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Ask E. Jean For DearSugar: Should I Tell My Best Friend That I Saw Her Fiancé Kissing Another Woman?

Thu, 08/28/2008 - 9:00am by DearSugar
2,128 Views - 65 comments

Dear E. Jean,

My hands are literally shaking as I type this. Tonight I saw my best friend’s fiancé kissing a woman in an Atlanta restaurant.

There’s no mistake. I’ve known this guy for five years, and they were all over each other — at one point he actually had his hand up her skirt and his tongue down her throat. No way was this an innocent “business” dinner. The weird part is neither he nor I live in Atlanta. My best friend, her fiancé and I all live in New York City. I happened to be in Atlanta for business. The fiancé owns a tech company and travels a lot. By some bizarre fluke we both ended up in the same restaurant.

He was so busy sucking this woman’s face, he didn’t see me. He’s never been a supportive, understanding guy, but he makes a lot of money, and my friend absolutely worships the ground he walks on.

What do I do? My friend is marrying this guy in October — in less than six weeks! The wedding, the reception, the dress, the food, the honeymoon, everything is finalized. Worse, they’ve just signed the contract on a very expensive loft in TriBeCa. They want to get pregnant by New Year’s. They've chosen their first child’s name. My best friend is walking around on air she’s so in love. I will never be able to look her in the face again. But I can’t tell her. It will kill her. Her parents will freak out. It’s a mess! Why can’t guys behave themselves?! — Sick to my Stomach

To see E. Jean's answer read more.

Miss Sick, Sweetheart,

Tell her. It will be rough; but If Mr. Pantyhands is dining on a Georgia peach six weeks before his wedding, I hate to think what tasty morsels he’ll be sucking when he hits the third year of marriage. TELL HER. Respect your friend as a thinking, human being. Pay credit to her as a rational woman. He’s playing her for a fool; don’t you treat her like an idiot.

I realize that many supremely level heads here on Dear Sugar will be outraged at this advice. They will say you should mind your own business, and not meddle in your friend’s prewedding stresses; but I say, call her now!

As a friend it is the most compassionate action you can take. After all, if the situation were reversed, if she saw your lover shoving his tongue so far down a young lady’s throat it reached her knees — wouldn’t you want to be told?

Tell her the facts so she can make an intelligent decision about her future. In my opinion, it is immoral to conceal the truth. It is your duty as a woman and as a friend to speak up!

P.S. Indeed, I believe every female over the age of 14 should be given a cell phone programmed with a secret number, which she can call and instantaneously report any lying, cheating, two-faced ratwank. I am getting sick and tired of these jerkweeds!

To see more advice from E. Jean, visit Elle magazine and AskEJean.com.

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65 Comments Add a Comment

  • CYL's picture
    CYL
    1

    I agree with E. Jean on this one. I think your friend has the right to know. Lay the facts out for her and it is up to her to make the decision. This is the rest of her life we are talking about and possibly a child's if they go through their plans for a baby.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Greggie's picture
    Greggie
    2

    Of course you should tell her! Money lost is one thing, her happiness and emotional stability much more important.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • bchicgrl's picture
    bchicgrl
    3

    ha-ha I love your advice, yeah I def agree, you need to tell her especially since you are obviously very close to her.

    She will be hurt, she might even not believe you at first but once she gets past the shock value and comprehends what you are telling her she will come to the realization.

    Just make sure you are supportive to her as you can be and if she asks for space give it to her.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • themagicalbean's picture
    themagicalbean
    4

    Agreed! Better to recieve this information now than after there are so many emotional, physical and financial investments made... grrr... what a scumbag.

    If you're sick to your stomach now... imagine how you'll feel on her wedding day, knowing what you do. There'a reason you have that gut instinct kicking in.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Krradford's picture
    Krradford
    5

    Damn, that sucks! The "fluke" was meant to happen. Tell your friend.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • themagicalbean's picture
    themagicalbean
    6

    And camera phones people! Sometimes, these things DO come in handy!

    Gosh, I'm steamed about this.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • princess_eab's picture
    princess_eab
    7

    You have a moral obligation to tell her. Even if she ignores you or doesn't believe you, your conscience will be clean. Even if your friendship suffers, at least you'll have done the right thing. Oh my God, this is just disgusting....

