Quick backstory:
I had an agreement with my friend Emily to move into a house she was buying and pay her rent. She initially said the house would be ready in a few months, but the move-in date was delayed multiple times by a total of 6 additional months. Each delay was communicated at the last minute, which disrupted my plans and strained my relationship with my boyfriend.
I had originally planned to live with Emily for 6 months, but due to the delays, I told her two months before the eventual move-in that I could only stay for 3 months. She responded poorly, trying to guilt me.
When I moved in, the situation was far from ideal. Her dad and boyfriend were constantly around, making it loud and hard to work from home. I also discovered I was paying an amount equivalent to 50% of her mortgage payment for just one room, while also splitting all other household bills 50/50.
Two months into my stay, my boyfriend left me, and my mental health took a dive. I told Emily I needed to move back home. She became very angry, even though she had another friend ready to take over my room. She claimed this friend couldn’t afford to move in on short notice, and insisted I pay towards the next month’s expenses. I found out that was a lie as this friend had substantial savings, but I paid anyway. I also left Emily a £300 bed I bought, which she neither thanked me for nor offered to pay for.
Additionally, Emily and I had planned a holiday with her family. After falling out, attending the holiday wasn’t feasible. The options were to cancel the booking and both lose the deposit, or for her boyfriend to buy my spot, allowing him to pay back the £1000 I had already contributed over time while coming up with another £900 to complete the booking.
Emily was upset, insisting I should “take accountability” and essentially donate my £1000 contribution to her boyfriend. She has complete control over the account so I currently stand to lose all of my contributions.