6 Things You Should NEVER Do Unless You Want to Ruin a Friendship

The laws of friendship aren't always black and white.

Navigating how you should behave with someone you're close to is a lifelong struggle. But even if you might not know the right course of action, there are certain things you should always steer clear from.

Keep scrolling to see six things you should never do unless you want to ruin a friendship:

Date a Friend's Ex

You might have a million justifications explaining why dating your friend's ex is okay, but we're here to tell you that you're wrong. Overlap happens and crushes develop, but dating a friend's ex is just a big no-no. Your friend might say they're okay with it, they might seem totally fine supporting your relationship—heck, they might even encourage you to go for it. But no matter how positive they seem, it will definitely become a source of tension in your relationship at some point.

It's not only a major betrayal of your friend's feelings, it's also super awkward and totally worthy of ending a friendship. So if you want to maintain a strong relationship with your pal, just don't do it.

(Mean Girls via Paramount Pictures)

 

Spread Rumors About Them

This should go without saying, but we're saying it anyway—don't spread rumors about your friends. Don't even engage in gossip about them. Not only does no one like to be talked about behind their back, venting about your BFFs to other people opens the door for your words to be twisted and torn apart, and your rant might even make it back to your friend's ears.

If you can't trust your friends not to spread rumors about you, who can you trust? Just stay away from talking negatively about your pals and your friendship is guaranteed to remain much stronger.

 

Disrespect Their Family

It doesn't matter how close you are—friends are friends and family is family. Your BFF might spend all day ranting about how annoying their siblings are or how their parents don't understand anything, but that doesn't mean you should ever be disrespectful to their brood.

This includes being rude in person, talking badly about them to your friend or even agreeing with your pal's negative assessment. Your job is to sit and listen and stay totally neutral in any family problems. No friend is going to (or should) stick out a relationship with you if you're blatantly disrespectful of their family.

(Gilmore Girls via The CW)

 

'Joke' About Their Insecurities

Even if you think you're just making light of a situation, you should never poke fun at things you know your friend is insecure about. You know who jokes about people's insecurities? Bullies. Don't be a bully to your friends—it's a totally justifiable reason for them to end their relationship with you. There are plenty of other things to joke about without drawing attention to your friend's flaws, so focus on that stuff instead.

Lend Or Borrow Money From Them

It might sound a little overly dramatic, but money issues can cause some severe rifts in your relationship. If your friend is constantly borrowing money from you without paying it back or vice versa, it's going to take a toll on the trust in your relationship—not to mention your bank account.

Borrowing or lending money creates an awkward situation and an uneven balance of power that can lead to some real tension between you and your friend. It's best to steer clear and follow the age-old phrase, "neither a borrower nor a lender be."

(Pretty Little Liars via Freeform)

 

Tell Their Secrets

We totally understand the struggle of keeping secrets, especially if you're someone who really loves to talk. Secrets might seem to just slip through your grasp, but a really important part of friendship is refusing to disclose your pal's private information. Even if you think that telling just one person won't hurt anything, that person will probably tell just one person and suddenly the whole school knows about your friend's classified info and it's all your fault. It's a huge violation of trust, and you can't have a successful friendship without trust.

 

Worried that your new friend might not be the best pal for you? Click HERE for eight red flags to look out for in a new friendship.