A 32-year-old woman has a best friend named Mia, who is the same age as her, and they originally met back in college.
They became instant best friends, and Mia has always told her that she dreamed of having a large, loving family.
Unfortunately, Mia’s childhood was awful. She lost her mom, her dad, and her little sister between the ages of 10 to 12.
Mia then wound up in foster care, but then her uncle adopted her, but he was abusive to Mia.
“Obviously, Mia was/is very mentally unwell, and just a few months ago, she managed to get off her meds and stopped going to therapy,” she explained.
“Mia and her husband Rick (34M) are together for 2 years now and married for 6 months. IMO, it was all a bit rushed, but Mia was getting scared she won’t be able to have children if she waited, and, to be honest, Rick seemed to be her perfect match.”
“She was aware things are going faster than she initially wanted but reassured me that she and Rick are on the same page. It’s her life, after all, so if she’s happy, so am I. Rick and I neither love nor hate each other; he’s my friend’s husband, so at best, we “tolerate” one another. We don’t have any common interests, and our lifestyles/life goals are different
Anyway, for New Year’s Eve, Mia and Rick threw a party, and she was invited, along with her 31-year-old boyfriend.
The evening went well, and she and Rick wound up chit-chatting with a couple of their friends. She then excused herself to go outside and get some air, as Mia and Rick’s house was packed with people.
A couple of minutes after she had made her exit, Rick came outside too. They started chatting again about random things, and then Rick blurted out that he was in love with her.
She figured Rick was playing a silly prank on her, and she also was shocked, so all she could do was laugh and attempt to joke with him.
“Sadly, he just doubled down and got visibly upset, started saying how he doesn’t want to spend another year unhappy and how being with Mia is exhausting because of her trauma and he “deserves better than that,” she said.
“At this point, I got very nauseous and just wanted to get away from it all, so I told him he has no idea what he’s saying and we will talk once he gets his s*** together.”
“Mia and Rick are trying for a baby, so I obviously have to tell her ASAP. The thing is – I have no idea how to do that. How do you approach a person to tell her the best part of her life is a lie? How do you address something like this with a person who spent the vast majority of her life on anti-depressants and being suicidal?”
She has contemplated pretending Rick’s confession never happened, but she knows she owes it to Mia to tell her the truth.
How do you think she can break the news to Mia in the gentlest way?
