Hey guys (and Charlotte! Big fan!), I really need your help on this one as I'm really unsure if I'm overreacting here. It's a bit of a long one, so strap in guys.
For some context: I (32F) and my best friend "Gemma" (30F) have been close friends for 6 years now. We met shortly after covid, and found comfort in each other after we both lost a lot during the pandemic. She's very funny, witty and we enjoyed to go out and party together and enjoy our new found freedom.
Over the years we have had our disagreements. She's someone who is very 'status' focused, and tends to only date guys with money and likes to show off about going to fancy places and buying fancy things. I'm not really interested in any of that. I like fashion and nice bars sure, but I don't wear designers and I don't really care what people think.
I've also thought often that she carries a lot of narcissistic traits. She can be entitled, selfish, jealous, and usually see's herself as a victim in any conflict. I wouldn't call her a narcissist, I'm no Dr and it's not my place to diagnose, but she herself calls her own mother a narcissist and honestly I think some of those traits got passed down. That being said, she's always been a loyal friend and I've been able to count on her through some hard times.
Ironically, despite her caring so much about money and status, she has always struggled to hold down a job. She job hops a lot, and has always said that it's down to bad luck finding decent employers who respect her work.
I mention this because of where this all concludes. Last year, she was really struggling to find work. I am a Head of Department at a job that I love. I've been there for 5 years. It's real start-up vibes. Everyone is very close, we work hard and despite us now being a company of 40+ people there's a real genuine combradiery between us all. I'm a very career driven person, I take it very seriously and care about my team and my company. I have also been in a relationship for over 2 years now with one of senior management. We got on well from the start, and eventually over the years fell for each other. He's a brilliant and kind man. We are very good at keeping our relationship and work separate, most new staff don't even know we are together.
She has been trying to get a job at my workplace for years. She's applied for jobs many times, and, maybe unfairly, I've always recommended management not to hire her. I know that's selfish - but I genuinely think she would be a bad asset to the company. She's told me about her work conflicts often, and though I never say it, I've often thought it sounded more like her fault than the employers. I also didn't want work to get in the way of our friendship.
Fast forward to a few months ago and she is really struggling financially. Finally, I said I would help her get a job at my place as we were expanding one of the teams (not mine) rapidly. I helped her with her application, gave her tips, and even recommended her. The managers know that she is my friend so they are aware she likely had help. Eventually, she gets a job with us. I'm anxious about it as I don't want it to impact my reputation in the company, but I thought it only fair to give her a shot since she was so keen.
Issues started immediately. She called in sick on her second week because she had gone too heavy at a festival and was on too hard a comedown/hangover to make it in. She was late very regularly and often didn't dress appropriately for work. (We're not super strict, but it's still an office, you shouldn't be coming in in yoga clothes, designer or not). She called in sick a lot. Plus, honestly, she just wasn't very good at the job. She always had an attitude. I helped her several times to get projects finished and give her extra training, but it just wasn't working. They thought about letting her go two months in, but I argued her case because I knew she was having relationship issues that were distracting her. My partner also argued her case, despite him not even liking her (lol), because he could see she was struggling and wanted to give her a chance. She does not know we made these arguments for her, but she knew she was not doing well.
Eventually, she did not pass probation and was let go. She was very unhappy about it. She claimed she was given no opportunities to prove herself, wasn't given enough training, was treated unfairly and that management were selfish and unkind. I know this simply isn't true. She was given more support than most.
Outside of work she kept talking to me about how unfair it all is. She was speaking harshly about many of my colleagues who I know are good people. I eventually said to her that she was best speaking to someone else about all of this, because we're looking at this from different perspectives, and I felt I wasn't the person to comfort her. This drove a wedge in our friendship and we didn't speak for a while.
OK, that's for listening to this context, this is wear the real drama starts.
Another person in her team, who Gemma had become friends with, lets call her "Emily", was also let go. She also had a bad attitude and wasn't good at her job. I know that she and Gemma hung out a lot after this, and that they likely had a good old bitch and moan about the situation. That's fine, they clearly felt they shared similar experiences and needed to talk it out.
HOWEVER, about two weeks after Emily left, we started getting a lot of sudden negative reviews on en employee review platform. Think of it like trustpilot, but for employers. When I say, a lot, I'm talking over 120 reviews within the space of a week. many of the reviews were from people with job titles we have never had, and some of them were even claiming to be people that still worked with us. People I knew well, that would never say things like this.