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • sonya ina's picture
    sonya ina
    8

    How utterly disgusting and distasteful! What a horrible guy... and I mean HORRIBLE! There is no doubt in my mind that you should tell your friend -- she'll thank you for it in the end. If he's cheating now, imagine what he'll be doing when she's sitting at home pregnant with his child. UGH! Cheating disgusts me.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • DesignRchic's picture
    DesignRchic
    9

    Wow, I can't believe this actually happened. I'd hate to be in your position, but I'd tell her or else it will eat away at you. Good luck.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • ohkate's picture
    ohkate
    10

    that is very sound advice. god forbid your best friend remains married to said scum bag and after two babies and five years finds out he's been having affairs every year they'd been married, divorce ensues and you 'fess up saying you'd known before they had gotten married.
    save your girlfriend now rather than trying to patch her up after she's badly damaged goods ):
    why men (and women) think cheating is ok (do they not have a working moral compass??) is absolutely beyond me... ):

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • MartiniLush's picture
    MartiniLush
    11

    You definitely have to tell her if for no other reason than this one:

    I have a wonderful friend who was crazy in love with her husband. I saw him with a business associate once engaged in something that was "questionable" but not to the extreme the poster here states. Other friends saw a variety of "questionable" things. We all said nothing. Then, when she was 5 months pregnant, she came back from one of her prenatals extremely upset - he had passed on an STD to her! Fortunately, it was treatable, but the emotional trauma on her was enormous! She is now a divorced, single parent.

    I so wish I had mentioned what I saw before she and this innocent child became victims of this jerk's awful behavior! Tell her, tell her, tell her!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • yadiet's picture
    yadiet
    12

    You know something this happen to me. My BFF was at home sleeping while her Boyfriend was out in the movies with another girl I caught him and quickly dialed her. She was a mess when she got to the movies. I was called a nosey busy body for letting her know. At the end the fought and got back together and I was stuck looking at their faces everyday. Till she realized that he was a total jack-off. I swear, sometimes I wished I would have stayed quite.

    But in your case, I say go for it and let her know. They might end up thinking that you have ruined their life but you know what at least she didn't walk down the aisle with that a**

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • kiwitwist's picture
    kiwitwist
    14

    I agree, tell her. Be aware though that she will probably hate you for telling her. But she will thankful eventually. She needs to know and if she decides to stay anyways, that is her issue. Good luck!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • joesbabygirl's picture
    joesbabygirl
    15

    You HAVE TO TELL HER! My ex was cheating on me before we got married, after we divorced for him cheating I found out that people I worked with knew he was cheating while we were engaged. I dont speak to those people anymore. They could have saved me from 2 years of pain..But chose not to. Please tell your friend, and then give her space to take it all in..But let her know you are only a phone call away...

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Prada3721's picture
    Prada3721
    16

    WTF?!? Sheesh what a sick disgusting jerk of a man!!!!

    This is a disaster, six wks before the wedding no less. Gah!

    Truth will set you free. E. Jean is right. A true friend tells the truth to her girl, I mean can you imagine after they have a kid and then that child has to go through a nasty divorce b/c she found her husband with her daughter/son's 3rd grade teacher!!! Oy!

    Awww i'm sad this happened though. I'm praying for you and your friend to get through this. B/c you are a true friend I know you are feeling her pain.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • austerity's picture
    austerity
    17

    My sympathies to you and your friend, but you HAVE to tell her, and if she ends up taking out her rage on you, take it, accept it and just be there for her. Your duty is to be a good friend. I second E.Jean completely.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • piksie007's picture
    piksie007
    18

    I completely agree with E.Jean on this...she's got to be told, even if it's the hard thing to do right now. Think about if you didn't tell her...she marries him, gets pregnant, gives birth, raises a child with this man, and eventually gets her heart broken. It will be SOOOOO much worse if she has to deal with betrayal on top of potential divorce, financial stresses, and OF COURSE a child...pleeeeeeeeeeease tell her now what you saw.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • miriah15's picture
    miriah15
    19

    I can't believe this is even a question. Of course you should tell her

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Le Luxe's picture
    Le Luxe
    20

    TELL HER! If I was ever in your friends shoes, I would want to know! You can't control how she takes or handles it, but at least you know you were honest and open.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • MissJules5x's picture
    MissJules5x
    21

    you need to tell her. she must know he was away and not at home with her that night and the fact that you happened to be in the same place and saw this dirtbag cant be ignored even if she is blinded by "love"...

