Dear Prudence,
I’ve been with my boyfriend for about six months, and he’s wonderful. The problem? His best friend/roommate and my best friend (who is basically my sister) are diametrically opposed and seriously dislike each other. (As context, they knew each other through other mutual friends before I started dating Boyfriend.) Roommate is always cordial to me and we usually get along fine. However, Roommate feels pretty entitled to make his opinions about my best friend openly known to me. Worse, if my friend says Roommate’s name in front of Boyfriend, the accompanying statement usually makes it back to Roommate, which inevitably triggers a backlash. Trying to tell each side to stop bad-mouthing the other hasn’t worked on either end. Boyfriend’s otherwise great, but the friend situation gives me a constant headache. Obviously, neither of us is going to abandon our best friend. Do I cut ties and find someone else whose inner circle doesn’t hate mine?
—Caught in the Crossfire