All posts tagged: Friendship

The Queen & I: Angela Kelly Details Her Enduring Friendship With Queen Elizabeth

The Queen & I: Angela Kelly Details Her Enduring Friendship With Queen Elizabeth

Published by Sam Flores

Though her official title was Her Majesty’s personal assistant, adviser, and curator (jewelry, insignias, and wardrobe), Angela Kelly was much more than a servant to Queen Elizabeth, her boss of almost 30 years. She was also a confidant and friend—one of the few people who really knew the woman behind the crown. “The queen was committed to doing her duty to the very end. Her Majesty never let anyone down. Even when she felt unwell, Her Majesty would not want anyone to know,” says Kelly in an emotional and rare interview. “As I worked alongside the queen, year after year we were getting older, but we were both young at heart, the queen still had a twinkle in her eye. The banter and mischief continued until Balmoral. When the queen passed away she was surrounded by her family. It was a shock to the nation, to everyone. It was very sad, but it was an honor to serve the queen until the very end.” It was the unlikeliest of friendships: the working-class daughter of a …

3 Friendship Truths Most Of Us Learn The Hard Way After High School | Lisa Kaplin

3 Friendship Truths Most Of Us Learn The Hard Way After High School | Lisa Kaplin

Published by Jenni Sidey

Watching someone you love go through friendship drama in high school is tough, especially when you know how those patterns can follow you into adulthood.  Most of us don’t actually understand friendship until after high school, when relationships start shifting in ways we didn’t expect. That’s when the real lessons hit. These friendship truths are the ones people usually learn the hard way, after years of wondering why friendships fade, change, or don’t turn out the way we thought they would. Here are the three friendship truths most of us learn the hard way after high school: 1. Your closest friendships won’t follow a straight path I met my oldest bestie when I was a pre-teen. To be my friend, she needed to perform the perfect cartwheel. Happily, she passed, but we didn’t become best friends until years later as adult women.  The Lifetime movie idea that you meet your best friend at age two and remain that way for the rest of your life seems to be unlikely at best, and a bit nerve-wracking …

If Someone Constantly Tells You These 11 Things, They Probably Really Want You To Like Them

If Someone Constantly Tells You These 11 Things, They Probably Really Want You To Like Them

Published by Jenni Sidey

Almost everyone craves human connection. Some researchers even believe we’re hard-wired for it. But it’s not always easy to tell who is interested in connecting with us, and who wants us to like them back. There are certain words and phrases that can help you determine whether someone wants you to like them, and while they can feel cloying or disingenuous when someone is being insincere or has bad intentions, it’s pretty easy to tell the difference. So pay attention for phrases like these, because when someone says them genuinely, they probably would love for you to like them.  If someone constantly tells you these 11 things, they probably really want you to like them 1. ‘I appreciate you’ VGStockstudio | Shutterstock Someone might say they appreciate you in response to you helping them out with a task, and that’s always nice to hear. But they might also say it just because they’re happy to know you.  When used consistently, this phrase also shows that someone recognizes you for you, along with whatever contributions you offer …

The Most Mentally Taxing Kind of Friendship

The Most Mentally Taxing Kind of Friendship

Published by Jenni Sidey

Not all painful friendships are explosive or dramatic. They do not necessarily involve betrayal, cruelty, or overt neglect. Instead, some friendships fade into a low-grade sense of emptiness. You might still be in touch with a friend, and you might still share a history with them. Nothing is technically wrong with the friendship, and yet you walk away from your interactions feeling unseen, oddly lonely, or emotionally tired. If you’ve experienced such strange moments with a friend in your life, you might share a one-sided bond with them. You can’t really categorize this relationship as abusive or toxic, at least not in the popular sense. A one-sided friendship, however, is still imbalanced in ways that erode emotional nourishment from a bond. Research shows that these kinds of relationships are common, difficult to name, and uniquely draining because they violate our expectations of mutual connection without triggering clear alarm bells. What Makes a Friendship One-Sided? Friendships are primarily sustained by reciprocity. They don’t require a perfect balance of effort at all times. But they can’t really …

Women Who Always Seem To Be The ‘Emotional Support Friend’ Usually Had 11 Experiences Normal People Didn’t Have

Women Who Always Seem To Be The ‘Emotional Support Friend’ Usually Had 11 Experiences Normal People Didn’t Have

Published by Jenni Sidey

Many women, who already take on emotional burdens and obligations in their romantic relationships, may also adopt the “therapist friend” role if they’re sensitive, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent. Even in good-intentioned conversations and with truly lovely friends, sometimes it feels impossible to adopt this role, especially if you seem to have the “wisdom” of reflection and perspective, compared to other people in your life. Women who always seem to be the “emotional support friend” usually have experiences normal people didn’t have. Of course, these conversations and supportive behaviors are sometimes fulfilling and bonding, but most times, these women end up feeling exhausted and drained from having boundaries chronically overstepped. Women who always seem to be the ‘emotional support friend’ usually had 11 experiences normal people didn’t have 1. They were forced to mature early Gladskikh Tatiana | Shutterstock While emotional intelligence and independence do tend to feed into a greater well-being in adulthood, for children who were forced to build these skills from parentification too early, chances are they struggle with finding a balance. They’re the …

