Before they hurt you really hard, here are some ways in which you can find out about ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs
Toxic friendships are as common as toxic romantic relationships. ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs usually want something from you but give you nothing in return. ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs do not have your best interests at heart and view the friendship from the perspective of what they can get from you rather than genuine care for you. Well, here are 7 things that only a ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ would do
1. They talk about you behind your back
First and foremost, a true friend would never gossip about you behind your back and spread all your secrets to everyone. No matter how juicy the rumor would be or how popular it would make them, they would never jeopardize your friendship or humiliate you like that by stabbing you in the back. And while ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs talk trash about you and spread rumors about you when you’re not looking, someone who really cares about you would never stoop so low as to betray your trust like that.
2. They throw you under the bus when the going gets tough
ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs are willing to just throw you under the bus and pin the blame on you if it means saving their own skin. They don’t vouch for you, they don’t take your side and they certainly don’t stick up for you when someone is hurting or belittling you. The truth is they don’t think you or your friendship is worth putting themselves at risk for.
3. They constantly cancel on you
Have you ever spent weeks planning on a trip, only for your friends to cancel on you at the last minute? Was there ever something you were looking forward to doing with them, but they never even bother to show up? No matter how many times you keep reminding them about it or making them promise you they’ll come, your so-called “friends” never keep their word! Flaky and indecisive, you’ve had to learn the hard way time and time again that you can’t ever count on them to come through for you.
4. They’re not there for you
If a friend is almost never there for you when you’re going through a difficult time, they’re most likely a ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ.
5. They exclude you from their plans
Do they seem to conveniently forget to invite you to things? Do you feel excluded from group activities more often than not? Even if you go out of your way to invite them or tell them about your plans, they just don’t do the same for you.
6. They always seem to need something from you
ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs will only contact you or gather when they want or need something from you.
7. They’re competitive with you
Out of jealousy, ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs can be quite competitive. They generally want to appear superior to you.
8. They make you feel bad about yourself
A ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ will not uplift you in the same way that a true friend will. You may feel insecure, used, or judged when you’re around this person.
9. They give you backhanded compliments
Have they ever said things to you like “you did surprisingly well” or “that was better than I expected from you” or maybe “you look so much better than you usually do?” A backhanded compliment is something ғᴀᴋᴇ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅs do to subtly put you down by making it sound like praise. It’s a way to criticize you without being too obvious about it. It shows that they are jealous of you and that they judge you more harshly than they want to let on. What they really want to do is to take a dig at you and pass it off as a bit of light-hearted teasing between friends.
