Pennsylvania woman breaks up with long-time boyfriend. Months later, he’s engaged to her best friend

A Pennsylvania woman went through a breakup in January. Then her best friend got engaged to her ex in June.

Natalie (@hottgirlseatpickles) posted a video that received more than 7.2 million views on TikTok. In it, she described a betrayal she experienced after her best friend started dating her ex. The worst part? They got engaged within months of seeing each other.

The TikTok post reached a large audience, with over 8,000 people commenting their thoughts about the situation. Some viewers even managed to identify the people Natalie discussed in the video.

What caused the breakup?

Natalie and her former partner dated for around a year and a half. They lived together and even had a dog together.

Natalie told her audience that her best friend has been in her life for even longer than her ex. “Best friend and I were friends for about five to six years…I would've considered her my sister. I was very close with her parents. She was there for me in a lot of dark times, and I feel like I was there for her…I told her pretty much everything about my life,” Natalie said.

But she started to have relationship issues with her partner.

“I think we both just kinda realized things weren't gonna work out… towards the end of last year, I had a trip planned to go see my mom in Pennsylvania for the holidays. He didn't wanna go,” she said. “We were gonna also take a drive up to New York City to go experience that around Christmastime. He didn't wanna go. So I brought my best friend with me, and she saw my family for the holidays.”

Natalie discussed her relationship with her best friend, who told her she should cut things off.

“She's very adamant that I should break up with him. Um, she's telling me I deserve better, we should've been engaged already, all of the things,” Natalie said.

At the beginning of January, they broke up. Natalie packed her things and moved out of their shared apartment. Meanwhile, her best friend supported her.

How did her best friend start talking to Natalie's ex?

Natalie's best friend coached her through the breakup at first. Then she started texting Natalie's ex off and on because she was competing in a bodybuilding show. Natalie explained that her ex was a personal trainer, which is why they started speaking.

“She would send him pictures, kind of, to get his opinion, because he was a personal trainer,” Natalie said. “I allowed it, because these are the two people I trusted most in my life. Like, this is my sister and my I thought was going to be husband.”

At some point in mid-January, Natalie started speaking to her ex again. They reconnected and saw each other up until Valentine's Day. Then, Natalie's ex became distant. Before the holiday, Natalie asked whether he was seeing anyone else. He said no. He proceeded to turn off his location and disappear. Natalie called her best friend and told her everything, and her friend comforted her.

The next morning, Natalie went to see her ex and asked him again if he was seeing someone else. She said he laughed in her face and said he had, which ended their reconciliation attempt. 

What happened after Valentine's Day?

After that, Natalie noticed that her best friend was distant. Natalie tried to spend time with her, but her friend was “dodging” her. That pushed Natalie to move to Pennsylvania.

Some months later, Natalie got a call from another one of her friends. One of her former sorority sisters spotted the pair shopping together at HomeGoods.

She immediately sent a text to her best friend and ex. She received an apology from her best friend, but she didn't end up learning when they started dating or how they connected.

“I'm assuming she was with him the night before Valentine's Day when I was calling trying to figure out who he was with. I don't speak to either of them anymore, honestly,” Natalie said.

Toward the end of her video, she told her audience that she recently learned that the couple got engaged.

“Maybe I can't process it yet, but, you know, if people can do that to someone, then they deserve each other,” Natalie said.

@hottgirlseatpickles story time about my ex and my best friend getting married (plz do not interact with them or their family in a negative way thank u!) #ex #exbfandexbsf ♬ original sound – natalie

How did viewers respond?

Viewers who saw the post comforted Natalie. Some commenters had specific critiques of Natalie's ex and best friend, although the content creator discouraged sending the couple hate. 

“I promise sis, you gone be alright,” one person said.

“I am convinced he had a one wish willow because this doesn't seem right,” another person said while referencing the supernatural movie “Obsession.”

Other viewers theorized the couple had been seeing each other for much longer than Natalie knew.

“Unfortunately if they're already engaged it makes me think there was something going on long before February,” another viewer said. Most U.S. couples date for 2.5 years on average before getting engaged, according to Brides. 

Buzz News reached out to Natalie via TikTok direct message for more information.