{"id":15906,"date":"2018-03-16T10:17:54","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T18:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=15906"},"modified":"2022-04-13T12:14:49","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:14:49","slug":"5-signs-friend-toxic-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/5-signs-friend-toxic-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Signs Your Friend is in a Toxic Relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your friend couldn\u2019t wait to tell you about her new boyfriend when the relationship first started. He wanted her all to himself and wasn\u2019t afraid of commitment. He was <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">different<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But that\u2019s exactly how notorious <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/are-you-dating-dirty-john\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">con man Dirty John\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> victims felt. And lately your friend seems different. She doesn\u2019t go out as much, and she\u2019s much more reserved when she does. She could just be in the love fool stage of a blooming relationship and in a few months, you\u2019ll get your friend back. Or she be caught in the early stages of a toxic relationship? Here are the signs.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/background-check\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Suspicious about someone? Look them up in Spokeo now.<\/a><\/em><\/h6>\n<h2><b>Signs of a Toxic Relationship<\/b><\/h2>\n<h2>1) She\u2019s On Edge<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether she seems afraid of the threat of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/abuse\/domestic-violence-and-abuse.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">physical violence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or emotional abuse, your friend always seems to feel some level of unease regarding her partner. She walks on eggshells, and always seems afraid of his possible reactions. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>2) He\u2019s Controlling<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He controls many aspects of her life, even what she eats, who she sees, and where she goes. He keeps her away from friends or family who express concerns.\u00a0When her loved ones grow frustrated with the alienation, he manipulates her into <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthguidance.org\/entry\/15081\/1\/Signs-of-a-Controlling-Boyfriend.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">believing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that she\u2019s alone in the world. Even her friends are turning against her, so he is all she has.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>3) Her Confidence is Shaken<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your once confident and easygoing friend is suddenly passive. She seems to overthink everything, like she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prevention.com\/sex\/toxic-relationship\/slide\/5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can\u2019t do anything right<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Partners in toxic relationships often have to predict their partners\u2019 reactions before making any decisions. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>4) She Doesn\u2019t Expect Emotional Support from Him<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She seems afraid to talk to him about the serious stuff, so she either buries it or she goes to countless others for emotional support. And she can\u2019t really accept outsiders\u2019 counsel either&#8211;because she can never address the real problem: him. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>5) Risky Business<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contrary to appearing more nervous, you could also notice your friend making more risky decisions, like imbibing more or acting out for attention. A toxic relationship partner cares more about his own excitement than her best interests, and this can make her lead a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.health.com\/health\/gallery\/0,,20976691,00.html#bad-behavior-is-encouraged-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more reckless lifestyle<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What to Do <\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2>Flip the Script\u2014What\u2019s His Story?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While he\u2019s obsessing on controlling her every move, focus on him. What skeletons does he have in his closet? Is he pretending to be something better than he is? Is he being unfaithful to her while controlling her entire social calendar? Even worse, have any of his past relationships been toxic or even included domestic violence? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your friend may not be ready or emotionally able to look into his history, but if you\u2019re worried about her you can do some research on your own. But that doesn&#8217;t mean you can&#8217;t help. There are a number of things you can do to assess the situation on the sly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Find Out if He\u2019s Cheating on Her<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/username-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reverse username search<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/email-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">email search<\/a> to see if he\u2019s secretly maintaining profiles on dating sites. PlentyofFish or OkCupid could be his Ashley Madison. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Discover if He Has Hidden Personas<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/reverse-phone-lookup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reverse phone lookup<\/a> to find all the email addresses he\u2019s ever had. Then do reverse email searches on those addresses to see if he\u2019s used one of these rare ones to maintain hidden Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other accounts. He could be projecting a bachelor lifestyle and DM\u2019ing other girls on the side, and your friend would have no idea. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Research Whether He\u2019s Lying About His Past<\/h4>\n<p>Find out where he\u2019s lived, whether he\u2019s been married (or still is)\u2014just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">enter his name<\/a> and find all the old addresses, and public records that are associated with him.<\/p>\n<h4>Analyze His Exes<\/h4>\n<p>Look up the women who share <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/reverse-address-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his address history<\/a>, and go back over their social media posts during that time&#8211;did they seem to be in a toxic relationship at that time? Did they sound like your friend does now&#8211;vaguebooking or overtly airing out relationship issues?<\/p>\n<h4>Search His Criminal Records<\/h4>\n<p>Does he have a history of domestic violence? Drug abuse? Unpaid child support? Do a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/court-record-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">court record search<\/a> to see whether he\u2019s ever been in serious trouble with the law, or just had a few traffic tickets.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it will always be hard for her to get out of her relationship&#8211;no matter how toxic it is&#8211;concrete evidence of his lies or cheating or criminal history can help her see the light. Kudos to you, good friend, for trying to help her out of a difficult situation. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your friend couldn\u2019t wait to tell you about her new boyfriend when the relationship first started. He wanted her all to himself and wasn\u2019t afraid of commitment. He was different.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":15900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[618],"tags":[404,408],"class_list":["post-15906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-relationships-advice-how-to","tag-signs-of-a-toxic-relationship","tag-signs-of-bad-boyfriend"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Signs Your Friend is in a Toxic Relationship - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Toxic relationships can be sneaky. 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