Her Friend Forgot to Hang Up After Their Call, and Sophie Uncovered Some Shocking Truths About Her Own Family

So after my friend told me this story, it honestly made me rethink how I approach friendships, and my husband felt the same. We don’t exactly shut people out, but we’ve definitely started keeping bits of our personal lives private, chatting less about ourselves, and spending a bit less time with friendsnot because we suddenly don’t trust them, but just to keep certain things for ourselves. And all this happened because of a rather awkward experience my friend and her husband went through.

So, she and her husband had this other couple they’d been close with for years. The two men worked in the same office, and the women had gone to university together. When her friend got married and had a baby the next year, she introduced my friend to one of her husband’s workmates, and they started datingit all seemed quite lovely.

After a while, the friend’s husband changed jobs for something better paid, and she landed a well-paid position too. Naturally, with the new schedules and all, the two couples started seeing less of each other. Then, my friend’s mate ended up off work quite a bitshe was always off on leave, mostly because she had kids close together, and the bosses weren’t exactly thrilled, so eventually they let her go, giving some half-baked reason.

Meanwhile, her husband had to really graft to make sure his wife and four kids were comfortable. Life might have been a bit tough at times, but honestly, they managed decently. They bought a big house out in the country and kept things running well, though they were far from wealthy.

Their friends, on the other hand, didnt have kids. They focused on their careers, holidayed abroad whenever they fancied, and generally lived a bit more extravagantly.

One day, the childfree couple invited my friend and her family to their cottage in the countryside, thinking itd be a cracking idea to escape the city for a bit. They envisaged barbecue parties, lazy swims in the river, walks through the woodsthe weather was gorgeous, after all. The friend rang up with the invite, sounded genuinely excited, and said she’d confirm after speaking to her husband. She put down her phone on the tablebut forgot to end the call.

Thats when things took a bizarre turn. From the other end, my friend accidentally overheard her supposed friends chatting about her and her family, and what she heard absolutely floored her.

Turns out, the other couple saw them as complete idiots who hadnt a clue how to live. They reckoned the four kids were the reason my friend and her husband were always skint, struggling from one payday to the next. Their home? A wreck they’d be embarrassed to invite anyone to. The kids? Spoilt brats, and who on earth has that many children these dayshalf should be sent off to a home, apparently. The wife was dull as dishwater who never spoke of anything but her children.

And her husband? A rude git not worth talking to. Then the call finally cut off, but my friend and her husband just sat there, reeling, unsure what to do. Part of them wanted to march round and confront their matesthen, as if on cue, the phone rang again, this time properly. The friends husband said theyd see them that weekend, and my friends husband just agreed, still stunned, before hanging up.

When the friends arrived, they turned up with supermarket own-brand biscuits and sweets for the kidsproper cheap stuff. The other husband straight away piped up with, Blimey, you must be on a tight budget if even the treats are bottom shelf! Ah well, well look after you tonightthe spread heres a treat. Fill up now, you can give us a hand later, weve got loads to do!

My friend and her husband were left completely gobsmacked, not quite sure how to respond. Then the other wife joined in:

And why havent you got any kids yet?

Her friend simply replied, Not just yet, reallytheres time for that.

The response? Oh, I see. Only idiots want loads of kids. Clever people just live for themselves.

At that, my friend and her husband literally just stared. They could tell their friends knew everything, but had no clue how. The friends soon made up an excuse and left in a hurry.

So honestly, what would you have done? Should my friend have let it all slide and been polite, or do you reckon she should have been more upfront? Im honestly torn. This whole thing stuck with me, and its made me a bit more guarded about who I really open up to, you know?