Why 25 percent of women dislike their partner’s friends
Don’t like your boyfriend’s best friend? You’re not alone.
Actually, a U.K. poll suggests you're among one in four women. The reason, says the poll, is they consider them bad influences. In fact, one in 10 women felt so strongly that they actually went so far as to forbid their partner from seeing at least one chum.
In the minds of the women polled it seems standard jerkiness equated a bad influence. In the presence of their buddies it seems these men drank, swore, acted up and showed off more.
Other friend-related behaviours that got under their skin included staying out late, ignoring them in the presence of their friends, the telling of unfunny jokes (haha!), and having to listen to the same (presumably unfunny) stories over and over again.
Basically, it sounds like a lot of women have a problem with the fact that their partners don’t appear to have mastered the art of being a good boyfriend and a good friend simultaneously.
But is all the friend-related ill will simply a case of misplaced anger? Wouldn’t 25 percent of women be better served sitting down with their partner and telling them how these inconsiderate behaviours negatively affect their relationship rather than banning or blaming a pal?
Probably. But then again, it’s entirely possible that this 25 percent are saddled with inconsiderate and/or immature amours that know exactly what bugs their gals and continue on anyway.
But there is good news. If the poll is to be trusted, then it seems 75 percent of women don’t have the same problem. This statistic implies considerate partners, that know how to treat their friends and their loved ones well, do exist.
Do you dislike any of your partner's friends? Would you ever go so far as to forbid them to see each other? Tell us in the comment section below.
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Flannery Dean is a writer based in Hamilton, Ont. She’s written for The Narwhal, the Globe and Mail and The Guardian.
