'I was blindsided.' 10 women on the friendship betrayal they'll never recover from.

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There's a certain kind of heartbreak that doesn't come from a partner, a parent, or a child. It comes from a best friend.

When you realise the person who once knew everything about you — the one who held your hand through breakups, stood next to you at your wedding, or texted you every day just because — isn't really your friend anymore, it can feel like a loss you don't quite know how to grieve.

For some women, the friendship simply fizzles. For others, it ends in betrayal, silence, or a devastating realisation that the closeness was never mutual.

We asked women to share the exact moment they realised their best friend wasn't really their friend. Their answers are raw, painful, and in many ways, universal.

Here are their stories…

Watch: Caitlin Emiko on splitting her salary with her best friend. Post continues after video.

10 women share their stories of friendship breakups.

The woman who was ghosted after an operation.

One woman knew her friend of 14 years wouldn't be around long-term when she had to go into hospital for a back operation.

"She didn't visit me in hospital or text me to wish me luck," the woman told Mamamia. "My dad died six months later and no text…. That was the final straw. I realised that she wasn't being a friend, let alone my best friend."

The woman deleted her friend from social media and they "just lost touch".

"It broke my heart initially," the woman added. "She was my best friend. My bridesmaid. We were always there for each other through all the seasons of life, until she wasn't."

The woman whose friend disappeared after she had a baby.

A second woman knew her friendship had run its course after she had a baby, and her friend didn't come to visit.

"I then broke my leg when my baby was nine weeks old. They didn't even message me to check in on me. Nothing except some vague comment on my Facebook post like, 'Not what you needed'. I'm a mum of four, and I just broke my leg, had surgery, and couldn't walk."

Since then, there's been no contact.

"I'm over giving myself to people who don't reciprocate."

The woman who was excluded on a girls' trip.

When a third woman felt excluded on a trip with two of her closest friends, she knew it was the beginning of the end. Even so, she tried to keep in touch with them after the trip, but they were flaky.

"The final straw was when I texted one of them 'Happy Birthday' and she texted me back 'Thank you' and that she was just spending time with family."

But that evening, the woman saw on social media that her two friends were hanging out together just 45 minutes from where she lived. They hadn't invited her.

"Throughout the week they posted together on their Instagram stories at a hiking trail 20 minutes away from my house. They didn't ask me out for coffee, they didn't tell me that they were there," the woman continued.

"I thought about texting them when they were together, but I felt bad. I didn't want them gossiping about me or blaming me for ruining their fun."

The situation affected her ability to trust.

"After knowing someone long enough, their actions speak louder than any apology or promise," she said.

The 35-year friendship that fizzled.

Another had known her friend for 35 years before she recognised that she left every catch up "feeling drained and stressed".

"One particular day, I re-arranged my day to support her through a marriage issue, only to be dismissed when I shared my perspective, despite being asked repeatedly [for my opinion]," the woman shared.

"She was spending time with another married man and trying to convince herself it was okay because that wife was ignoring her friend, despite the wife going through major mental health issues."

Facing medical issues of her own, the woman tried to confide in her friend about how she was feeling after they attended an appointment together.

"Instead of listening, she walked away to meet another friend for drinks, leaving me outside the doctor's office. In that moment, I knew she wasn't truly a friend and didn't want that kind of person in my life."

The woman then "stopped being available", and the friendship fizzled from there.

"It's had a massive impact. I am far more cautious and tend not to share with new people."

The friendship that was no longer convenient.

When a fifth woman wasn't asked to be her friend's bridesmaid, even though the friend had been one for her own wedding, she re-evaluated their near-decade-long friendship.

"It didn't abruptly end, the contact just became less and less over time. It made me realise that some friendships are more about circumstance and location. Some people can't cope when the convenience is gone," she said.

The woman whose friend chose her partner over friendship.

For another woman, it took a holiday overseas to realise she was done with her 34-year-long friendship.

