Is it normal that my only friend had slept with my (ex)fiance?
I'll try to keep this short. I have bad social anxiety and have had very few friends. Some years ago, I was engaged to the father of my children. He had been cheating on me throughout the relationship- but he was my first boyfriend and the father of my kids, so I *stupidly* ignored the signs. Until my 'best' friend- because she was my only friend, had an affair with him. Background- she's married with kids, but both her and my fiance had a fling before our relationship started. The affair was very blatant and in my face (as well as her husband). Finally, I couldn't take anymore and left with the children. They both drop off the face of the earth. A few years later- I'm doing fantastic. I have my own place and although struggling as a single mother- I'm happier. Because of my anxiety- I still don't have friends- I have acquaintances and co-workers but no one hangs out with me after work or comes over, I rarely get invited out because I usually turn them down, etc. I've always kept contact with her siblings and finally reached the point in my life where I forgave them both. So I told her brother that if he talks to her, to just pass on the message that I'm not mad anymore and to actually thank her. Because if they weren't so reckless and open about the affair, it wouldn't have forced me to analyze the relationship and get out. I would have kept ignoring subtle signs and being unhappy. To my surprise, she actually reaches out to me and we slowly start up our friendship again. Now she is the only person I talk to that's not family and the only person I hang out with- and even that's rarely because my social anxiety is so bad, that I'll even avoid her at times. I guess I'm not 'normal' anyway due to my social anxiety but is it normal to have only one friend- and that friend is someone who betrayed you in the past?