AITA for ending a decade long friendship after my friend announced her 5th pregnancy?

A 44-year-old woman hasn’t spoken to her 30-year-old former best friend since New Year’s Eve, when the younger woman casually dropped the bomb: baby number five was on the way. What started as a rock-solid bond forged in the wreckage of a toxic breakup back in 2016 had slowly morphed into something unrecognizable. Daily hangouts, movie marathons, and emotional check-ins gave way to endless cycles of diapers, drama, and desperate cash loans. By the time the fifth pregnancy hit, the older friend had become an unpaid nanny, ATM, and full-time therapist—until she finally snapped.

The explosion was years in the making. She’d funded groceries, doctor visits, birthday parties, even medicine for four kids she didn’t birth. The younger friend juggled abusive relationships, refused child support out of pride, and kept popping out babies she couldn’t afford. When the call came announcing yet another pregnancy, the dam broke. Screaming, tears, and a final “I’m done” ended a decade of friendship. Six months later, $400 in loans remain unpaid, the kids are missed, but the constant anxiety? Not one bit.

‘AITA for ending a decade long friendship after my friend announced her 5th pregnancy?’

It all kicked off in 2016 while the OP was reeling from an abusive split, suddenly forming a deep bond with her younger friend:

Early on, help went both ways, but cracks started showing as more kids came along:

Job loss and baby three cranked dependency to max, making OP the main lifeline:

Life lost all adult moments, just kids and chaos everywhere, pushing OP to pull back:

This friendship slid from equal support into full-blown codependency, with the OP propping up a cycle of poor choices—serial pregnancies, toxic partners, zero financial planning. Her constant rescues delayed any real consequences for the younger friend.

Some argue the OP signed up for this over ten years, even borrowing money herself at times. Cutting ties cold turkey feels harsh when kids are involved, and loyalty gets romanticized, especially for struggling moms.

But therapist Melodie Beattie nails it in Codependent No More: “We rescue people from their responsibilities and then feel used and resentful.” Enabling isn’t kindness—it’s control disguised as help, keeping both trapped.

Fixes are straightforward: block contact, write off the $400, journal every favor to see the pattern. Free CoDA groups rebuild self-worth without the savior complex. Walking away forces accountability; staying just funds baby six.

See what others had to share with OP:

Reddit’s chorus is overwhelmingly NTA, with users cheering the clean break while dissecting the slow slide into enabling.

Many users applaud the exit and stress self-preservation above guilt:

Others point fingers at years of enabling and urge tougher love sooner:

A few drop darkly funny one-liners that still land the NTA verdict:

Deeper reflections unpack codependency and share parallel burnout stories:

A decade of unwavering support ended in a fiery New Year’s call, with the OP declaring she was done after the fifth pregnancy bombshell. Six months on, the silence holds, $400 stays lost, and the daily stress has vanished—though pangs of missing the kids linger amid the guilt.

What would you do in her shoes—ghost forever or risk one final boundary chat? Have you ever walked away from a friend who kept taking without giving back? Drop your stories below and let’s hear how you handled the fallout.