I don’t know if it’s jealousy. I don’t know if it’s life doing what life does. But I do know that when I became a mother, friendships started evaporating like water on a hot ass summer sidewalk. Gone. No warning, no closure, just… poof.

I lost my grandmother and my best friend in the same damn year. One to death, the other to a disappearing act so good, David Blaine would be impressed. And the gag is? Sis still be liking my TikTok posts. Make it make sense! You can double-tap my videos, but you can’t check in on me? I found myself sending her photos of my daughter and shit started to feel real one-sided. Not a “how are you?” Not a “how’s the baby?” But TikTok likes? A damn like?!

I really sat with it, tryna understand. Was it me? Did I change that much? Was I not fun anymore? Too busy? Too wrapped up in my new world of sleepless nights and baby giggles? Or was it her? Was she bitter? Jealous? Uncomfortable with the shift in my life? Because if you let my mama tell it, “Oh, these bitches are jealous of you, they want to be you!” And listen, maybe she’s not all the way wrong. LOL

Maybe it’s the fact that I got something divine. Motherhood changed me, stretched me, broke me, and rebuilt me into something unrecognizable. And maybe that’s intimidating to people who haven’t stepped into their next chapter yet. Maybe seeing me embrace this new role made her feel some type of way about where she was. Maybe she felt left behind. But what I do know? A real friend would’ve voiced that. A real friend would’ve said, “Girl, I miss you. Things feel different.” A real friend wouldn’t have ghosted me but still spectated from the sidelines like my life was a Netflix series.

I don’t dwell on loss, though. Because where one chapter closed, another one opened—bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined. My daughter is my greatest blessing. And the crazy thing? She brought me closer to the people who were really meant to be in my life. The ones who showed up. The ones who checked in. The ones who didn’t see my new title as Mom and decide I was no longer worth their time.

So if you’re going through this too, if motherhood came and friendships went, let me tell you right now—it’s not a loss, it’s a lesson friend. Some people were never meant to make it into this next season with you. And that’s okay. Because the ones who stay? They’re the real ones. The ones who matter.

And as for the ones who left? They can keep lurking. Hope you enjoy the content.

Xoxo, Drea