It’s hard to watch our friends grow apart from us. We may not understand why it’s happening and we just want things to stay the same as they always were.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. People change, and sometimes those changes mean our friendships don’t last as long as we would like them to. These quotes about friends growing apart will help you understand what you’re going through and make peace with the fact that things happen for a reason.
50 quotes about friends growing apart
1. The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. – Elisabeth Foley
2. “Sometimes growing up also means growing apart.” – Erende Sangma
3. “That’s how it started: a series of small hurts and excuses between two people that built up slowly, widening over time to form a vast and yawning divide.” – Nenia Campbell
4. “When routine bites hard, And ambitions are low. When resentment rides high, but emotion won’t grow … and we’re changing our ways, taking different roads. Love will tear us apart.” – Ian Curtis
5. “Relationships is a growing part of life, not life growing apart.” – Douglas McGregor
6. “If it doesn’t agree with your spirit let it go.” – Germany Kent
7. “Two people in a relationship either grow together or apart over time.” – Greg Behrendt
8. “We growing apart you growing irate stuck in the door of my state.”- Ghostface Killah
9. “Friendships are mercurial. They’re shape-shifters. I’ve learned to allow them to fluctuate and take new forms. I love my friends; that’s all that matters.” – Rachel Harrison
10. “If you had ever known love, you’d know this. Nothing can force love to go away. You grow apart or grow up, but it’s still there. You still care what happens to them.” – Amelia Hutchins
Quotes about changing friendships
11. “Seasons change, people grow together and grow apart, life moves on.” – Alexandra Elle
12. “A main reason for our experience of pain is because of our eagerness to bring people we love or care about into our own growth spurts and into our own leaps forward that they are simply not ready to morph into. You could be a tree sprouting new branches left and right or a planetary wonder hurtling space rocks igniting the skies in glowing streaks, then the other person or people are plantlings still forming roots, or, sunbeams that want to stay on bedroom walls. See, that hurts. It hurts to grow alone, it hurts to realize that someone else won’t be coming with you.” – C. JoyBell C.
13. “Just because our friendship has changed and now we grow in different directions, does not mean that we have to grow apart.” – Toni Sorenson
14. “I’m sorry I broke your heart but I can’t help growing apart from you.” – Jonathan Flores
15. “We grow apart because we grow in different stages and not all of our stages align.” – Dominic Riccitello
16. “Sometimes friends grow apart. You tell each other everything and you’re sure this is a person you’ll know the rest of your life but then she stops writing or calling, or you realize she’s really not so nice, or she turns into a right-winger.” – Anita Diamant
17. “And you know that we’re growing apart because you planted the seeds yourself.” – Alexandra Savior
18. “We did not exist, the we we thought we’d always be.” – Catherine Lacey
19. “People change, feelings change, but that doesn’t mean that the love once shared wasn’t true and real. It simply means that sometimes when people grow, they grow apart.” – Scott Neustadter
20. “Growing apart where do I start you had my heart I’ll be careful to let down my guard.” – Faron Rashelle
Quotes about change and transitions
21. “Some people change quicker than others. Sometimes people don’t change at all, but their context changes, and just by being the same they change.” – Jonathan Evison
22. “Friends are like coals in a fire – together, they glow; apart, they grow cold.” – C.S. Lewis
23. “That’s the thing with fences, though – where properties touch, only one person has to create a divide for both to feel the separation.” – Janice Lynn Mather
24. “Closure happens right after you accept that letting go is more important than projecting a fantasy of how the relationship could have been.” – Sylvester McNutt
25. “Seasons change, people grow together and apart, life moves on. You will be OK, embrace it.” – Alexandra Elle
26. “Even with the best intentions, growing apart might just be an inevitable part of growing up.” – Megan McCafferty
27. “Do yourself a favor and learn how to walk away… there are tons more waiting to love you better. Do better.” – Reyna Biddy
28. “Every friendship goes through ups and downs. Dysfunctional patterns set in; external situations cause internal friction; you grow apart and then bounce back together.” – Mariella Frostrup
29. “My theory is that maybe if I keep my distance you’ll start to miss me. But so far, we are just growing apart.” – Judith Saxton