Who Is Victoria Villarroel? Kylie Jenner’s Former Assistant Shares The Task That Made Her Quit

Who Is Victoria Villarroel? Kylie Jenner’s Former Assistant Shares The Task That Made Her Quit

Published by Jenni Sidey

Kylie Jenner’s former assistant, influencer Victoria Villarroel, finally opened up about why she decided she had to quit working for the star, and proved there was no bad blood between them in the process. On the March 18 episode of her podcast “Better Half with Stas and Vic,” Villarroel shared her life story, from her childhood in Venezuela to her time spent with the famous Jenner family. She explained that she and Jenner became friends while they worked together professionally, and that friendship continues to this day. Villarroel revealed the task Kylie Jenner asked her to do that made her realize it was time to quit. On her podcast, Villarroel explained that she knew it was time to move on when Jenner asked her to grab her laptop, and she simply didn’t want to.  “She was like, ‘Oof, Vic, I need my laptop, and it’s upstairs.’ And I was like, ‘Oof, who’s gonna get that? … I don’t want to get your laptop.’”  That moment told Villarroel a lot. “And I was like, ‘I know, …

Woman Shares Response To Asking Friends To Celebrate Her Birthday Instead Of A Wedding

Woman Shares Response To Asking Friends To Celebrate Her Birthday Instead Of A Wedding

Published by Jenni Sidey

A single lawyer named Laney conducted a “social experiment” on her friends to see how they would respond to a celebration of her birthday. Instead of reacting the way she’d hoped, she explained, they all failed miserably. Turning 35 is considered a true milestone birthday for many people. It’s a time when celebrants want to mark the occasion in a meaningful way with the people they care about. So when Laney decided to plan a big celebration with her friends, she was shocked at their response.  A woman shared the ‘atrocious’ response she received when asking 25 friends to celebrate her 35th birthday instead of a wedding. “So I’m turning 35, and I sent all of my friends an email that said essentially like, ‘Hey, I’m single. I don’t have any prospects. I don’t know if I’m ever gonna get married. I have attended everybody’s bachelorette, everybody’s weddings, everybody’s baby showers. I just would like to do something to celebrate me.’” Laney invited about 25 women in her life who were friends, and she estimated …

Friendship fraud: warnings of rise in ‘insidious’ scam targeting older people | Scams

Friendship fraud: warnings of rise in ‘insidious’ scam targeting older people | Scams

Published by Sam Flores

As you have got older, retirement has left you with more time on your hands. Loneliness has set in. Luckily, you have found a friend through one of the online motoring groups you are in, and a close bond has blossomed over your common interest in cars. But your new friend has found themselves short when it comes to paying for their university textbooks, and has asked you for £50. It’s not much, and you get on so well that you agree to pay via bank transfer. It will be the first of many requests for payment that the “friend” makes, all for seemingly small amounts, but which mount up as part of a structured “friendship fraud” that preys on older and vulnerable people who are in search of human contact. TSB is reporting a rise in scams where criminals are using social media to befriend people before defrauding them out of thousands of pounds, often over lengthy periods of time. The scam has many of the same characteristics as romance fraud, where victims are …

People Who Only Have One Good Friend In The World Usually Have 11 Specific Traits

People Who Only Have One Good Friend In The World Usually Have 11 Specific Traits

Published by Jenni Sidey

Nowadays, it’s hard to find a genuine connection and develop a relationship on a deeper level. Finding and keeping friendships can feel incredibly difficult, but friendships are very important to our mental and physical well-being, as well as our longevity. While not everyone wants a large social circle, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because people who only have one good friend in the world usually have specific traits that make them stand out. When people make friends based on quality over quantity, they’re able to form deep relationships based on trust, loyalty, and meaning. There’s no denying that having a wider support system makes life easier, but having one person who truly understands you inside and out is just as fulfilling. People who only have one good friend in the world usually have 11 specific traits 1. They value depth over quantity loreanto | Shutterstock It’s hard to meet deep-minded individuals and connect with them. In a world that’s becoming increasingly more materialistic, finding someone who truly wants to connect on a personal level …

Couples With This Issue In Their First Year Of Marriage Face A 67% Higher Divorce Risk, Experts Say

Couples With This Issue In Their First Year Of Marriage Face A 67% Higher Divorce Risk, Experts Say

Published by Jenni Sidey

Full transparency: I haven’t always been the best person. At the height of my dissociative disorder, I was cold, detached, and dismissive. I was also way too dependent on male validation.  But one thing I never did? Ditch my friends every time I get into a relationship. Experts say couples who run into this issue in their first year of marriage face a 67% higher divorce risk Joel Muniz / Unsplash I’ve known my oldest friend for 33 years (I’m 34; we met as literal toddlers), and we still talk on the phone weekly. I also go out to dinner with my elementary-school besties, see my high-school bandmates for the holidays, and have a group of five girlfriends who regularly plan craft nights and lake days. I’ve always set aside time to see my friends alone, whether I was dating someone or not. It’s a non-negotiable for me. Fortunately, research shows that people who maintain lifelong friendships are better adjusted, experience less hostility and anxiety, and feel more satisfied with their lives.  Unfortunately, as a …