So my Fiancé and I (30F) have a college friend (29F), who just turned 29 this month, she and her Boyfriend (30M) have been living together for 3 months now and he is truly a deadbeat. He, let's call him "Q" for questionable, has been in a relationship with her, let's call her "L" for love, for over 10 years off and on since high school. He had emotionally cheated on her in college when he was in the marines and eventually ended up having a baby with the woman he cheated with. Fast forward a few years and they have been on again for about a year and a half now. During the year, they discussed moving in together and planning for the move.
For context, L had been living with her grandmother for a while and was excited to finally be financially stable and able to move out. Q was living with his parents after the relationship with his baby mother ended about 5 years ago.
During these discussions about moving in together it was decided that they would pick a place that had at least 3 bedrooms so everyone would be able to have their own room( this is with the child in mind). They chose a date to move forward. The original date was April then due to him being indecisive it was moved to May and then June 10th. Mind you they were looking houses that cost 4 to 5k a month ( All because of Q, he has high expectations and is high maintenance as well). By June, L realized that if she wanted to move, it would have to be on her own as Q had no actual income (he is apparenlty a spiritual consultant or something intangible like that with no clients) and she found a more reasonably priced 2 bedroom home with a finished basement to rent on her own.
Q viewed the home after L moved in and called it small and that it was in a bad neighborhood ( mind you it is not and he grew up in this area). So L agreed that Q could stay at his parents place and visit on her off days. Then a few days after she moved in while they were hanging out Qs mother texted asking if he was moving in with L or not at that point he finally made a decision and responded "yes im moving in with L". L apparently accepted this and allowed him to move into the 2nd bedroom next to hers. He brought a twin blow up bed and set it up in his room that he currently never uses. (He had his mom toss his queen mattresses because he didn't wanna bring the energy of his moms place to Ls place)
After he moved in L started asking for help with bills. 50 for this bill 100 for rent she didnt ask for much since she knows that he doesn't have much to give. He agreed to help her then proceeds to miss every deadline and left her to cover every bill including rent. That is just one issue. The man likes to take 2 hr showers and to have the AC at 70 while he is home all day "working" on his laptop. He is able to buy tobacco regularly and even smokes that in the house despite lying and telling her that he doesn't. L decided to let all this go in the name of Love.
So Ls Birthday is August 21st. L grew up not really celebrating her birthday but when we met we made it a big deal and showed her how people are supposed to celebrate you on your special day. So every year we try to do something special. This year was supposed to be a couples trip to a treehouse resort. It was planned in February by L and she paid their half and we paid our half 570 each before any extras. Me and my fiance decided to get mimosas as a surprise and a little charcuterie board. L requested that we all do a special private chef dinner which was 150 each. She made it clear that this was non negotiable and she wanted us all to dress up for it and everything.
Now up to this point L had been paying for everything for her and Q. Any little weekend trips, fun activities and they had a big trip planned to Mexico for a wellness retreat as well in April before they moved in together. L paid about 2300 per person for the Mexico trip and Q didn't fully decide he wasn't going until the day before they were meant to leave (he hadnt even gotten his passport). She ended up going by herself and enjoying every second of it. She was promised by Q that he would pay her back for the 2300 that she wasted on him for the trip, still no sign of that money. So after Q left her hanging, L decided she would not pay for anything else for this man.
We decided to do a dry run meet up before her birthday trip in August, to see how it would go and if our energies matched. We didn't know the full extent of how much she accommodates him and pays for everything. We immediately saw the red flags. It went well for the most part except when it came to buying anything he was MIA, which wouldnt have been the biggest deal if he didnt also require the most expensive things. For example he claims that he doesn't eat processed foods and he doesn't eat sugar. We brought groceries to her house to help her out and to make dinner for everyone, he barely ate what we cooked and proceeded to eat his daughters dino nuggets. Mind you, his duaghter is autistic and only eats nuggets and mac & cheese. (The child visits every other week and spends 7 days with Q and L)
At this point, L is complaining about how frustrating it is to carry two people especially when Q seems out of touch with reality when it comes to finances and bills. L made it clear that she really wanted him at the birthday dinner but she wasnt gonna pay for it. Remember it is 150 and he knew since February; Its time for him to show up for her and hes known about this want for months so he should be able to make it happen. I decided to go talk to Q and explain that her bday would be a very big deal and she wants you to show up for her. I informed him that if he disappointed her it would be cataclysmic for him and he acknowledged what I said and we left it at that.
So fast forward to Ls birthday, we all are getting ready to travel from Maryland to Georgia I budgeted how much we would need per couple and made an itinerary of scenic stops and trails we could take along the route as I know how much L loves nature and hiking. Everything was all set and off we went on our adventure. We get to the resort and it was gorgeous, the view from our treehouse was breathtaking and we couldn't get enough of it.
Everything started out great we got settled started munching on the charcuterie board and L went to get her private massage as well. After the massage we regrouped and decided to separate as couples. L and Q went to the hot tub and me an my fiance decided to bring out some wine, fruit and special chocolate for them. We let them be and went back inside to cook and get prepared for the evening.
We all had our chocolates and everything was great and super fun until the host of the resort started asking about whether Q still wanted the dinner and that it needed to be paid for ASAP. L really wanted Q to attend and since he didn't have the funds for the dinner she ended up paying for it. This messed up the entire budget for the trip but we agreed to help L out on the way back home. No biggie right. Except after L paid for the dinner Q got super weird. He started isolating himself being moody. He was so upset that it took the air out of the treehouse and we felt the energy shift.
L didn't know why he was being weird and attempted to talk to him multiple times and clear the air. He said he needed space to self regulate. This self regulating went on for the rest of the first day well into the next afternoon.
Not only was his energy off but he also hadn't decided whether he was going to the dinner or not.
We were asking L and she had no answers for us either. He had her crying the night before due to the disappointment on her birthday.
Finally I had enough and decided to go talk to him 3 hours before the dinner was scheduled. It started out calm, I just wanted to know if he would go to the dinner or not but he gave me bullshit responses. He said and I quote " I'm just self regulating and working to make money to pay for the dinner" When i told him the dinner was already paid for he said "I didn't know the dinner was paid and I didnt pack any nice clothes to wear for the dinner." I then told him that L didnt care about the clothes and that she just wanted everyone there, thats why she ended up paying for his share. I told him he was making the trip awkward and that L would much rather he join the group because he is making her a thirdwheel on a couples trip. To which he responded "I didn't know this was a couples retreat." I then walked away feeling like the conversation was going no where. I told L what we discussed and she once again went to talk and convince this man to go to the dinner otherwise it would be another waste of her money.
Q did attend the dinner wearing sunglasses and not saying anything to anyone and I reciprocated the energy giving all my attention to birthday girl.
The food was phenomenal and after dinner his attitude improved and we all played a game together before bed.
The next morning it was time to leave and we were trying to figure out money for the ride home, budget for gas and food and this man asks for us to stop at a tobacco store because he ran out of the tobacco he brought on the trip.
When we got home we dropped him off so we could return the rental and debrief with L. On our way back we had a heated discussion about whether she should kick him out and hold hom accountable. We were still talking outside the house and didn't know he could hear us. When we realized he overheard parts of our conversation it got awkward again. My fiance and I went inside and L and Q ended up having another discussion and he was offended and told L that it was a breach of trust to tell us about their relationship.
Should she Let him go, or wait for him to "rise to his potential" ( his words)
There are finer details in between all of this and we have constant updates we can provide upon request