25-year-old goes ‘No Contact’ with his former work bestie after she sabotages his new relationship, revealing a deeper truth about a workplace love triangle: 'Watch your back'

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Mar 4, 2026 9:00 AM EST

High school love-triangle drama followed him around like a ding on his resume. 

Although he viewed their relationship as platonic, this 25-year-old became best friends with a woman in his office. They went to happy hour, shared secrets, and got close enough to be considered true homies, but when he started seeing a woman in another department, things got spicy. For those of us who have been around the block in an office setting for longer than 5-minutes, it's clear that this love triangle was just a ticking HR time-bomb, but to an enthusiastic recent college grad, romantic and social dabblings in the office were about to teach him a valuable lesson in professionalism. 

Rule #1: Always keep your coworkers at arm's length.

Advertisement

  • Rule #2: Please, for the love of god, do not date a coworker. 

    Yes, I know it may be tempting when someone is batting their eyelashes at you from another department, but seriously, it's not worth the trouble. Although there are a few stories of office romance that work out well for all involved, more often than not, this is a one-way ticket to the HR office and a fast track onward to another career path. Was it worth it, buddy? 

  • Couple standing back-to-back in the office.
    via Afflo Images

    Couple standing back-to-back in the office. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • However, if you absolutely MUST fall in love at your work desk, be considerate of the office crushes that are likely harboring around the cubicles due to your apparent lack of romantic mitigation in the workplace. You wouldn't want to be like the guy in this next story who got caught in the web of a sticky, toxic love triangle. 

  • [I'm] cutting off my work bestie because she’s sabotaging my dating life

    I (25M) have been close with Sarah (24F) for about two years. We work at the same company, and honestly, she was the person who helped me survive my first year here. We've always been super tight-the kind of
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • friends who grab drinks after a shift and vent about everything. I've always felt like I could be 100% open with her, which is rare for me.
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • The vibe shifted about three months ago when I started seeing Raiah. Raiah doesn't work in our department, but she's in the same building,
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • so we all end up in the same breakroom or at the same happy hours. As soon as I told Sarah I was serious about Raiah, the fake humor started. At first,
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • it was subtle. Sarah would make comments about Raiah's outfits or her annoying laugh. Then it got weirder. In front of our other coworkers, Sarah started
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • spreading rumors about Raiah-basically making up stories or exaggerating things to make Raiah look incompetent or high maintenance.
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • She'd say things like, Oh, I heard Raiah almost blew that presentation last week, followed by, Just kidding!
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • But seriously, you should probably pick someone more on your level, OP. She's way too much drama for you.
    via Elegant_Record1000

  • His relationship may have been “special” with this girl, Sarah, but it seems like it meant far more to her than it did to him. If she wasn't secretly in love with him, why would she risk her entire career to thwart his love life? Defensive, stubborn, and a little crazy, it seems like there's no limit to this Sarah chick's revenge path. 

  • Man and his female coworker standing in the hallway together.
    via Afflo Images

    Man and his female coworker standing in the hallway together. 

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • There are so many moments for OP to realize the waving red flags in the workplace, yet he remains blissfully unaware. Assuming that Sarah is not secretly in love with him, this young man remains confused as to why this is all happening. Perhaps after a few more quarterly cycles of new hires, raises, promotions, and firings, he'll see that the workplace is not a Hinge date or a blind date: It's the place we all go to get a paycheck and nothing else. 

  • The problem is, Raiah is actually super chill and hasn't done anything to her. Last week, it peaked. We were at a group lunch and Sarah started joking about
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • how Raiah is only dating me to get closer to a promotion in my department. It was awkward, nobody laughed, and Raiah looked visibly upset. When I pulled Sarah
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • aside later to tell her to knock it off, she got super defensive. She told me she's just looking out for me because she knows me better than anyone and that
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • I'm being blinded by a pretty face. I asked her straight up if she had feelings for me, and she laughed in my face, called
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • me egotistical, and said she just hates seeing me settle for trash. I've had enough. The workplace is becoming toxic because Sarah is now giving
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • me the cold shoulder and telling our mutual work friends that I'm choosing a girl I just met over a loyal friend. I decided to officially cut her off. I stopped sitting
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • with her at lunch, I only talk to her about work-related tasks, and I blocked her on everything else.
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • Now some of our coworkers are saying I'm being too harsh and that I'm throwing away a real friendship over a girl I've only known for a few months. They think I should
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • just ignore her quirks because she's been there for me in the past. I feel like I'm just protecting my relationship and my
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • peace of mind, but the guilt is starting to creep in because we were so close. AITJ?
    via Elegant_Record1000
  • Safe Ad_7777 NTJ. Sarah ABSOLUTELY has feelings for you and is jealous as h L. Watch your back. Expect her to turn from trying to sabotage Raiah, to trying to sabotage you.
    via Safe Ad_7777
  • Front-Reference-1719 You didn't cut her off over a girl, you cut her off over disrespect. There's a huge difference. A real friend doesn't publicly humiliate your partner and then hide behind "I'm just joking,"
    via Front-Reference-1719
  • Traditional Coat8481 Loyal friends want their friends to live happy lives. and support them in getting there. Loyal friends don't humiliate their friend or their friend's friends just to make themselves look better.
    via Traditional Coat8481
  • ohemgee0309 NTJ. Either Sarah IS harboring secret feelings for you OR she is so territorial she can't bear for you to have someone in your life who will and should come before her in your life.
    via ohemgee0309

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

love triangle coworkers workplace drama
Scroll Down For The Next Article