DEAR ABBY: "Oscar" and I have been married for three years. We have had many ups and downs and a few near-separations, but we're now on a better path and working hard on our relationship.
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Because my friends have seen the rocky times Oscar and I have been through, they are not as nice to him as I'd like. In particular, this applies to my best friend, "Tish," and her husband.
I have tried many times to get us together on double dates, but they always refuse. They socialize with other couples, but refuse to associate with Oscar and me beyond birthday and holiday celebrations.
I'd love to have my friends and my husband all together for other social functions. What can I do, if anything? -- IN THE MIDDLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA
DEAR IN THE MIDDLE: Frankly, you can forget having the idealized relationship with Tish and her husband that you're looking for. When you confided all the ups and downs you were experiencing with Oscar to them, they lost respect for him. Whether your husband will ever earn it back is questionable. Sometimes that's the price you pay when you unload your marital problems on your friends instead of working them out with your husband and a counselor.