AITA for asking a friend of 5 years to not call me or contact me anymore because im uncomfortable ?
I (24F) have been friends with “Daisy” (23F) since our senior year of high school. We became extremely close while studying for our final exams and would spend 10+ hours on Discord calls, sometimes without even talking. Even after we went to different universities, she would come to my university and attend classes with me despite not studying there.
Over the next four years, she became heavily involved in my social life. She befriended my university friends and treated them like her own, sometimes making them uncomfortable. After I graduated and started a demanding job, I naturally had less free time, although I still made an effort to see her and my friends after work.
She also started coming to my workplace during lunch breaks and would spend my entire shift waiting for me at a nearby café. She became friends with my coworkers too.
Things got worse during a girls’ trip I planned with a coworker. I invited Daisy out of courtesy, not expecting her to actually come, but she did everything possible to join us. During the two-week trip, I became extremely uncomfortable with her behavior. She acted very childlike toward me, constantly holding my pinky or shirt, hugging me without warning despite the heat, carrying a plushie and using a baby voice, and even kissing my cheek and hand in a way that felt more like a romantic partner than a friend. My coworker noticed it too.
She also became annoyed whenever I called my boyfriend, even though it wasn’t often, and would constantly ask what was wrong whenever I texted my best friend for more than a couple of minutes. She even bought the exact same dress I had chosen, despite us having completely different styles.
At one point, I was so overwhelmed that I cried alone in the bathroom because I felt trapped and knew confronting her would probably result in her crying and making herself the victim. She also went through my phone while I was showering and then denied doing it, becoming extremely offended when I confronted her.
After the trip, I decided I needed distance. I started focusing on work, declining plans with her, asking her not to come to my workplace, and trying to build friendships outside of her.
She reacted very badly. She came to my house uninvited saying we “needed to talk,” repeatedly called me to find out where I was, and started getting closer to my friends by visiting their homes, universities, and workplaces for random reasons and telling me about it.
I eventually confronted her and told her that her behavior had become suffocating and that I needed space. I made it clear that I wasn’t necessarily ending the friendship, but I needed distance for a while. Instead of respecting that, she pressured me, called me an asshole for trying to cut her off, and continued involving herself in my life.
The strange part is that she does have other friends, but she has always kept them completely separate from me and refused to introduce us, saying I wouldn’t like them.
After five years of friendship, I now want her to stop calling me, coming to my workplace or home, and trying to meet me or involve herself with my friends.
AITA for asking her to leave me alone and give me space?