You thought you’d done all the hard stuff. You’d browsed online for hours, trawled through thousands of mismatches, selected the one and sent over a message. The conversation flowed. Things went so well. Sparks began to fly. You arranged a meet, and your first date confirmed everything you were feeling online. What could possibly go wrong?
Weekends come and go, and it’s time to meet his mates. And my gosh, they’re awful. They’re annoying. You can’t stand them. What do you do and how do you cope in this situation? It’s time to take a breather and think things through.
5 strategies for surviving your boyfriend’s annoying friends
Obviously, you don’t want to break the relationship off. Things are going so well between you. It’s just his friends that bother you, not him. So how do you survive your new boyfriends annoying friends? Because let’s face it, if you’re playing the long game, you’ll have to.
1. Spend some more time with them
Screams of disgust just hit cyberspace, but have you considered that you may be judging them too soon? Arrange to spend more time with your boyfriend’s friends and see if your perception of them changes. Contrary to popular belief, first impressions aren’t always everything.
2. Figure out if it’s actually all of them
Perhaps as a crowd, your boyfriend’s friends are somewhat overwhelming. Individually, however, they may display an entirely different persona. It may be that at first you enjoy spending time with each individually, as you get to know them a little better. Or perhaps, during this process, you will come to realise that it is really just the odd one that really grinds your gears.
3. Get your girls involved
Sometimes meeting new people can be an awkward experience. Rather than tagging onto a group as your boyfriend’s new partner, why not keep things casual and merge your friendship group with his? This certainly takes the pressure off anyone having to impress, be it you or them. Conversations will flow more naturally, and you may see a different side to his friends, and yours for that matter.
4. Talk things through with your boyfriend
See things out a little while, but if the situation continues to bother you, you may have to talk things through with your boyfriend. Try to talk rationally, rather than emotionally. Be sure to pin down the specifics in your mind, before you begin the discussion. Just a fleeting feeling isn’t a strong enough basis for the can of worms you are about to open.
5. Remember his bros were his first love
As well as your relationship is going, you mustn’t expect your new boyfriend to ditch his friends for you. Even if he understands your issues, and is willing to work on them with you, this doesn’t mean that he must break free from his friendship circle. Find ways around it. When he sees his friends, you see yours. It’s always good to maintain a life outside of coupledom.
Make sure they all have a partner
This might sound silly, but maybe your girlfriend’s friends could do with some action themselves. If they have their own partner, they’re less likely to get involved and gossip about your relationship with their friend. So maybe you will want to steer them towards online dating. Help them to find a boyfriend or girlfriend on EHarmony, or even help them to get laid by using adult dating sites like: sexwithnostrings.com/us/meet-and-fuck. Sometimes people gossip because they are jealous when they see you and their friend are happy; they just need that kind of happiness in their lives.
The bottom line is that you need to accept your girlfriend’s friends into your life; your partner shouldn’t have to choose between you and them. But the same goes for them too: they need to respect your relationship. As long as those boundaries are set, you will be able to deal with your girlfriend’s annoying friends.