“Should I MOA From This Friendship?”

Two days ago I became a married woman. I had been engaged since September of last year and have had the wedding date set and bridesmaids selected since October. By Thanksgiving, the venue had been picked, the dresses (mine and the bridesmaids as well) had been chosen and prices calculated. I offered to buy the $140.00 dress anyone who could not afford it just to keep everything stress-free but all the bridesmaids turned the offer down, including the Matron of Honor. Now a little background on my Matron of Honor: we’ve been best friends since sixth grade. After I joined the Navy, she married a younger man who joined the Army at…

“My Friend Lied to Me About Dating My Brother”

My good friend, “Meg,” and I were friends in high school and college, before she began dating my brother. Both of them lied to me about their relationship for an entire year, so needless to say, I was terribly hurt. It wasn’t just that they lied to me for a year, but that they told all of our mutual friends months before I knew, so I was made to look like an idiot. Then, about two years ago, they went through a rather nasty break-up after five years together. Meg and I didn’t talk much throughout the end of their relationship, and we just recently started spending time together again. In fact,…

Weekend Open Thread

This week’s weekend open thread topic comes from a reader, who wrote to me, asking: “Can a man and woman be strictly friends, without some extenuating factor (in a relationship, gay, not at all attracted to each other)? I know for myself, if there is a hint of attraction, it is VERY difficult because one ends up wanting more … even if that just means a single hookup. Just wondering what everyone else’s thoughts on the matter were. I love having guy friends, but it ends up being a lot of work to keep things from getting awkward and stressful if you are both available.” It happens that my best friend is…

How to Make Friends as A Grown-Up

In the last few years, I’ve made some pretty enormous changes in my life. First, I moved from Chicago to New York to be with Drew, leaving behind a wonderful circle of long-time friends. Then, I started a stay-at-home freelance writing career. Then I got married. Then I moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and then I got pregnant. To say my social life has changed as a result of all this would be an under-statement. Recently, I’ve realized an overwhelming need to not only work harder at strengthening the friendships I’ve made in New York, but in making some solid new ones — especially with people who are at similar places in…

“I’m Jealous of My Man Magnet Roommate”

My college roommate is hands down the sweetest, funniest, most incredibly gorgeous girl I’ve ever met. Over the year, we have gotten very close, and I absolutely love spending time with her. The only problem is: every time we go anywhere together, guys immediately approach her and initiate a conversation with her, often completely ignoring me, which makes me feel undesirable and ‘second best.’ On top of that, numerous times I’ve invited my male friends over to our apartment, and they end up talking only to her, and continue to ask me about her for weeks after meeting her. The thing that bugs me the most about it is that she isn’t…

“My Boyfriend Is Obsessed With Our Neighbor”

My boyfriend of three and a half years is spending way too much time with “Jim,” a neighbor friend in our new building. Jim’s not a bad guy and his wife and I get along fine as well, but a few weeks ago he started hanging out at our place with my boyfriend every evening and staying there until 9 or 10 o’clock — sometimes even later. I told my boyfriend that I don’t like that there’s always someone in our home and I can never really relax, but later that night, when Jim knocked on the door, my boyfriend let him right in. And the next night, he invited Jim and…

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