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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

My friend has left her husband for a man I detest. Should I tell her how I feel?

‘We go through irrational periods: after bereavement; in a midlife crisis; in the fog of inexplicable lust,’ writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Painting: The Lie by Félix Vallotton.
‘We go through irrational periods: after bereavement; in a midlife crisis; in the fog of inexplicable lust,’ writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Painting: The Lie by Félix Vallotton. Photograph: IanDagnall Computing/Alamy

My friend of 30-plus years has thrown her husband out and started a new relationship with someone I detest. I feel torn between this sense that she’s behaved appallingly towards her husband and the tenure of our friendship. I want to be honest with her about my feelings but feel almost too angry to do it in a constructive way. What do you advise?

Eleanor says: How much moral adjudication do we get to do of our friends? On the one hand you want to keep the bastards honest, and when you’re being a bastard, you want to be kept honest. On the other hand it does seem friendship involves keeping moral score of each other a little less than we ordinarily might.

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