To: I am having trouble with an issue with my relationship.
Me: See your friend, but don’t tell your partner.
It might seem dishonest to you, but in reality, “your partner” has problems with your friend, but not you.
You are in a relationship with your partner, but your partner cannot choose your friends for you, or whom you want to meet and hang around with, anymore than you can dictate the same rules to your partner.
What the eye does not see, the mind does not know and if, for any reason, your relationship folds, you will still have your friend to fall back on, for support and advice.
R