Single woman exposes harsh double-standard with 'self-centered' married friends

Tod Perry
Tue, 25 Nov 2025 21:04:05 +0000
Annoyed, Being married, Community, Conflict resolution, Double standard, Emotional energy, Entertainment, Female friends, Friendship, Motherhood, Pregnancy, Sacrifice, Single women

Ashanti Bentil-Dhue, a 36-year-old advocate for single women, to keep them “Rooted. Regulated. Resourced,” released a viral TikTok video on November 4 where she points out a double standard she believes exists in friendships between married and single women. Ashanti says single women who are always there for their married friends shouldn't expect the same in return.

“We're meant to support them through all of the life events that they experience: pregnancy, proposals, engagements, destination weddings. But rarely, if ever, do married women really allocate time and investment into their single friends' life events, whether that's a promotion, a career move, a moving home, travelling, any other achievement that isn't related to a man, isn't related to procreation,” Ashanti says.

Ashanti recounted a time when she travelled to another country to see a friend, but the whole time, she was preoccupied with her child. She adds that married women are only interested in hearing about her dating ups and downs and don't care about her professional pursuits.

@unpunishablewoman
Do married women invest in their single female friends?

Are married women self-centered?

“Single women in your life are not just disposable accessories. Just because we might not be married, just because we might not be occupied with motherhood necessarily, it doesn't mean we've got endless free time whereby you can pick and choose if you want to call, text, check up on us,” Ashanti says.

The post, which received nearly 300,000 views, resonated with Ashanti’s followers. “Single and child-free women have to sacrifice for the ‘community,’ but the community never gives back,” a commenter wrote. “That’s why I stopped sharing my vulnerabilities with my married friends as I realised it was more a source of entertainment than actual care,” another added. “And we’re not ‘allowed’ to be tired. Because how can we be really tired when we don’t have kids?” a commenter wrote.

A woman looking annoyed. via Canva/Photos

Upworthy reached out to Amy Armstrong, Conflict Resolution Specialist and Co-Parent Coach at The Center for Family Resolution, to get her thoughts on the TikTok, and she has a common-sense approach to dealing with friends who have “changed” after getting married or having children.

How to react when a friend sidelines you

“When someone suddenly sidelines you, treats you like the ‘backup friend,’ or expects you to bend your life around theirs, you’re not seeing a new version of them. You’re seeing their actual capacity for friendship when life gets demanding,” Armstrong told Upworthy. “Real friends stay real through every season. Fair-weather friends fall off the minute their world expands beyond you.”

So how should people react when they feel their friends have sidelined them? “If someone makes you feel disposable, you’re not losing a friend. You’re losing a role you were never meant to play,” Armstrong continued. “Your job isn’t to fix someone’s selfishness. It’s to redirect your energy toward people who know how to be friends.”

An annoyed woman hugging another woman. via Canva/Photos

Armstrong also suggested some boundaries people can use when single people feel they are having a one-way friendship with their married friends.

Here are responses that stay bright, centered, and grounded:

Friendly boundary

“I’m looking for friendships that go both ways. I’m all in when you are, hopefully soon!"

Light boundary

“I get you’re overwhelmed. I’m keeping things balanced on my end. We can reconnect when it feels good for both of us.”

Ultimately, Armstrong notes that friendships can be transient, and we don’t need to give our time and emotional energy to people who aren't doing the same for us. “You don’t have to diagnose selfish friends or tolerate them. You don’t have to fight. You don’t even have to be mad. Friends are friends are friends—or they’re not. The ones who show up, stay. The ones who don’t make room for you don’t deserve front-row seats in your life.”