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‘Am I overreacting?’—Man tells girlfriend ‘don’t be dramatic’ when she discovers he’s been posing as her friends online for 2 years

“I’ve got the impression he kept this going for 2 years to perpetually gaslight her”

Photo of Anna Good

Anna Good

Am I overrreacting post

Trust and respect are two of the most important aspects of being in a relationship, and when trust is broken, it can be very difficult to regain. Redditor u/Mindless_Tennis_4045 recently discovered that the online friend group that her boyfriend had her join was actually only him pretending to be a number of other nonexistent people. She turned to Reddit to ask if she was overreacting.

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“Am I overreacting after I found out my boyfriend’s online “friend group” I became part of 2 years ago has been JUST him the whole time?” she wrote in the title.

I guess I should’ve been less oblivious, but since a little before we started dating in 2022 I was added to my boyfriend’s (just friend at the time) three person instagram group chat with what he explained were some of his closest online friends. The two other accounts seemed like real people because they had real followers and comments on their posts, and drastically different aesthetics/looks to them.

We eventually made a discord server for us and that alone was convincing enough since multiple times we’d all be active at the same time. We never voice chatted but I used to never voice chat either, so I didn’t think twice. The group got closer though as more and more time passed since I was first added to their group chat, and last month we got together and planned a research TRIP TO HAWAII for August (we live on the East coast of the US). Like we booked everything!

So imagine my surprise when I’m over at his house tonight and his computer is open and I just want to log into my google docs when I accidentally stumble across first of all, follower bot sites, and also him logged in and chatting with me as one of the individuals I thought I had become close with, and just got this sinking feeling.

I didn’t jump to the idea that they could be fake either, I was like, maybe he just has their logins since they’re all so close and is way too interested in their messages, but then I noticed their only chats were the group chats and the server, and the real kicker was the email address it was signed up under was his backup email with his full name.

I quite literally snooped until he got out of the shower and caught me, which I’m not saying was right of me but I couldn’t help myself. During my snooping I gradually became devastatingly confident that he wasn’t behind just one but both accounts.

“I’ve never seen his face so red and he just absolutely panicked and started shouting at me to get out of his business. I couldn’t even form the right words to say to him, in the end I just walked out of his apartment sobbing,” she said, ending the post, “It’s very early in the morning, I get that, but this screenshot is what he has to say and I’m starting to feel crazy. Am I overreacting about my discovery?”

Text message conversation with a controlling boyfriend who pretended to be multiple people in a friend group to gaslight his girlfriend.
u/Mindless_Tennis_4045 via Reddit

Redditors were very quick to tell u/Mindless_Tennis_4045 that she was not overreacting to the situation and that her boyfriend manipulated her for two years.

Reddit comment that reads, 'I've got the impression he kept this going for 2 years to perpetually gaslight her. She and ex bf have a fight? Go chat to the 'friends' to vent/get some perspective? 'You're overreacting girl! What he did really isn't that bad!!' The gaslight behaviour in this post is NOT new. He kept the ruse going all that time to make her the gf neatly under his thumb.'
u/DandyInTheRough via Reddit
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Reddit comment that reads, 'NOR that’s weird man. Like super weird. Also, he made you think that you were talking to other people and had become friends with them. So he lied to you and now you probably feel betrayed and uncomfortable. I think you may be under reacting honestly.'
u/ADHDBurnOut18 via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, 'Girl, leave that man and know peace. Listen to/Watch the Sweet Bobby story and understand that this is not normal behaviour. Wishing you the best.'
u/ADHDBurnOut18 via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, '
u/Psychogeist-WAR via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, 'OP this is the actual definition of gaslighting. People use it wrong constantly but you’re actually being gaslit. He’s trying to make you deny your reality and feel crazy'
u/Psychogeist-WAR via Reddit
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Reddit comment that reads, ''you need to learn about healthy relationship dynamics' lol. Says the guy who's also two other fake people. For real though he is genuinely gaslighting you. When you say in your post you feel crazy that's what he's going for. He'd rather you feel that way - that, for him, would be better than taking responsibility for lying to you. F*ck him.'
u/Ok_Formal_9870 via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, 'OP, run far and run fast. Also, change all your passwords and log all devices out. I don't trust this dude isn't doing other shady sh*t.'
u/Ok_Formal_9870 via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, 'Letting it ride out, I mean what was the end game here I can't even begin to figure that out Like night of the rehearsal dinner? Hey babe, about my groomsmen they were driving here and all died in a freak accident involving a flock of geese it's killing me oh well show must go on'
u/AttackOfTheMonkeys via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, 'The entire thing was a carefully crafted plan to get her in a relationship with him in the first place. She stated that he first added her to the group chat when they were still just friends. I have zero doubt that every interaction that took place between her and the three different accounts he was running were geared around steering the two of them into a relationship and controlling OP’s reality. It is a truly psychotic and diabolical level of manipulation.'
u/Psychogeist-WAR via Reddit
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Reddit comment that reads, 'yeah this is... not okay. i'm blown away that this is actually real because what?? how could someone do that to you, your partner of all people, and like was he ever planning on telling you or just letting it ride out? what does he gain from this? so many things running through my mind but the most disgusting factor is how he responded to it and it honestly sounds so manipulative and like he's deflecting instead of owning up to his actions. i'm sorry that you're going through this'
u/danielric3 via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, 'this is some serial killer behavior'
u/danielric3 via Reddit
Reddit comment that reads, ' And then chastising her claiming she’s making an issue out of everything and also bringing her ‘volatile upbringing.’ This man is absolutely dangerous.'
u/Artistic_Egg2498 via Reddit

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