"My childhood bestie didn't invite me to her wedding": Broken promises, drifting apart and the fragile bonds of friendship

Welcome back to Dial Emma! Each week, I'll be answering your dilemmas with honesty, empathy, and a few therapeutic truth bombs to help you make sense of life's stickiest moments. If you've ever wished you had a therapist in your back pocket, Dial Emma is here to help.

What happens when a friendship fades without explanation, or ends in a way that feels like a betrayal?

This week, I'm exploring the fragile bonds of friendship, and the lack of rituals for closure, clear endings, or language to help us process when they unravel. Our first dilemma involves a friendship that has been slowly, quietly drifting away with no explanation, leaving our listener wondering if they're asking for too much; the second sees a childhood promise broken in a very public way, creating a rupture in a 25-year friendship that is proving difficult to move past.

This episode is a reminder that friendships don’t have to be constant to be real - but they do have to be mutual. When they no longer are, the grief of their loss is both real and valid. By acknowledging it, we create the space for new connections that choose us back, in the here and now.

If you have a dilemma for Emma, please fill out this form. 

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Dial Emma is hosted by Emma Reed Turrell, produced by Lauren Brook.

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Emma Reed Turrell @emmareedturrell

Dial Emma @dialemmapodcast

Email: contact@dial-emma.uk