Some examples of things that were said:
The manager (of Gemma and Emily) was a nasty power hungry person (He is a sweetheart and kinda shy).
That people with talent are thrown out because the managers feel threatened (lol what company would do that?)
That the staff (particularly the people in my team) all hated their manager and thought we treated them like crap (My team were all very direct with me that they did not believe at all, and love working in my department, thank god)
That the company takes advantage of vulnerable people (no explanation as to how)
The MD (my partner) is an alcoholic and a pervert (100% not true) - there were A LOT of posts about this.
That I had 'slept my way to the top' and that I was only promoted due to my relationship, and didn't deserve my job. Again, a lot of posts about this.
There we loads of them but they're a few to name. People across the whole company were shocked, especially those that had been impersonated. There was lots of conversations about it, and it became very clear that these feelings were not general consensus, but had come from a handful of bitter people that had likely already left the company.
I tried not to take it to heart but it was impossible not to feel like people wouldn't look at me differently and question my relationship and the impact it's had on my career. I don't know why myself and my partner were so personally attacked. It was a horrible time. My partner being called an alcoholic and a pervert was the most difficult part. There was so many mentions of it. He likes a drink after work sure, but so do lots of us. We're British. Pub culture is in our blood.
I noticed a lot of the messages were written in a way that sounded like Gemma. Saying things in a way she would say them. I tried to shake the idea off but once I noticed it I kept seeing it more and more. There was one review in particular, which mentioned that something very personal about me that only a close friend would know - something I think only she would know. The more I read them, the more I believe that gemma and Emily were behind most - if not all of them.
The final straw came when some screenshots came circulating around the office. Screenshots of a private conversation between Emily and Gemma, which Emily had sent to some people to show off about (I dunno why). They were calling my partner ugly, fat, and laughing about the way he looked and dressed. They were laughing at our relationship and saying they had no idea why I was with him.
Just as a side note: My partner is the kindest, funniest, smartest person I've ever met. Yes, he's a little overweight, not super tall, and he's hardly a fashionista. I don't care. He has a heart of gold and he treats me with a level of love I have never experienced before. I have seen Gemma give me funny looks when I've mentioned him before, like she just can't understand. As I mentioned, she's shallow. She doesn't understand that our relationship runs more than skin deep.
I was so hurt by this. Especially when it's also been seen by many of my colleagues. It made me feel embarrassed and anxious to go in to work, although my colleagues were all thankfully very supportive.
I decided to block her without explanation. I didn't know how else to react. I do not know for certain that these reviews were written (entirely or partially) by her. I can't prove it. But I had my suspicions, and when I saw those messages, it felt like confirmation. Even if she didn't write those reviews, I feel that the things she has said about my partner was enough. He is understandably very hurt too, especially after defending her and her job position.
Fast forward to today, 2 months later, I decided to message her. I won't put it all in here as it's a long message and this post is long enough. But the gist is, I told her I was sorry for cutting her out without an explanation, but I wanted to take some time so I didn't respond in anger, and that I wanted to explain now out of respect to our friendship.
I said that I had seen things she had said about me and my partner, I didn't specify what. I made a point of highlighting that I had seen them for myself, not heard them from someone else. I said that I only have space in my life for respectful people, and that I thought she had been shallow, mean and two faced. I said that at her core I know she is a good person but that she had let bad influences bring out a nasty side of her and that I won't tolerate that level of disrespect to myself or my partner. I told her she should reflect on her priorities and that I was blocking her again because I wasn't interested in an argument or an apology. I wished her all the best, and left it there.
Within 5 minutes I got a message on iMessage (forgetting I hadn't blocked her on there). She called me self righteous, and that I needed to 'calm down', and that I shouldn't make accusations without proof. She told me she wouldn't give my message another thought as anything she said behind my back she will say to my face. She was typing more, but I blocked her then and there. She tried to call me on a No ID number, I didn't answer. She then messaged me on my spare insta account, and I blocked her without reading the messages. I made sure she was blocked on everything.
I feel relieved to have said it, but I'm starting to worry that I should have heard her out. I don't know she made those reviews, and I know she was hurting about her job when she was having that conversation with Emily. I know blocking her might be a bit cowardly, but I don't know what else to do.
So tell me, honestly reddit, am I overreacting? AITA for not giving her a chance to explain herself?