single one; note I said “most.” (I saw two preppies from renowned schools whose relationship was obviously broken, and we added “parental neglect” to our theory as sometimes wealthy folks send their kids to boarding schools for others to raise.) This is my best guess as someone fascinated by people-watching, but it IS just a guess (and I’m not smart enough to have come up with it all on my own). Would love to hear other theories.
Load More Replies...
Mark Childers 12 months ago
The worst kind of betrayal. The "friend" knew the sister was being horribly treated and bullied. Then, when it suited her because the brother was suddenly paying attention to her, she began to bully the sister, too. Wow. Some "friend." For me, if someone bullies my friend, they will never be my friend. I might even try to do something to them.
TribbleThinking 12 months ago
Sammy has parents and siblings to support her. What does she "need" from the OP? Refrains of "I told you so, you moron", or "There, there diddums, this is such a surprise?". I would genuinely like to hear a sensible answer.
Binky Melnik 11 months ago
Well, you certainly won’t get a sensible answer from Sammy, obviously! I do, however, feel the *tiniest* twinge of an iota of sympathy for her ONLY because I wonder how BAD she has to feel about herself that attention from a PROVEN ABUSER appealed to her. It is, however, buried under a mountain of “WTAF were you thinking?!” and “Have you NO brains at all?!” 🥺
Load More Replies...
Mabel Maney 12 months ago
Board panda used to be so fun to read, but now it’s just depressing. Copying stories from Reddit is not writing.
Binky Melnik 11 months ago (edited)
Mabel, it’s a content aggregator. If you don’t enjoy someone culling the web for entertaining/enlightening/interesting stuff for you, then AVOID THEM. What you’re doing is tantamount to me going to espn.com and posting about how I dislike baseball, basketball, football, etc. Help yourself out by avoiding sites whose services you don’t enjoy or appreciate! I SWEAR your life will improve! Mine did when I crawled out of the rabbit holes of places like Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and so on.
Load More Replies...
Chris the Bobcat 11 months ago
OP didn't have a choice of having a half-brother. Sammy made the choice to date said brother and betray a friend. She knew the risks and she chose... poorly. maxresdefa...defdc4.jpg 
Dana Gordon 11 months ago
NTA but it depends on your feelings toward your x- friend. Do you miss her friendship? Relationship with the family? Her not 'believing you' could very well be a nieve, lovesick 16 year old girl easily taken in by a charming narcissistic psychopath. They are very good at making you think everyone else is crazy, jealous of them etc. Once sucked in, apologizing, getting out even as a mature young woman, would have been nearly impossible because the control & abuse is cemented. If you miss the friendship, I would slowly reach out to support her, but only if she never goes back to your brother. If she gravitated back- 'sorry can't support this, I need to back away' and do. If you really can't don't feel guilted, but you posted this so you feel some sort of sway.
csaclint 12 months ago
Gonna ask a question that i'm probably going to get hammered over... What is it that makes so many women think they can "fix" a guy? or that makes them believe "it will be different this time" or anything else that makes them ignore obvious personality traits and behaviors? This is not new. This guy is scum for sure, but the girl knew it and decided for whatever reason that he wouldn't treat her the same way. i just don't get it.
Binky Melnik 11 months ago
I’m a woman and am fortunate that I’ve only been with the very BEST people I’ve known in my life. (Oops; There was one who mildly put me down behind my back. Jerk.) Of all the many, MANY women I’ve known in my life, none has ever had one she felt she needed to fix or who abused her. We discussed it at length many times, though, as we sometimes see those types out in public, and the traits most of those people seemed to share: lower socioeconomic status, less than average intelligence, and fewer opportunities for education, career, and betterment. No, NOT every single one; note I said “most.” (I saw two preppies from renowned schools whose relationship was obviously broken, and we added “parental neglect” to our theory as sometimes wealthy folks send their kids to boarding schools for others to raise.) This is my best guess as someone fascinated by people-watching, but it IS just a guess (and I’m not smart enough to have come up with it all on my own). Would love to hear other theories.
Load More Replies... Mark Childers 12 months ago
The worst kind of betrayal. The "friend" knew the sister was being horribly treated and bullied. Then, when it suited her because the brother was suddenly paying attention to her, she began to bully the sister, too. Wow. Some "friend." For me, if someone bullies my friend, they will never be my friend. I might even try to do something to them.
TribbleThinking 12 months ago
Sammy has parents and siblings to support her. What does she "need" from the OP? Refrains of "I told you so, you moron", or "There, there diddums, this is such a surprise?". I would genuinely like to hear a sensible answer.
Binky Melnik 11 months ago
Well, you certainly won’t get a sensible answer from Sammy, obviously! I do, however, feel the *tiniest* twinge of an iota of sympathy for her ONLY because I wonder how BAD she has to feel about herself that attention from a PROVEN ABUSER appealed to her. It is, however, buried under a mountain of “WTAF were you thinking?!” and “Have you NO brains at all?!” 🥺
Load More Replies... Mabel Maney 12 months ago
Board panda used to be so fun to read, but now it’s just depressing. Copying stories from Reddit is not writing.
Binky Melnik 11 months ago (edited)
Mabel, it’s a content aggregator. If you don’t enjoy someone culling the web for entertaining/enlightening/interesting stuff for you, then AVOID THEM. What you’re doing is tantamount to me going to espn.com and posting about how I dislike baseball, basketball, football, etc. Help yourself out by avoiding sites whose services you don’t enjoy or appreciate! I SWEAR your life will improve! Mine did when I crawled out of the rabbit holes of places like Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and so on.
Load More Replies... Chris the Bobcat 11 months ago
OP didn't have a choice of having a half-brother. Sammy made the choice to date said brother and betray a friend. She knew the risks and she chose... poorly. maxresdefa...defdc4.jpg
Dana Gordon 11 months ago
NTA but it depends on your feelings toward your x- friend. Do you miss her friendship? Relationship with the family? Her not 'believing you' could very well be a nieve, lovesick 16 year old girl easily taken in by a charming narcissistic psychopath. They are very good at making you think everyone else is crazy, jealous of them etc. Once sucked in, apologizing, getting out even as a mature young woman, would have been nearly impossible because the control & abuse is cemented. If you miss the friendship, I would slowly reach out to support her, but only if she never goes back to your brother. If she gravitated back- 'sorry can't support this, I need to back away' and do. If you really can't don't feel guilted, but you posted this so you feel some sort of sway.
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