"I just don't want her negative, judgemental, abrasive personality in my life anymore," the woman told Mamamia. "She throws sarcasm out like bullets and honestly believes without a shadow of a doubt she is 1,000 per cent right about everything."

The woman added that her friend had been in an on-and-off relationship with, what she deemed, "a narcissist", and wouldn't listen to her reservations.

"I told her two months into her relationship that he was a d*ck, we all did, but she chose to stay," she added.

"I know what I want in my life. I want people to be vulnerable… who would be by my side no matter what. Who have the same outlook on life, people, money, love and connection. I never thought I would be in this position in my late 50s, looking for my BFF, but here I am, and it makes me sad."

The woman who was ghosted by her friend of 20 years.

A seventh woman had a friend of 20 years "completely ghost" her online.

"She blocked me on all socials, undermined me at work and with a group of long-time friends. She twisted my words behind my back and completely refused to discuss what was happening," the woman shared.

"She cut me off completely and refused to talk to me. I grieved as if she had passed away; I was utterly broken. I saw a psychologist for several years to try and make sense of what had happened, my role in the breakdown of our friendship, and how to move on."

The wedding that brought truth to light.

When another woman flew interstate for the wedding of her friend's daughter, she was faced with the reality of their relationship.

"She made excuses not to catch up other than at the wedding," the woman shared. "I had to give myself a strong talking to and acknowledge that she was using me and set clear boundaries. It broke my heart. I'm definitely more closed and protective of who I let in now."

The friend who was never really a friend.

A ninth woman didn't realise that her friend wasn't really a friend until after they stopped talking altogether.

"I would reflect about what went wrong. I realised that she never really knew me. Our relationship was always intensely on or totally off," she said.

"Everything was always about what she wanted. When it was on, she always needed to be the popular one. The one the boys liked most, the skinnier one, the one with the flashy accessories. When we were younger, if a boy showed interest in me, she'd always do things (flirt mostly, but on occasion would even go so far as to make out with some) in the guise of trying to connect us. She always needed to be the superior one."

Their friendship would be "off" whenever the woman started seeing someone romantically, "usually because they weren't besotted with her".

After they both had children, the woman tried to maintain the relationship, "but it felt very forced".

"I was always the one reaching out, making the plans. When she didn't respond to one of my texts, I just stopped. I figured if our relationship meant anything to her, she'd be in touch. It's now been over 10 years and I haven't heard from her."

To this day, the woman wonders if she "should have done things differently".

"This relationship reinforced negative views I have about myself.  I don't have a huge circle of friends and worry that I'm not a good friend. But I have people around me now that show interest in me and what I'm going through and don't try to compete with me, so I'm working towards a more positive view on my friendships."

The date that sparked a competition.

A final woman realised her best friendship was over during a relative's birthday party.

"I was really excited because I'd finally had a great [dating app] date," the woman said.

She had learnt the day prior that her best friend had matched with the same guy a few months ago, but things hadn't gone further than one date.

"He was funny, charming, the conversation had flowed, and we'd organised to meet up again," she continued.

When her best friend arrived at the birthday dinner, the woman "excitedly told her all about it, including that it was the same guy that she had had a coffee with four months ago".

"Her face went dark and she told me he was 'the only guy she was interested in', and she was hoping something would happen."

The woman was "crushed" but supportive of her friend.

"I said, 'Look, I'm not competitive. If you want to date him, go ahead, I'll bow out'."

Without missing a beat, the friend replied, "I am, I'm competitive", before pulling out her phone and arranging to meet the man that very night.

"I got up and left and never spoke to her again," the woman shared. "It wasn't a falling out over 'some guy on a dating app', it was that she couldn't be happy for me and wanted to turn it into some competition instead of doing the right thing and just letting me have my happiness, or agreeing that we would both put our friendship first and not compete over some random guy."

The women exchanged a few messages over the next week, but never saw each other again.

"It was in a hugely transformative time in my life when I was finally getting good at not just avoiding conflict, but kindly setting boundaries and protecting my peace," the woman shared.

Feature Image: Getty (Stock image for illustrative purposes only).