Dealing with a Friendship Breakup
There’s a lot out there about breaking up with a romantic partner, but what if a friendship isn’t working out anymore? Navigating separations in any relationship is difficult. Read on for our tips on how to handle friendship breakups.
September 4 2025
There’s a lot out there about breaking up with a romantic partner, but what if a friendship isn’t working out anymore? You may decide a friendship needs to end for different reasons: it may no longer be serving your health and wellness, it may be having more of a negative than positive impact, you may feel like you both are constantly arguing, or you may not feel like you are the same person you were before.
Friendship breakups can sometimes feel worse than romantic ones, and it might be hard thinking about why a friendship might end. Navigating separations in any relationship is difficult – read on for our tips on how to handle friendship breakups.
It’s normal for people to drift apart, but losing a close friend can feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself. You may feel like you lost someone who you had amazing memories with, someone who was your safety blanket or may have got you through tough times.
But we want to remind you that it’s normal for people to grow and change. Sometimes these changes will lead to a friendship needing to end, but there are ways to make the situation easier to process and handle. We have a few suggestions to keep in mind during a friendship breakup.
Why would a friendship breakup in the first place?
There are different reasons why you or someone else might want to end a friendship. Some of those reasons could be:
What do I do if I want to break up with a friend?
Before you end anything, here are a few things to consider that may help you navigate a friendship breakup:
Give yourself some space
While it might be super tempting to say something negative publicly like in a TikTok or Instagram about your feelings – you might regret it later on. Taking a step back to work out how you feel and giving yourself space can do a whole lot of good.
There are a few things that you can do to create some space between you and a former friend:
And through it all, be kind to yourself and take it slow.
It’s hard whenever anything ends, but it’s even harder if you stay in a friendship that you are no longer happy in. Breaking up with a friend can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
Remember that it’s a chance for you (and your friend) to grow in a positive direction.
Take your time and go slow.