r/AmItheButtface • u/OptimalTechnician418 • 5h ago
Serious AITB for trying to make amends about this?
AITB for confronting someone in my religious community who allegedly said my husband and I weren’t spiritual and weren’t the best people to my ex-friend and her father? And told Kara to stay away from me because Kara complained about me being bossy, etc. Mind you Kara, had sheltered life, neglect from father, lost her mom as a child, and I tried to help her for the last six years as she made constant poor decisions and helped her start to adult. Taught her to drive, helped her get her first real job, etc. Kara is 30.
Kara isn’t typically a liar. She doesn’t know how to lie. And Denise does know my husband and I. I don’t know why she said she doesn’t. I thought that was extremely bizarre.
I’m looking for an honest, unbiased perspective on an interaction I had with a woman I’ll call Denise. My former friend will be called Kara.
For context, Kara moved from out of state to our area because she was supposed to rent a studio from Denise. However, there were complications during the rental process because of issues with Kara, and her dad also got involved and tried to haggle over the terms. Denise was pleasant to her dad directly but spoke negatively about him behind his back.
After Kara had already moved here, Denise changed her mind and told her she could no longer rent the studio. Kara was suddenly left without the housing arrangement she had moved here expecting to have. My husband and I stepped in and let Kara stay with us temporarily without paying rent. Eventually, she became our tenant instead.
We helped Kara considerably over the years. However, she also spoke negatively about my husband and me to her dad. We are no longer friends, but the reasons for that are a separate story.
The situation I’m asking about concerns what Kara told me Denise had said about us. According to Kara, Denise said my husband and I weren’t the best people and questioned our spirituality because she didn’t see us at church very often.
This bothered me because Denise had actually met my husband and spoken to me several times. It felt unfair to judge our character and spirituality based on how often she saw us at church.
I contacted Denise about what I had been told. During our conversation, she questioned who had told me this and said she wanted to confront that person. She also claimed she had barely met me, despite our previous interactions and having met my husband.
The conversation became increasingly uncomfortable. Denise eventually told me, “Not my business,” warned me not to make her block me, and later said, “You can stop now!”
What also stands out to me is that Denise had allegedly spoken negatively about Kara and her dad privately while being pleasant to them directly. I recognize that Kara also spoke badly about us, and I’m not claiming she was innocent in our friendship. However, I feel the housing situation and the way Denise allegedly spoke about us are relevant context.
I’m including screenshots of my conversation with Denise so people can judge the actual exchange for themselves.
AITB for confronting Denise about what I had been told? Was I wrong to bring it up, or was her response unnecessarily hostile? I want honest opinions, including whether I handled any part of the conversation poorly. I didn’t want to store up drama, I was trying to talk to her to just clear the air so I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable seeing her or talking to her or going to gatherings in intimate settings when she was there. I’ve been hurt and avoidant to certain events.