I (20f) just found out that someone I barely know (22f) hates me and shit-talks me to all of our mutual acquaintances. I don’t know why and I don’t know what to do.

I’ve known this girl since we were children. We’re both part of the same small community. However, we have never been friends or enemies. We’ve always just been acquaintances. She was a little mean to me sometimes, excluding me from things when we were kids, but she was never horrible. In general we distantly knew each other but didn’t interact much. I have not had a conversation with her at all since I was 15, five years ago.

Today I found out that she absolutely hates me. We were at a gathering, and she was watching me and saying things like “I can’t stand her” and telling her friends that she hated me. I was out of earshot and didn’t hear her, but my sister, my best friend, my sister’s best friend, and a few other friends of mine heard. They talked to me about it because they thought I had heard her and they wanted to comfort me. Turns out she’s hated me for awhile and has been open about that to many people. She also hates my boyfriend.

I have no clue why. I couldn’t have said anything to piss her off, seeing as we haven’t spoken in five years and even before then it was just small talk. I’ve never gotten into an argument with her, at least as far as I can remember. I also don’t express any strong opinions or controversial things on social media, so I can’t imagine I’ve managed to offend her online, either. I’ve never dated any of her exes or crushes (as far as I know), and I’m on decent terms with all of her friends. She barely knows me and I am so confused about why she has so much hatred towards me.

I’m upset about this for two reasons. First, on a personal level, I’m really bothered by the fact that someone hates me. I don’t hate anyone and I don’t have any enemies, so being hated is a new feeling that I am really uncomfortable with.

Second, if she’s openly saying she hates me within earshot of my friends and family members, I can only imagine what she’s telling people when we’re not around. I’m worried she’s making up rumors about me or “warning” potential friends and colleagues about how “awful” I am. How can I keep this damage to a minimum?

TL;DR: A longtime acquaintance who barely knows me and hasn’t had a conversation with me since I was 15 is open about her hatred of me with pretty much everyone except me. I have absolutely no idea why she feels this way, I’m hurt, and I’m worried about how the things she says will affect my reputation in our small community.

Submitted June 05, 2021 at 12:39AM by sapphire6540 https://ift.tt/3vX1crE