30. “It took me way too long to realize that you shouldn’t be friends with people who never ask how you’re doing.” – Unknown
Quotes about friendships and feelings
31. “Men and women should stay apart, till their hearts grow gentle towards one another again. – D.H. Lawrence
32. “We can play at being broken, we can play at being boys, you can hear it in our voice, we’re growing up to grow apart.” – Half Shy
33. “Some people aren’t loyal to you, they are loyal to their need of you. Once their need changes, so does their loyalty.” – Unknown
34. “A relationship is like life. It isn’t a process of preservation, but of change and growth. Unless you grow and change together, you will change and grow apart.” – Bill Crawford
35. “Sometimes the comfort of being in a relationship lulls you into mundane complacency, you become irrelevant in each other’s lives. We call this phenomenon, growing apart.” – Dr. Steve Maraboli
36. “Make as many friends as you can, but don’t build your life on them alone. It’s an unstable foundation.” – Sean Covey
37. “If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, do not accept, as you may lose a friend.” – Saint Augustine
38. “Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.” – Robert Tew
39. “True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.” – Charles Caleb Colton
40. “Sometimes you have to give up on people. Not because you don’t care, but because they don’t.” – Unknown
More quotes about friends growing apart
41. “Friendship is like a glass ornament, once it is broken, it can rarely be put back together in exactly the same way.” – Charles Kingsley
42. “Sometimes the memory of someone is better than the reality of them.” – Steve Maraboli
43. “Man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence.” – Joseph Roux
44. “True regret is knowing you missed your only opportunity to be simply a good friend to someone that was exactly like you.” – Shannon L. Alder
45. “Even the best of friends cannot attend each other’s funeral.” – Kehlog Albran
46. “You don’t know who is important to you until you actually lose them.” – Mahatma Gandhi
47. “Losing money is a big loss, losing friends is greater than the loss.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
48. “A friend who stands with you in pressure is more valuable than a hundred ones who stand with you in pleasure.” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
49. “An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body but an evil friend will wound your mind.” – Buddha
50. “No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.” – Alice Walker
How to Cope With Friendships Ending
Ending a friendship is never easy, but there are ways to cope with the pain and move on. Here are five tips:
Give Yourself Time
It’s natural to feel hurt and betrayed when a friend ends things abruptly. You need time to grieve the loss of the relationship and to process your feelings. Don’t try to rush the process; it will take as long as it takes.
It’s important to focus on yourself after a friendship ends. Spend time doing things you enjoy, meet new people and explore new interests. This is the time to discover who you are outside of your relationships.
Talk to Other Friends
When a friendship ends, it can feel like you’re all alone. Reach out to other friends and talk about your feelings. They can offer support and understanding. Be careful to choose friends who will be supportive and non-judgmental. You may also want to be gentle with mutual friends so that you don’t put them in the middle.
If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your feelings yet, journaling is a great way to express yourself and better understand what you’re going through.
Don’t Blame Yourself
It’s easy to blame yourself when a friendship ends, but try not to. It’s not always possible to prevent a break-up, no matter how hard you try. It may also be helpful not to blame your friend either. Blame is unhealthy and counterproductive, especially when it comes to relationships.
Move On
It’s important to move on after a friendship ends. Don’t dwell on the past; focus on the present and future. This will only create more anxiety around the situation, which won’t help anything at all.
If you keep hoping that the friendship will rekindle, compromise with yourself and promise that you will allow an opportunity for reconnection in the future if you’re both open to it. But in the meantime, stay true to your decision to move forward.
Quotes about friends growing apart: final thoughts
Ending a friendship can be difficult, but it’s possible to heal and move on. Remember to give yourself time, talk to other friends, don’t blame yourself, and move on. With time and patience, you’ll eventually be able to look back at the experience without feeling pain.