7 of us have been friends since college and still hang out every now and then. For the past few years we’ve “grown up” and all got married and most of us have kids.
One friend is beginning to seem like a real drag. He doesn’t contribute to conversations outside of parroting pop culture lines and using slang from our college days which were over a decade ago.
Privately we are all shocked he got married (his wife is great) as he can’t really hold a conversation for more than 5 minutes, has a low paying job with no ambition and is objectively not very handsome. When we get together, he just listens to us and occasionally says a pop culture line. He never shares his opinion unless really pressed. We also make sure to accommodate his spending level which is beginning to get annoying.
The good side is he’s a great listener, he is a great host and is always available to help out with any chores we may need a body for. While we all have our own friend groups, he has remained with us and friends he’s made online.
So what can I do? None of us want to hang with him alone, which I kinda feel bad for because I’ve seen threads with people saying that’s a sign you’re the friend on the outside. He’s not mean, but he’s literally like a friendly ghost when he’s around.