    he will continue to do this and she will end up worse after they are married... what if she finds out after they have kids... it will be much messier than calling off a wedding beforeit happens.

    you will feel terrible later on and she will never forgive you if you tell her when all this blows up in her face AFTER the wedding, because it will. she iwll never trust you again and i'm sure if you were in her shoes you would absolutely want to know. if she freaks out and accuses you of lying like many delusional people do when confronted with the truth it will only come back to bite her in the ass later and she will eventually come running back to you OR she will have a clear head and listen to you as her best friend. either way you wont have the guilt on your shoulders and she wont be blind to his bullsh*t.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • gemsera's picture
    gemsera
    22

    You have to tell her... she may get mad, but its the right thing to do for both of you. She needs to have all the facts before marrying this di**head. Men like that really get my goat!!!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • lawchick's picture
    lawchick
    23

    I have had to tell a friend this about a boyfriend before. I know that isn't as serious as this situation. My friend was totally in love with the guy and refused to believe me. It ruined our friendship even though the guy ended up being horrible and they broke up awhile later. THAT SAID, it is the right thing to do to tell her and I believe I made the right choice when I told my friend. I'm so sorry you're in this position. Good luck.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • omilawd's picture
    omilawd
    24

    Usually there's some disagreements on DearSugar, but I'm surprised to see that every single poster thinks you should tell her. And I agree with them all! Put yourself in her shoes; she's about to make a huge commitment, one that her fiance is obviously not as invested in as she is. Wouldn't you want her to tell you if you were in her position? Don't you think your friend deserves to marry someone who is as in love with and so invested in the relationship as she is?

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • TheEnchantedOne's picture
    TheEnchantedOne
    25

    Tell her. I wouldn't want to be in the dark if it's me in her shoes. You're being a good friend, promise. She would probably be in denial at first, of course, as you said she's head over heels over this guy. She's gonna hate it, but it's something that she needs to know. Pronto. I say it's a good thing she's not pregnant yet.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • lickety split's picture
    lickety split
    26

    i think i would call mr. wonderful and say "so, i was in atlanta last week and i saw you at (name of restaurant). my heart tells me that you should be the one to tell (name of bff) about your business there. but if you don't tell her by friday i will show her the pix i on my camera phone". end of discussion, you hang up then. do not comment on him being scum, wrong, allow him to say it was a mistake, etc.

    then call your friend and tell her that you want to take JUST her out to dinner friday night. mr. wonderful will hear that the 2 of you have plans and either pony up with his side of the story to her or it will be your turn.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • ElizabethRae's picture
    ElizabethRae
    27

    I'm surprised by the unanimity too, but I completely agree.

    I wouldn't call her though. I would set up drinks or dinner or coffee (coffee is probably best - she may want to throw up when she hears) and I would tell her gently and face to face.

    I doubt you'll be able to forgive yourself when (not if) it goes bad if you knew and didn't tell.

    Good luck!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • tina_marie's picture
    tina_marie
    28

    Yeah, you should tell her, but be prepared for her to not believe you - I sure wouldn't want to hear it this close to my wedding. Are you in the wedding? If she doesn't believe you and you are in the wedding - that could be awkward. Like someone wrote earlier - you should have taken a picture... so sorry...

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Kaitie M's picture
    Kaitie M
    29

    That's horrible! I don't think you would be a very good friend if you DIDN'T tell her. She might not believe you, but you have to tell her!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • MrsJigglesworth's picture
    MrsJigglesworth
    30

    I agree that you need to tell her. Years ago I told one of my best friends that I witnessed her BF cheating. She didn't believe me and became very angry with me. She is now married to and has 2 kids with that loser (who I hear got another girl pregnant), and we are no longer friends... but at least I know I did what I needed to.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • tatsauce's picture
    tatsauce
    31

    Boo!!! what a jerk! Yea if I were in that situation, I'd want to be told about that, it'll be hard but it's for the best. Save her future years of anguish.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • HeidiMD's picture
    HeidiMD
    32

    How humiliated will this poor woman be when she marries the man she thinks is the love of her life, only to find out later (inevitably) that he had a history of cheating on her years before.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • EJean's picture
    EJean
    33

    Sugars!

    I founded my advise on what happened
    to one of my best friends a couple
    of years ago.

