Design For Life

My female pals don’t like my new partner – what can I do?

This week, occupational psychologist Louize Carroll guides a reader whose close group of friends don’t share her enthusiasm for a new relationship

We tend to expect that our friends will always be there for us, and this situation can be complicated by a new partner. Illustration: Getty

Dear Expert,

My friends don’t like my partner and it’s really getting me down. I am a happy and bubbly person, with a close group of female pals. We have gone through ups and downs together, supporting each other over relationship traumas, family issues, job losses and the stresses of the pandemic.

For the last 18 months or so, all three of us have been single. However, I recently started seeing someone new and was ...