Friendships built on unequal footing tend to reveal cracks eventually, and this one cracked wide open over a single outfit.

One man had formed a close friendship with an older woman after moving abroad for work, someone who later offered to support his wife while he traveled for months at a time.

That support turned rocky fast, especially after a disagreement over furniture spending led to a temporary falling out.

Things escalated again once he returned home, when the older friend deemed his wife’s backless gown inappropriate for a night out and insisted she change before they could continue.

When he calmly disagreed, despite his wife already complying, the friend abruptly kicked him out of her car and cut off all contact entirely.

This is a dramatic one — read on for the full story.

AITA for telling my friend that I don’t understand her opinion regarding my wife’s outfit?

I (32M) live with my wife (30F) in a small city in Europe. We’re both African. I moved to this city in January for a new job, and my wife joined me from Africa in April.

Luckily, the husband was able to make a friend to help him acclimate to their new city.

Since moving here, I made friends with an older lady (67F). I’ll call her Helen. We would hang out for drinks together.

Upon my wife’s arrival, I had to travel away for a 3-month work trip. Helen offered to support my wife with settling into the country.

Soon the couple learned that Helen wasn’t as great as she first seemed.

A few weeks into this arrangement, my wife complained that Helen was sometimes mean to her and would speak with her friends in a derogatory manner about African women.

8 weeks ago, Helen offered to go to the furniture store with my wife to look for furniture for us.

As the furniture was too expensive, I told Helen that we’d buy second-hand furniture instead.

That’s when Helen went off on them.

She snapped at me for “wasting her time” and stated that she was fully withdrawing her support for us and we could go figure out everything ourselves.

All my efforts to de-escalate proved abortive.

Helen wasn’t all bad, though.

A few weeks later, I sent her a postcard with a nice note telling her how much we appreciate her friendship and support. She received the postcard and apologized for overreacting.

She also said she had been having some psychological stress and that my wife could reach out to her for support until I return. My wife and I agreed from that point on to not request Helen’s support anymore and just wait till I return.

Upon my return, I informed Helen of my arrival, and we all agreed that Helen would pick us up and we’d hang out at a music show, since the 3 of us had not seen each other in a while.

On the day, my wife wore a backless gown, and I thought she looked great.

But Helen didn’t approve of the dress.

When Helen arrived, she noted that my wife was looking “too seductive.”

On the road, Helen kept saying she felt my wife was overdressed for the event and we should turn back so my wife wears something simpler and “less revealing.” We agreed, and she turned the car back to our home.

Helen refused to drop the subject.

While my wife was inside changing, Helen told me, “Your wife is overdressed. I wouldn’t feel comfortable hanging out and sitting next to your wife in that outfit. It’s a bit too much. Here in our country, we would find a backless gown totally inappropriate.”

I was shocked and unsure what to do in the moment, so I just stayed quiet.

He made it clear to Helen that he didn’t agree with her assessment.

Then Helen asked me, “Do you understand me?” I replied, “Honestly, I don’t. But it’s okay. I’ve never been to the show, and I’m not sure what to expect in terms of dressing, but for me, my wife looks just great.”

That’s when the conflict with Helen came to a head.

To my surprise, Helen responded with, “I don’t feel comfortable with you right now, so leave my car. If you can’t understand my point of view, then there’s no point in us going out together.”

I said, “You’re kicking me out for having a different opinion, even though my wife has already agreed to change the gown?” And she responded with, “Please just leave my car. I can’t do this.”

I dropped off, and Helen blocked my wife and I on WhatsApp.

AITA for not agreeing with Helen regarding my wife’s attire?

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It sounds like Helen is waaaay more trouble than she’s worth.

Redditors chime in with their thoughts.

Helen isn’t someone this user would want to associate with.

Jealousy could be to blame here.

Helen doesn’t have either of their best interests at heart.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose family says she’s selfish for not wanting strangers living in her trailer.

Surely there are better people this couple can befriend.

Nobody should get kicked out of a car for politely disagreeing with someone’s fashion opinion, yet here we are.

This woman escalated a minor difference of perspective into a full confrontation, despite the fact that his wife had already agreed to change outfits before things even got heated.

It seems that Helen’s reaction was rooted in either petty jealousy or some sort of need for control. She definitely didn’t have anyone else’s best interest at heart besides her own.

Ending a friendship over someone calmly saying “I see it differently” is a sign of how unstable this woman really is.