    She is a SENSATIONAL woman----vibrant,
    brilliant, beautiful, and rich. She was married
    to a world-famous guy; they divorced.
    She was sad for two years. Then she
    met a very handsome, creative, affectionate man.
    He swept her off her feet.

    She was so happy she threw a huge party
    in her town house so she could introduce
    him to all her friends.

    During the party I happened to wonder up to my friend's
    private bathroom so I could fix my
    false eyelash (LORD!) and I heard someone
    in my friend's private gym. I peered in
    and there was the new boyfriend with the wife
    of a famous attorney (and television anchor)
    in a clinch so tight it looked like
    nuclear fusion.

    They had met only 30 minutes before!!

    I backed away silently.

    The next day I called my friend and told her.
    She was devastated. DEVASTATED! She cried,
    called me back, cried some more.

    She was so in love----she was actually expecting
    him to propose to her that night!

    But because I had been so vehement, because I
    had gone into such detail describing the clinch
    I saw, she broke up with him.

    He won her back with a bunch of horse hockey flowers
    and a romantic dinner.

    Two weeks later she discovered him in her bedroom shooting up
    heroine. Later it came out he was in a hideous
    financial situation and was probably just
    romancing my friend to get at her money.

    The lesson I learned: Always tell the woman!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • skigurl's picture
    skigurl
    34

    here's an idea: tell her, let her marry him, and let her catch him and take half of what he's got. jeeeez she can use this to her advantage. becuase, honestly, this is the saddest situation. i'm sorry you had to get involved in this, and sorry that this poor girl has to be in this situation!

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Berlin's picture
    Berlin
    35

    I think you should talk to him! Actually it's always better if you make yourself seen at the place of the 'incident' that way they can't deny it. If you ever see something like this going on, stop over in between him sucking face and go and say hi, or get his attention and wave, or hell even send over a drink to the "lucky table" and that'll get his attention. Then there's really nothing he can do later to deny it, which will likely happen.

    The only way you can tell your best friend is if you know that she'll trust you over him. If she won't ever think her fiance would do that and it'd ruin your relationship with her, then it isn't worth it. You can always sit her down, and ask her if her fiance was seen being unfaithful to her, would she want to be told. And that way you can let her kind of ease into it and let her have the bad news when she's ready for it.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • MissJules5x's picture
    MissJules5x
    36

    i agree completely with lickety split. that was great advice and she should definitely do that. if anything he will squirm and she will pick up on him being "different" i would plan on telling her anyway so she knows that you saw him and that you are being a good friend by telling her, but atleast give him the courage to turn himself in hahaha lovess ittt

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • bellasugar's picture
    bellasugar
    37

    I can't believe nobody else has commented on my favorite new insult, "pantyhands." I'm with E. Jean and so many of you — when you see this sort of thing, you gotta say something to the friend. Wouldn't you want to know?

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Sun_Sun's picture
    Sun_Sun
    39

    im with lickety split too
    give him an ultimatum, either u tell her or i will
    and lie about proof, say u have some

    and just be there for that poor unexpecting girl
    tsk tsk...i hope he burns in hell

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • ElizabethRae's picture
    ElizabethRae
    40

    I would be scared to tell him first because then he could concoct some story and make you the bad guy. Like you came on to him and when he wouldn't take the bait you told him you would accuse him of something like this.

    I'd either confront her, or the two of them together, but a cheater like that can't be trusted to tell the truth.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • julieulie's picture
    julieulie
    41

    I absolutely think you need to tell her... but you need to be prepared that she may not believe you, and she may take it out on you. As her best friend, you need to do the right thing and break the news, and trust that in time she will realize that you told her the truth and will come back to you... but in the meantime, she may think you made it all up.

    I've seen one too many friendships destoyed by this. I don't know WHY women still constantly believe that the best friend made up the lies about the cheating husband, because what kind of best friend would do that? Just be prepared and tread carefully... but tell her before she makes the biggest mistake of her life.

    18 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • saucey's picture
    saucey
    42

    No No don’t tell her she will get upset with you it’s not your fault you went out for dinner plus he can use the whole your jealous routine and it could backfire onto you.
    This is what you do get him on his own state you saw him you’re not happy and he has 24 hours to tell her himself. If not then you will go and talk to her parents about their future son in-laws behaviour. You must be clear, calm and concise with this man try to keep your anger towards what he has done to your friend to a minimum also