Hi Anu , I am 40 old male. There is a 32 year single mother in my office who is going through a turmoil in her personal life. Our office has been graciously enough to help her in whatever way possible. At times, she started talking to me about her personal issues and problems which I heard from her thinking she might need to just vent out. Also she has asked me some financial help which I helped and she is repaying me. But the problem started she has started leaning on me professionally for everything which I dont mind since being a lead I have to help her, but now, she randomly pings and calls and talks about her inlaws and husband. At times, i feel that i cannot be talking all the time about her personal life and have to maintain a professional relationship. I dont know how to make her understand that even i have a personal life and i cannot help her all the time...She is a very good friend but i want to respect my boundaries.

Respected M'aam, I am a 49 year old male, divorced for the last 15 years. I had been in a relationship for a few years with marriage on the cards. However, for some reason, her uncle objected and got her parents who were initially happy and agreeable to withdraw their consent. Hence, this didnt work out and we parted ways amicably. About three years back, I was approached by the wife of a friend whose marriage was going through a rough patch, for some advice and help in getting her husband back on track. However, the husband refused to change ways and their marriage remains to be rocky. This lady and I got chatting often and we became friendly. Only a few short weeks since we first met, she started visiting my house regularly. I live alone and have no living relatives. Initially these visits would be to go over prospective jobs for her husband and later on, this topic was completely ignored and we started chatting on friendly basis. What started as small physical gestures soon developed into a major physical relationship. This physical relationship has been going on for almost three years now. Everytime, she has a fight at home, she visits me and we end up getting physical. This happens almost twice a week. In the meantime, I meet her husband almost daily and have to pretend as if everything is normal, all the time hiding this fact. She doesnt want to divorce him and marry me despite being asked many times even though this itself shall be the cause of me being socially boycotted by all my friends. She wants to continue having physical relations with me and wants our relationship to be simply for this reason. I tried ending it often, but she would turn up at my door and I would have to take her in and we would again end up being physical. I do not know what to do anymore even though I want to end this but she doesnt. Please advise. Thanks

I have a friend for over 9 years. She is 38, married with a 13 yr old boy and I am single and 32. Ever since we have known each other we have been friends. I never had romantic feelings or intimate thoughts about her(I guess I am not that much into married women). Over the course of years since 2015, we have had a very close friendship and at a professional capacity I am tutor to her child.(The child has been hanging out with me since he was 4). Me and the lady went for vacations and have spent countless nights on the balcony with a drink and lots to talk about our lives. I am thoroughly aware of her troubled marriage including instances of DV and her complicated upper middle class family dynamics. She knows my childhood, how I lost my parents and has been close watcher of how I have transformed over the years. In 2020 in a moment of my weakness, loneliness, desperation I spoke to her extensively even breaking down and she somehow made the call the treatment me like a son and I have ever since addressed her as 'Maate'. (My mother passed away in childbirth so my knowledge of a mother's presence is next to 0) During the pandemic where we could barely meet during to distance and lockdown. Her husband also moved to UK for work. A new "friend" comes to the picture. I did not meet him at the beginning but after a few months, I notice my friend taking care of the finances, lifestyle choices of the"friend". He enjoys the involvement citing how difficult his life was where his parents could not provide such interactions when he was a kid. (The "friend" is 28 years old). The "friend" also a leukaemia survivor indulges in alcohol with us, tries other substances in her company and one night confesses his feelings to Maate. Maate tells him that she has a kid, a husband and a boyfriend so those spectrums there is no space for the "friend". So the "friend" officially friendzones himself but over the times has arranged him to stay in her place, sleep in her bed, cuddle with her everynight(can't sleep otherwise) has access to her emails, photos, phone password, and subtly starts taking control over her house to get things done his way. He even does not allow the 13 yr old child sleep with his mom because the child gets a pole in his sleep(like of teens and men) it creeps the "friend" out. Finally after a night of drinking I suddenly woke up to sounds of moaning early in the morning from her bathroom. So the "friend" finally had his long overdue sex at 6 am in the morning in her bathroom. I wake to listen to Maate moaning buty paranoia kicks in when I see her kid waking up and standing behind me and asking 'where is Mamma'. I have no words, I have no idea what to do. I take him away on the pretext of making some yummy breakfast. Now the problem for me is: 1. I have lived by a few codes and one of them is not to cross boundaries with female friends. I have stayed friends with them for over 2 decades. So someone doing it infront of me and calling it friendship and apologizing with the words 'heat of the moment','honest mistake', 'drunken daze', etc just makes me call it bullshit. The "friend" wanted it and took the first shot he got. 2. My Maate asking me to let it go, forgive and treat the "friend" like a younger brother. I have tried it a lot over the last year and I sincerely can't(because of reasons mentioned in Point 1) 3. Saying it to openly to Maate has starined my equation with her. I just want to stay away from such a "friend" but evidently voicing it out (albeit in a very loud manner) pushed away my closest confidant. The only thing I know is if things get better I can't pull of this pretentious stuff and it will make me burst again. I don't know what to do here.