Dear Prudence,
I relocated to a new city shortly before the pandemic began. It took a while to find friends in my new city, and one of the first friendships I made was a friend of a friend who had also recently relocated. Over time, this friend and I started hanging out with more people, and the circle grew pretty quickly which has been great. The downside is that this friend has now become a source of stress. They rarely reciprocate sharing in a way that leaves me feeling vulnerable, they interrupt and intrude on conversations when we’re in group settings, and one of their modes of connection is venting about other close friends when they don’t take their copious unsolicited advice. I can’t help but think that they do the same thing when I’m not around. It’s not as if there is a major incident that needs to be addressed, so a “breakup” feels extreme, but this friend still asks to hang out one-on-one in a way that I’m not entirely comfortable with. Am I overthinking things?
—Outgrown the Friendship